Trivest and Lunchline Partners Announce Launch of Lunchline Youth Brands, a Premier Early Childhood Education Franchisor Platform

MIAMI & ROWAYTON, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Trivest Partners (Miami, FL) and Lunchline Partners (Rowayton, CT) today announced the formation of Lunchline Youth Brands, a new platform focused on accelerating the growth of leading early education and youth enrichment franchisors across the U.S.

The announcement coincides with the platform’s strategic growth investment in LeafSpring Schools^® (“LeafSpring”). With locations across the Southeastern U.S., LeafSpring is a leading franchisor of high-quality early education schools and summer camp programs, serving children from infancy through elementary school. The company was founded in 1989 by Gail Johnson, a Registered Nurse, who revolutionized the early education model by combining quality academics with onsite nursing services known as the Get Well Place^® —a first-of-its-kind feature in early education.

“This is an exciting new chapter for LeafSpring, the company I founded over 35 years ago after recognizing significant gaps in early childhood education,” said Gail Johnson. “Our partnership with Trivest and Lunchline Partners will bring innovative ideas to expand our brand’s reach and drive growth across our business. We are incredibly excited to further invest in talent, infrastructure, and technology, ensuring we continue to enhance our brand and provide the dedicated support our franchisees deserve so they can deliver extraordinary care for the families that choose LeafSpring every day.”

Trivest and Lunchline have partnered to bring together the country’s leading early childhood and enrichment franchisors under a unified platform, offering unparalleled support and growth opportunities to its team members and franchisees. “We’re thrilled to launch Lunchline Youth Brands and welcome the team at LeafSpring to the platform,” said Russ Wilson, Managing Partner at Trivest. “Additionally, we are excited to partner with Chase Begor and Spencer Kushner, Managing Partners of Lunchline Partners, who have previously built leading companies in the early childhood education (ECE) space. Their authenticity combined with deep experience and expertise within the industry provides unique capabilities to establish this platform and accelerate the growth of each franchisor brand.”

Spencer Kushner, Co-Founder of Lunchline Partners, said, “We have spent the last decade investing in this critical sector to enhance the early education experience for young families. We’ve known the team at LeafSpring, including Vance Spilman, LeafSpring’s Chief Executive Officer, for several years and have long been impressed by the company’s differentiated brand and high-quality services to families. Our deep industry expertise, combined with Trivest’s resources and experience scaling businesses, gives us confidence in our ability to drive substantial future growth.”

About Lunchline Partners

Lunchline Partners is a principal investment firm founded in 2018 by Chase Begor and Spencer Kushner. Distinguished by deep operational expertise, the firm’s founders also established and built Otter Learning, one of the nation's leading early childhood education platforms (which remains a separate entity from Lunchline Youth Brands). Lunchline leverages this firsthand industry experience to support and scale high-quality education brands. For more information, visit lunchlinepartners.com.

About Trivest

Trivest Partners, headquartered in Miami, with a presence in Charlotte, Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, New York, and Toronto, is a private investment firm that focuses exclusively on the support and growth of founder-led and family-owned businesses. The firm has multiple dedicated investment approaches, including both majority and minority flexibility for founders.