Not many not-so-mini beauty empires start in the dining room of a cramped Santa Monica, CA, apartment. But for self-taught spray tan guru and Sugared + Bronzed co-founder and CEO Courtney Claghorn, the humble surroundings served as the ideal launchpad for her 42-locations-and-counting, now-booming business.

For Claghorn, who started Sugared + Bronzed with co-founder and spouse Sam Offit, it’s been a disciplined, 17-year build around a white space the duo identified just out of college. Forever on the hunt for a high quality, durable spray tan that wouldn’t break the bank, Claghorn spotted a hefty hole in the beauty market while toiling away at her fintech day job. 

After a nudge from Offit, who was then her boyfriend, Claghorn nabbed some professional spray tan gear and set to work mastering her craft. 

“I watched a lot of YouTube videos and made my friends come over for weekly tans that I would inspect the next day,” Claghorn recalled. “I did this over several weeks until all of the tans were consistently perfect.”

After the pair kicked in $500 apiece to get rolling, Claghorn booked client appointments around her work schedule, even zipping home during lunch hours to administer fast and flawless faux glows. Once word of mouth started to build, and the whole “dining-room-as-company-HQ” bit started to get untenable, Claghorn and Offit secured the lease on their first physical location, in Santa Monica, in 2010. 

Wondering when sugaring entered the Sugared + Bronzed equation? Early on, but not before the duo’s first spray tan location was up and running. After noticing that many of Claghorn’s tanning clients were getting either sugared or waxed prior to treatment, it seemed like—and is—a natural add-on. 

Without the help of any outside money until nearly a decade in, Sugared + Bronzed has methodically worked its way into 10 US markets: Los Angeles, Orange County, and San Diego in California; Austin, Dallas, and Houston in Texas; Miami; DC; Philly, and its most-penetrated metro area, New York.

Now up to 13 locations across Manhattan and Brooklyn, Claghorn said New York has been a surprisingly easy open. “We love that we can self-certify via private third party and not rely on the government inspectors to sign off on construction in New York City,” she noted, adding that the aggressive rollout has proved profitable. “New York is consistently the most successful [market] because the population is so dense that it’s easiest to get new clients quickly.”

Not quite as user-friendly from a construction standpoint? Our nation’s capital. “DC was really challenging because there’s a lot of bureaucratic red tape with licensing and permits,” said Claghorn. “It made it hard to get through all of the construction and also staffing.” Hence just the two locations there: Georgetown and the recently opened Logan Circle.

Claghorn is reluctant to share the company’s ultimate goal in terms of total number of US locations, but still sees plenty of room for growth Stateside. “We don’t really set limitations,” she said. “We do best in metropolitan areas that have a large population and room to expand. We’ve just scratched the surface on the possibilities.”

At the top of Sugared + Bronzed’s US expansion to-do list is The Windy City. “Chicago is definitely a big one for us, and a special one for me personally, since it’s where I’m from,” Claghorn shared. “We’ve actually already started looking at properties there and may have landed on the right spot, which is really exciting. We’re also thinking about Atlanta, Boston, and Scottsdale. We aim for one new market per year.”

Decisions around new target markets are made only after a deep dive into the data. 

“We utilize tools like Buxton and Experian customer segmentation to analyze a mix of demographic data and client behavior insights,” said Claghorn. “By examining how specific customer cohorts interact with our brand—such as visit frequency, preferred services, and booking patterns—we can better understand where demand is strongest and how to replicate our success in new areas. We have also analyzed this data on a regional basis to ensure our store site selections match the client demand in any given metropolitan area.”

This measured, methodical approach to company growth played a big role in attracting Sugared + Bronzed’s sole strategic investor, Main Post Partners. Although the founder-friendly investment concern didn’t engage with Sugared + Bronzed until 2019, from the sounds of it, Main Post Partners Vice President Alex Van Arsdale has been bullish on the brand from the jump.

“Main Post was enthusiastic about Sugared + Bronzed for a host of reasons, which included the drive and passion that both Courtney and Sam have for growing the business in a strategic manner and providing a high-quality solution for sunless tanning and hair removal that didn’t exist in the market,” said Van Arsdale. “We were also attracted to the strong retention of its customers, which is a reflection of superior services, as well as its flexible labor model and overall alignment with market trends towards skin health.”

Clocking in at an average of 1,200 to 1,400 square feet, the footprint of Sugared + Bronzed has remained fairly consistent over the years. “It can vary by market,” said Claghorn. “Our Texas stores all tend to be larger, whereas our NYC stores tend to be smaller.” 

While they might be freestanding or situated in a strip-mall type of setting, all Sugared + Bronzed locations share the same design, which emanates from the company’s Santa Monica-based management.

“We have an amazing VP of Design and Development who oversees all the in-house design, construction, and external architects,” said Claghorn. “Everything is custom designed for our spaces and is a high priority. We want everyone to feel like they’re in a luxurious environment.” 

Typically a six-month build-out once the lease is signed, Claghorn said she and her team are getting more cost-efficient with each new location. 

“Permitting, construction, landlord negotiations—all of that can play a role in how long a project will take,” said Claghorn. “We’ve gotten to an efficient per-store average by diligent value engineering. We put a priority on long lasting materials that will keep their quality through all of the wear and tear.” 

Although all US Sugared + Bronzed locations are company-owned, Claghorn said she’s open to the idea of master franchising outside of America. 

To gain insight into best practices for a possible move into either the UK or Australia as early as 2026, Claghorn sought the expertise of Sugared + Bronzed board member Joey Gonzalez, former CEO of Barry’s Boot Camp. “He’s given us a lot of insight about international master franchising, which is a model that keeps the consistency of the brand more intact, reduces the headache of multiple owners taking their own creative liberties, and adds in the benefit of understanding the laws, taxes, and regulations of global markets,” said Claghorn.

Asked if she feels Sugared + Bronzed has legs outside the US, Van Arsdale is unequivocal. “We remain very bullish about Sugared + Bronzed’s ability to execute openings within their domestic pipeline as well as explore the international demand that we believe exists,” she said. “The business has significant white space to grow both doors and its line of products, all supported by founders and a management team who are very committed to offering world class experiences and results.”

And about those products … it’s full steam ahead on that piece of the Sugared + Bronzed puzzle, too. Although the company had long stocked products in its retail areas, in 2024, it launched a 17-SKU branded range developed fully in-house.

“This was a big shift for us,” Claghorn said of the expanded Sugared + Bronzed lineup. “We also, for the first time, created custom packaging as well.”

Cast in the same beachy palette as the Sugared + Bronzed locations—think sandy and ocean-y beiges and blues—the range includes a signature hair removal Sugar Paste, ingrown remedies, and an innovative skin-smoother dubbed Hocoba Oil that blends fractionated coconut and jojoba oils.  

“Our goal is to give our clients a line of products that enhance their sugaring or sunless tanning services, or allows them to get the same professional quality at home,” said Claghorn. “That keeps us focused on a line of functional products. We are continuing to develop new products all the time, but they have to adhere to our goals of providing products that tie into services.”

One aspect of the product range that Claghorn is especially proud of is the brand’s proprietary FlexExpress formula. Woven into every bronzing product in the range, it allows users to rinse off in as little as an hour after sunless tanning, or leave it on for as long as they’d like. 

“Competitor rapid solutions have to be washed off after the allotted time and cannot be left on,” Claghorn noted. “Our flexible solution gives clients the choice to rinse whenever is convenient.” 

Outside of its own locations and website, Amazon has recently been added to product distribution. And while sunless tanning is surprisingly robust on the digital behemoth, Claghorn assured Sugared + Bronzed is holding its own.

“Amazon is a new venture to us, and it’s been growing steadily,” she noted. “[Sunless tanning] is definitely a big category, and there are a lot of brands in the mix, but we like that; we always say competition helps grow the category. Coming out of Prime Day, our Sunless Tanning Mousse was the biggest seller.”

Other sources of revenue for Sugared + Bronzed include its Glow On The Go mobile tanning service, mini location pop-ups, and collaborations with similarly aligned brands.

Confined to the LA area for the moment, mobile tanning is expected to expand to other cities when the timing is right. “Our expertly trained sprayers use the same proprietary formula and equipment as in-studio, ensuring a flawless, professional-grade tan without leaving home,” said Claghorn.

Pop-ups are sometimes tested in markets Sugared + Bronzed is considering, like La Jolla, but are also deployed seasonally, to maximize a moment. Expect to see them in Coachella Valley for festival season, The Hamptons for the summer, and possibly even Aspen for the holidays; all areas Sugared + Bronzed has no plans to permanently expand to. 

As for collaborations, Sugared + Bronzed treads carefully, partnering with just a handful of brands to date, including Favorite Daughter and goop. Next up: Show Me Your Mumu in 2026.

“We love doing pop-ups and collaborations, but we’re really intentional about them, Claghorn shared. “It’s important to partner with like-minded brands; ones that share our values around confidence, self-care, and creating elevated yet approachable experiences.”

Though it’s clearly firing on multiple cylinders, there’s one thing Sugared + Bronzed won’t be doing in the near future: seeking additional outside capital. Why not? It simply doesn’t need to. “We are profitable,” said Claghorn.