This year, World Sleep Day is being celebrated on March 18. This day is celebrated to raise awareness about the importance of sleep and make people realise that sleep is not a luxury, but a need.
This year, the theme of World Sleep Day is ‘Quality Sleep, Sound Mind, Happy World’. The theme emphasises on the importance of having at least seven to eight hours sleep to help our body and mind recover.
Sleep deprivation or lack of sleep can lead to various health problems such as cardiovascular diseases and obesity.
There are a lot of factors that affect our sleep, including sleeping posture, the time we go to bed, our lifestyle, and others.
A mattress also plays an important role in having a sound sleep. A good mattress maintains posture and helps
the body to relax.
The global Mattress market size is estimated to grow to $39,820 million in 2022 and is expected to reach $55.850 million by 2028, with a CAGR of 5.8 percent.
According to a survey by Fitbit, India is the second-most sleep deprived country with an average night sleep of seven hours and one minute, while Japan is the most sleep deprived country globally with an average sleep of only six hours and forty seven minutes.
Here are a few startups that are using advanced technology to make smart mattresses that give users extra comfort and relaxing sleep.
Wakefit
Founded in 2016 by Ankit Garg and Chaitanya Ramalingegowda, Bengaluru-based is a D2C startup that provides home and sleep solutions with a vision of improving the quality of living in Indian homes through its high quality and affordable sleep products.
Ankit Garg and Chaitanya Ramalingegowda, Co-founders of Wakefit
Its flagship products include Orthopedic Memory Foam Mattress, Dual Comfort Mattress, 7-Zone Latex Mattress, and the Foam Spring Mattress.
“We have built Wakefit.co on the strong foundation of research excellence and customer-centricity,” said Chaitanya in an earlier interaction with YourStory.
In November 2021, the startup raised Rs 200 crore in Series C round led by SIG to boost supply chain and logistics management, technological enhancement, and increase market spends.
SleepyCat
Founded in 2017 by Kabir Siddiq, Mumbai-based is a direct-to-consumer (D2C) mattress and sleep solutions startup. It is on a mission to disrupt the sleep category and offer doorstep delivery of a ‘mattress-in-a-box’, a product where the mattress is vacuum pressed and delivered in a box. The company ships its products through its own website as well as on Amazon.
“We want to change the way people shop for mattresses and other sleep products, direct from the factory, making the world a more chilled out place, one superbly comfortable product at a time,” said Kabir Siddiq in a previous conversation with YourStory.
In October 2019, the startup raised Rs 11 crore in Series A round by DSG Consumer Partners and Sharrp Ventures.
The Sleep Company
Founded in 2019 by IIM graduates Priyanka and Harshil Salot, Mumbai-based provides mattresses that are built on SmartGRID technology. These are designed in the shape of a grid that aims to provide comfort to customers.
Founders (L-R): Priyanka and Harshil Salot
The products are available on ecommerce websites like Amazon and Flipkart and on its own website.
“We are a company obsessed about innovation and we are extremely happy to note that the SmartGRID is changing the quality of sleep for our customers and that gives us a lot of satisfaction. We have always believed in having a very sustainable business model and have been profitable since the start,” said Harshil Salot in an earlier conversation with YourStory.
In July 2021, the startup raised Rs 13.4 crore in Pre-Series A round led by Fireside Ventures to enhance R&D capabilities, brand investment, and global market expansion.
SleepyPanda
Founded by Monica Thakur, Veerendra Koujalagi, and Suhas Masuti, Bengaluru-based SleepyPanda is the manufacturer and wholesaler of Vita Ortho Memory Foam Mattress, Luna dual comfort ortho mattresses, memory foam and microfiber pillows. It claims that its products help get relief from backache, and uses a cool gel technology that is used in memory foam.
It works as a B2C and sells products and services directly between a business and consumers.
Sunday Mattresses
Founded in 2015 by Alphonse Reddy, Sunday Mattresses is a ‘sleep-focused’ startup that offers internationally certified mattresses and pillows. It uses technology to build mattresses that help you sleep everyday as if it were Sunday.
To avoid ill-effects on a client's wellbeing in the long run, the startup ensures there are no carcinogenic chemical compounds in the raw materials set by European standards.
“It is not easy to choose a mattress. Medium firm mattresses are the best to maintain the natural curve of the spine. But elderly people prefer harder mattresses. Youngsters are more open to experimenting,” Alphonse said in a previous conversation with YourStory.
Edited by Megha Reddy