Breather gave Candid the flexibility to expand its pop-up retail presence into new markets without the commitment of a long-term lease.

Candid is on a mission to make quality orthodontic care more accessible and affordable. Founded in 2017, Candid provides direct-to-consumer clear aligners that allow customers to straighten their teeth without expensive braces. Customers can start the process from home by taking photos and creating impressions of their teeth. The company then delivers custom aligners to their door along with an individualized treatment plan. But Candid also offers an in-office appointment where patients can have their teeth scanned to create the digital impression. Once launched, this brick-and-mortar option quickly grew into a successful retail business model with room for expansion.

When Candid set out to expand rapidly into these studios, they faced numerous real estate hurdles based on the specific needs of their customers and the business itself. As a high-growth doctor-directed, direct-to-consumer (“D2C”) healthcare company, Candid needed flexible retail space that offered both privacy and comfort to their customers in urban centers, the suburbs, and everywhere in between.

“We want to be everywhere — wherever our customers are, wherever people are struggling to afford care,” says Varun Anand, expansion lead at Candid. “But we also had to figure it all out quickly. We need to be able to move into a new market, test it out, and then see if it’s somewhere we want to be for a longer period of time. But that’s tough in retail, where you’re looking at leases of three, five or ten years.”

Another real estate barrier involved Candid’s need to comply with various regulations as a healthcare provider. For example, none of their spaces could have carpeting. They needed a space that met all of these guidelines without requiring a long-term commitment.

The Search for a Perfect Space

Candid is a Breather power user. From temporary offices to last-minute meeting spaces and pop-up retail locations, Candid has demonstrated the versatility of Breather spaces in meeting the diverse real estate needs of fast-growing businesses.

Candid was first introduced to Breather when looking for spillover office space in New York City, and quickly realized the potential of the space for its retail pop-up strategy. Breather provides the short term, two-to-four month leases they need to experiment with market expansion without the burden of a long-term lease. This crucial flexibility also allows Candid to temporarily open a studio in areas with significant short-term demand.

Breather’s spaces also align with Candid’s unique location requirements. “We’re more flexible than traditional retail businesses because our studios are destinations for customers,” says Anand. “Unlike traditional retailers, we don’t need to be on Main Street or in areas with the most foot traffic – the most important thing for us is being accessible to our customers. As a fast-growing company, our main priority is flexibility and for our spaces to be in central and convenient neighborhoods — Breather gives us all of this.”

Customer experience is also a high priority for Candid’s studios. They want their patients to be in a quiet, comfortable and private environment. Candid was delighted with Breather’s large selection of floor plans and beautifully furnished spaces that required little to no construction costs and had everything they needed from the get-go.

Breather’s flexible offices enabled Candid to open brick-and-mortar studios in Santa Monica, San Francisco, and Chicago.

Let’s Get Physical: A Growing Trend for E-commerce Brands

Anand sees their experience with Breather as part of a growing trend in the use of pop-ups by online-only brands. New forms of real estate are helping these D2C brands maintain a physical presence without having to sign on to a multi-year lease.

Different brands view retail spaces in different ways. While many see brick-and-mortar locations as a marketing channel, Candid views their studios as an independent business model. The company now has 27 of these studios around the country, and aims to expand to even more next year.