Hannah Cavalier: Strategic Partnerships That Actually Mean Something: How Boogie Beat Is Growing Through Shared Values
Strategic partnerships can sound very impressive on paper.
Two logos side by side. A few social posts. A joint campaign. Maybe a press release.
But the partnerships that really work go much deeper than visibility. They make sense to the people involved, create something useful for the audience and give both organisations a reason to keep showing up.
That came through strongly in my conversation with Hannah Cavalier, franchisor of Boogie Beat Music and Movement and a finalist for Strategic Partnership of the Year, sponsored by Bex Howe from Howe to Consultancy, at The Class Business Awards 2026.
Boogie Beat has been running for more than 25 years, and Hannah has spent the last five taking the brand forward after first joining it as a franchisee. Today, the business works across the UK through classes, early-years workshops, intergenerational sessions, birthday parties, events and a growing after-school offer.
But one of the most interesting areas of growth has come through partnership.
Taking On an Established Brand
Hannah did not create Boogie Beat from scratch.
She joined the business 11 years ago as a franchisee, built her own area and later took over as franchisor when the original owners approached her nearly five years ago.
That meant inheriting a brand with history, existing franchisees and a loyal customer base, then working out how to move it forward.
Her previous career in retail gave her a surprisingly relevant foundation.
“I was in retail and I was an area manager. So I looked after lots of different shops across the country.”
Hannah describes the franchise network in a similar way. Each franchisee is running their own business in a different location, while her job is to support them, spot gaps and help them grow.
Since taking over, she has invested in new websites, props, lesson plans, training and team support, while continuing to strengthen the network across the country.
A Business Built Around Different Kinds of Relationships
Boogie Beat is not only a weekly class business.
Around 75% of its work now comes through early-years workshops, with franchisees visiting nurseries and preschools. The business also runs intergenerational sessions in care homes, where children and older residents take part together.
Those sessions can create some extraordinary moments.
Hannah shared how care-home staff sometimes tell them that a resident rarely joins activities, only to see that same person engage throughout an entire Boogie Beat session when the children arrive.
“That resident doesn’t join in with anything. And they’ve just literally sat and joined in with our whole session.”
That is the power of the right partnership.
Boogie Beat brings something the care home could not easily recreate alone, while the children experience connection across generations. Everybody gains something meaningful from being in the room.
The business now works across a number of different partnership settings, including:
- Nurseries and preschools
- Care homes
- Schools and after-school provision
- Local charities and community organisations
- National organisations through head-office partnerships
That diversity has helped Boogie Beat reach far beyond the families who would otherwise find a local class themselves.
Why Values Matter More Than Reach
When Boogie Beat approached its 25th anniversary, Hannah wanted the whole network to support one national charity together.
She did not simply choose the biggest name she could find.
She looked for alignment.
Action for Children stood out because its work around safe, happy childhoods and giving children the best possible start closely matched what Boogie Beat was already trying to achieve through its own sessions.
“When I came across Action for Children, it really just resonated with the same values that we have as a business.”
That alignment matters because it gives the partnership a reason to exist beyond marketing.
Boogie Beat can signpost families to Action for Children’s support and resources, while fundraising activities give its franchisees, families and early-years partners a practical way to contribute.
The relationship has also developed into genuine two-way communication, with Action for Children attending Boogie Beat sessions and sharing the partnership through its own channels.
Making It Easy for People to Participate
One of the cleverest aspects of the partnership is how Boogie Beat has woven fundraising into activity that already makes sense for its audience.
For one superhero-themed campaign, families could download and decorate a mask, with the £2 cost going directly to Action for Children. Children then wore their creations during a superhero week and could enter a prize draw.
At Christmas, the team supported another campaign by purchasing more than 100 teddy bears to be given to children.
Early-years settings have also been invited to make voluntary contributions through their invoices during fundraising periods, with Hannah reporting an 85% participation rate among eligible settings.
So far, the partnership has:
- Raised more than £1,500 for Action for Children
- Involved families directly in themed fundraising activities
- Secured support from around 85% of eligible early-years settings
- Provided more than 100 teddy bears through a Christmas initiative
- Helped share Action for Children’s support and resources with Boogie Beat families
There is a useful business lesson here.
If you want people to support a partnership, make participation simple, relevant and connected to something they are already doing.
Partnerships Should Strengthen the Core Business Too
Strategic partnerships are sometimes treated as something extra. Something you do once the “real” business is taken care of.
I think Hannah’s approach shows why that is too narrow.
Boogie Beat’s nursery partnerships drive a substantial part of the business. Its care-home relationships extend its social impact. School partnerships are creating new opportunities for the after-school programme, and the Action for Children relationship strengthens its connection with the wider purpose behind the brand.
None of those things sit outside the business model.
They strengthen it.
The best partnerships can create:
- New routes to customers and communities
- Greater credibility
- Additional revenue opportunities
- Shared resources and expertise
- Stronger social impact
- More visibility for both organisations
But they only work long term when there is genuine value flowing in both directions.
Building On 25 Years Without Standing Still
Taking over a 20-year-old business could easily have become an exercise in simply protecting what already existed.
Hannah has done something different.
She has respected the foundation while continuing to ask what the next version of Boogie Beat could look like.
That has meant expanding the programme, supporting franchisees to grow, developing after-school provision and building partnerships that allow the business to reach children and families in different ways.
Becoming a finalist for Strategic Partnership of the Year feels particularly fitting because partnership is not one isolated campaign within Boogie Beat.
It is part of how the business operates.
Watch the Full Interview
In our full conversation, Hannah shares her journey from franchisee to franchisor, how Boogie Beat has evolved over more than 25 years and why partnerships with early-years settings, care homes, schools and Action for Children have become such an important part of its growth.
👉 Watch Hannah’s full finalist interview here.
If you want to build stronger relationships around your own class business, The Class Business Live on Saturday 10 October 2026 is a chance to have those conversations in person. We are bringing together providers, finalists, judges and sponsors who are building partnerships, trying new models and finding smarter ways to extend their reach and impact.
The daytime event runs from 9:00am to 3:00pm at the National Conference Centre in Solihull, before we come back together for The Class Business Awards & Afterparty that evening.
👉 Join us for the day and the celebration.
