Basking Babies founder Carla Davison has secured two of the franchising sector’s top accolades after being named both Woman Franchisor of the Year and Overall Woman in Franchising at the 2026 Encouraging Women into Franchising Awards 2026.
Founded in 2010, Basking Babies is a UK-based baby and child development franchise specialising in baby massage, baby yoga, sensory play and wellbeing classes for parents and young children. What began as a single baby massage class created by Carla after the birth of her first child has evolved into a nationwide franchise network focused on helping women build flexible businesses around family life.
The national awards recognise women driving meaningful impact across the franchising industry through leadership, innovation and support for others. Carla’s double triumph highlights not only the continued expansion of Basking Babies, but also the strong community-focused culture she has cultivated across the brand’s franchise network.
Over the past 18 months, Carla has overseen one of the most significant transformation phases in the company’s history, introducing major upgrades in technology and operational systems while launching new programmes aimed at diversifying franchisee income opportunities. During this period, Basking Babies recorded a 43% increase in direct web traffic and a 14.3% rise in customer bookings.
Reflecting on the recognition, Carla Davison said: “Winning both awards felt absolutely incredible and completely overwhelming. Empowering women is at the heart of everything we do at Basking Babies, so to receive this recognition from EWiF felt incredibly special indeed.”
She added: ““I’m totally devoted to our franchisees and genuinely want the very best for every single one of them. We’ve built such an amazing network of women who love what they do. This award reflected all their hard work and the brilliant people around us, including our head office team and suppliers.”
More than 150 franchising professionals from across the UK attended the awards ceremony, which this year was held alongside the British Franchise Association’s annual Empowering Women in Business Conference at Leicester Tigers Stadium.
Judges also acknowledged Carla’s resilience and leadership during a period of significant personal and professional change, while continuing to strengthen support systems for franchisees nationwide. Through new franchisee development initiatives, wellbeing support and collaborative business opportunities, Basking Babies continues to position itself as a franchise model designed to help women build flexible and fulfilling businesses around family life.
