Never underestimate that sense of pleasure that comes from having a clean car.
“It gives people a little bounce in their step and a little mojo,” says Blake Henwood of Superbath, a mobile car-wash service.
“People thank us for helping them organize their lives a little. That’s surprisingly satisfying.”
In 2013, Superbath cofounders, Henwood and his cousin Adam Kittredge, saw a gap in the car-wash market, which had no offerings between the inexpensive gas station quickie and the high-end, all-day detailing service.
“We’re really hoping to open up detailing to a much wider demographic,” Kittredge says. “It’s designed for busy parents and business people who would spend just over $100 to $200 for a complete cleaning and can only tie up their vehicle for a few hours.”
Their self-contained Superbath vans carry all the water required and can go to a customer’s home or work. Their system uses steam to clean the exterior and interior of the vehicles, meaning they don’t need chemicals, shampoos or soaps, and there is no run-off into the water shed. The use of steam also allows them to use only 20 per cent of the water used in a traditional car wash.
From the beginning, Henwood and Kittredge had expansion in mind and the company was developed with the capability of franchising. They’re hoping to have franchising opportunities as early as this summer.
“This could work in so many locations,” Henwood says. “From Victoria to South Africa.”
Q&A with Blake Henwood and Adam Kittredge of Superbath
What was the best advice you got when starting out?
Adam: To be very concrete about our branding before we really started marketing ourselves. So we decided out of the gate that we wanted the branding to have really strong bones: our image needed to be consistent, our artwork needed to be consistent, our website needed to be well-designed and accessible and our booking system had to be modern and easy to use.
What are you most proud of so far?
Blake: One of our goals was to create a bit of a carwash culture in Victoria, like you see in the Southern states, so we tried to have fun with it and have people enjoy it. One thing that has impressed me is the speed with which we have accomplished this.
Superbath Business Profile
Type of business: Mobile car wash
Year founded: 2014
Owners/principals: Adam Kittredge and Blake Henwood
Employees: 2 full time, 3 part time
How is your business innovative? Each component of Superbath as a company has been developed with the capability of franchising to manage multiple vehicles in different locations.
This article is from the April/May 2015 issue of Douglas.
