Service design for multi-location & franchise brands
Make every location perform like your best one.
Katalyst is a service-design agency built to scale service-retail and QSR brands. Our Balanced Servicescape methodology unites strategy, experience design, in-house manufacturing, and rollout, so every location opens faster, runs consistently, and delivers strong unit economics.
20+ yrs
of service-design experience
50+
brands helped scale
2,500+
locations launched
A selection of brands we’ve worked with.
Most growing service brands are stuck in one of three traps.
Almost no brand sits perfectly balanced: a great servicescape, real business goals, and a model built to scale, all at once. Growth almost always breaks that balance somewhere.
01
Stalled growth
Successful single locations that can't find a repeatable way to expand. Every new opening feels like starting from scratch.
02
Operational chaos
Fast growth that outruns the systems: high employee turnover, slipping customer satisfaction, and teams firefighting instead of building.
03
Fragile economics
Expansion that hits unit count but misses the financial goals: thin margins, hidden costs, and limited long-term stability.
Balance really is possible. Our Service Design Blueprinting and Balanced Servicescape Audits bring these areas back into alignment, so you replicate success, not failure.
The Balanced Servicescape
Three experiences, balanced in every location.
A servicescape is everything people experience in the space where your service happens: from the layout and signage to the décor, workflow, and the way people interact within it. We design all of these elements together so they work as one seamless experience.
CX
Customer Experience
How customers feel and behave: the layout, fixtures, displays, and signage that guide how people browse and buy.
EX
Employee Experience
How efficiently and happily your teams work: workflow and space designed around the people delivering the service.
OX
Owner Experience
How financially and operationally sustainable each location is: strong unit economics, designed in from day one.
Using our proven framework, every design decision is weighed against cost, efficiency, and experience, so each location delivers strong economics and a consistent, compelling brand.
Strategy, design and manufacturing under one roof.
Designed for people. Built for performance. Ready to scale.We connect the customer, employee and owner experience, then bring strategy, design, manufacturing and rollout together to make it work across locations.
Strategy
Scalable service excellence
Consulting rooted in decades of work crafting locations that balance the customer, employee, and owner experience.
- •Service Excellence Assessments
- •Quick Brick Program
- •Franchisee Support Systems
Execution
From vision to reality
We don't just advise. We build, design, and implement, supporting locations from planning through opening day and beyond.
- •Expert craftsmanship
- •Program Manufacturing
- •Logistics & Install
Our Kansas City facility brings advanced manufacturing technology, experienced engineers and craftsmen, and dedicated project management under one roof, with precision multi-material production that lets us build fixtures, furniture, and custom displays across wood, metal, acrylic, and more.
From discovery to grand opening, one clear path.
We sit at the intersection of design, construction, and franchise operations. Our job is to make the path to opening clear, repeatable, and financially responsible.
01
Discovery & Fit Check
We learn your brand, goals, and gaps, and align on exactly where we can move the needle.
02
Servicescape Audit & Research
Site visits plus qualitative and quantitative research baseline how each location really performs.
03
Service Design
We blueprint the customer, employee, and support experience into “just-right” drawing sets, not over-designed architecture.
04
Validation & Execution
Prototyping, beta tests, and in-house program manufacturing turn the design into built reality.
05
Rollout
Consistent lead times and dedicated install teams open new locations sooner, with controlled costs.
Proof, in the numbers.
Selected results from Katalyst projects across restaurant, retail and service brands.
60+ days off opening timelines
Developed a modular movable wall system to shorten builds.
30%+ higher AUV
Lifted average unit volume through intentional servicescape design.
3%+ lower paper COGS
Reduced cost of goods through custom kitchen hardware design.
Install: 1 week to 2 days
Reduced on-site installation through prefabrication and installation planning.
Lease-to-open cut 50%
Accelerated a QSR rollout from 12+ months to just 6 months.
10x annual store growth
Redesigned the development and delivery process to scale openings.
Lower labor burden
Reimagined restaurant lobby and delivery operations.
65% more apparel revenue
Drove the lift following a strategic store remodel.
Full ROI in under 6 months
Recovered buildout cost after opening a flagship location.
40% faster transactions
Optimized the customer journey for a national retailer.
9 months to 12 weeks
Accelerated new store openings with process redesign and standardized execution.
Fixture install: 3 days to an afternoon
Redesigned fixtures for faster on-site deployment.
1+ mile less travel per shift
Cut employee travel through a redesigned order pickup process.
2x accessory attach rate
Improved attachment through optimized merchandising and signage.
84% more items per transaction
Grew average basket size from 1.07 to 1.97 through merchandising design.
Brands like yours, in their own words.
“You will enjoy working with them, and your business will benefit from it.”
“There are few vendors that I would put my stamp on, but these guys have been so good to work with that I don’t mind one bit sticking my neck out for them.”
“Their expertise was critical in our ability to develop over 115 new locations after using them for just twelve short months.”
“They listened to our pain points, used insight from their own extensive retail backgrounds, and created a system that integrated directly into current processes.”
Ready to scale the smart way?
Tell us about your brand and what you’re working toward. Our team will follow up to discuss your needs and whether Katalyst is a fit.
Prefer to reach us directly?
816-221-0121 · discovery@katgroupinc.com