The mattress market has undergone tremendous changes in the past few years. Main street shops and shopping centers are still full of department stores and specialty bedding stores, where consumers can try out mattresses.

But this traditional distribution model is under increasing pressure.

The growth trend of bedding products is significantly disrupting the market. Online sales and compressed delivery and ready to be taken out of the vacuum package immediately after they arrive at their new home, boxed bed mattresses are occupying an increasing market share.

The United States is leading change. Phoenix-based Tuft & Needle launched its first product in 2012, and Casper in New York made its debut a year later. Many people rushed over behind him.

“Casper entered the market at the right time with the right business model and the right marketing method,” said Brent Limer, vice president of US sales at Latexco LLC. "Marketing expenses are so high, we are now seeing some integration of players who tried but quit because they couldn't keep up."

The point of differentiation is important to success.

"Purple [Alpine, Utah's Purple Innovation LLC] entered the market with its weird marketing approach and was able to cause a sensation because its product is unique and uses its own polymer on the top layer to differentiate it," Limer said. "If you want to make Casper or Tuft & Needle imitations, you will never be able to compete in marketing. If you have something different, you can compete."

Purple stated that sales in 2017 increased by 271%.

Limer said that another competitor, Helix Sleep in New York, has succeeded by offering customized mattresses. The company asks customers to answer a series of questions on its website, and then the algorithm prompts the buyer to choose one of its models.

Casper was one of the first companies to compete in the new all-in-one bedding market.

Eve is one of the major players in the UK market.

"We didn't think too much about the boxed bed concept, we just design a good mattress. We can optimize logistics and costs, ship free and make it faster and easier. This is our route I want to accept," Eve Said Felix Lobkowicz, chief operating officer. "But if [using our normal channels] shipping becomes too expensive, we will have to ship in a different way."

Lobkowicz added that the dissatisfaction felt by mattress buyers when choosing a new mattress has traditionally opened the door to all-in-one bed companies.

"This makes it possible for young companies with strong marketing propositions [based on] simple choice, single product price transparency and optimized service experience to enter the market. Bubbles have more modern connotations than springs, and the market is ready to be disrupted," he Say.

After the Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign, Purple launched the mattress in the United States in January 2016.

Purple Innovation Director Russ Whatcott said: "With so many groups jumping into this field, I think that without too much differentiation, there may be some kind of bottom-line competition in pricing."

"Anyone with some differentiation and a better system will have a greater chance to pass, but where the differentiation is small, the market is too crowded to last for a long time. Our marketing team has done a good job of attracting. The work of attention," he said.

Purple differs in its super-elastic polymer top layer combined with high-density polyurethane foam.

"In February, we launched a mattress that also contains a spring device, as well as some foam and our materials," Whatcott said. "Spring brings some additional complexity, and manufacturing equipment must be more specialized. Kust foam needs less start. Spring is something we think we can do, and the market will also be interested."

Some spring mattresses have more "bouncing" or elasticity than foam-only mattresses, and have a different feel.

"We don't see many other options with springs and foams, and no one else is making our materials," Whatcott said. "It makes us different."

At least so far, the reintroduction of this spring is an outlier.

Doug Todd, North American Marketing Director of Dow's Polyurethane Business at Dow DuPont, said: "The one-piece bed is driving the foaming movement faster." "It is helpful in transportation and logistics, but relatively For mattresses, it also brings a lot of comfort. I think this is the main driver of very strong growth."

Todd said that about 60% of consumers believe that mattresses can improve the comfort of their sleeping experience.

He said: “Most people think that the materials used in mattresses help improve comfort. More than 40% of people think that foam beds provide the most comfort, although only 20-25% of people today actually use foam beds. This This trend is driving more bubbles."

His colleague Jon Penrice, vice president and global marketing director of Dow Polyurethanes, said that mattresses and the foam in them are growing healthily.

"Depending on the region, it can be 5% or even 10% growth," he said.

However, as Jan Geeraert, Plant Manager of Latexco NV in Tielt, Belgium, explained, mattress preferences are not the same around the world.

"For example, in [Mainland] Europe, mattresses are thinner and stronger than those in the United States," he said. "In Europe, people need more support. If you go to the Far East, your mattress will be harder."

But even in Europe, different countries have different preferences. In Germany, higher-density foam is preferred, while in France, lower-density, harder foam is preferred. Standard mattress sizes vary in different countries/regions.

"We produce a continuous block and then cut it to the width we need," he said. "If we need 1.96 meters or 1.76 meters in France, or 1.5 meters in Spain, we can finish and cut to the exact size of the block in one production."

PU foam suppliers such as Dow are seeing new business from the growing mattress trend.

Foam density and hardness are only part of the comfort story. Todd said that Dow’s comfort science plan includes three aspects.

"There are temperature aspects, so the microclimate, [and] the ergonomics and support aspects and the third area that is more difficult to quantify, the feeling-the overall feeling of the material," he said. "Especially in the sheets, in terms of support, how do you drive comfort-oriented things? How do you provide flexibility without the need to stay comfortable all night without too many trade-offs affecting temperature and cooling? We have been researching Chemicals in an attempt to provide more airflow."

Cooling gel or coating can provide instant cooling sensation.

"This is important because it has to do with falling asleep faster," Todd said. "But you want to stay cool, and some methods that provide instant coolness will not last the entire night. We have been doing a lot of work."

Another challenge is to provide good recovery in the foam, the feeling when the consumer is stuck in the mattress, but it still provides good support.

"If it recovers too quickly--it's too strong--you don't feel that way," Todd said. "How do you get good recovery ability to keep it like a viscoelastic foam, but still get good breathability and airflow?"

It must also feel consistent in different climates.

In the past four or five years, Latexco's Geeraert said that there has been a trend towards more hybrid mattresses, combining layers with different functions. "People not only want a support layer, they also want an energy conversion layer, they want a memory foam layer, etc.," he said. "For this, you need to build your mattress with different layers. The mattress has become thicker than before, but for a boxed bed system, it is very important that they combine different layers."

He said that the layer angle has indeed changed in recent years. A single block or a block with one layer on top has gradually transformed into more and more layers.

Companies tend to limit the number of mattress types they want to sell through sheet boxes. Geeraert added that in this way they would not have endless product changes. "They tend to build mattresses of different layers. Usually these have a support layer, the largest block, and a transition layer or comfort layer at the bottom and top," he said. "For lower density materials, especially if they are produced from MDI foam, recycling issues may arise."

One-piece mattresses require very open foam. 'Even our viscoelastic foam is open-celled. Once it is pulled out of the lid and the vacuum, it will recover quickly," he said. "We try to make every comfort layer as open as possible because you have more air flow and cooling effect. When you lie down When above, memory foam mattresses with more closed cells will heat up. The new generation of memory foam made of polyurethane does not have these.

Lobkowicz said that Eve uses a combination of viscose foam and polyurethane foam, as well as some mixed foams.

"Always emphasize having good density and openings, at least on the top layer," he said. "There are some trade-offs between density and breathability. But we are mainly looking for properties related to the sleep climate-breathability, humidity, absorbance. Then there is resilience, and the support that different foams can provide in different ways. There is always a "viscose" Align with your body, but you will really sink into it, and that kind of rebound support will not sink you too much. We try to find the right balance. "

Although he declined to disclose who his company works with, Purple's Whatcott said his company sources foam from several large manufacturers.

"The important features we tested for new suppliers, and our existing suppliers with continuous quality, are backlashes," he said. "The last thing we want to do is to send a boxed bed mattress, which cannot be opened properly when it is unpacked.

"We want to maximize breathability, and we want good airflow through our foam. We work with suppliers to ensure they are cut to the correct size and size. A lot depends on how they handle it and how they are Did you get a good and firm cure before starting processing and shipping it to us?"

Most of Latexco's PU foam is based on MDI, but it also produces TDI foam, especially for the global furniture giant IKEA, even though boxed bed mattresses are mainly MDI.

"We focus on the comfort layer, where you need MDI because these layers are very thin, 3-5 [cm]," Geeraert said. "We offer a portfolio of foams with different hardness and density, so customers can choose," he added. “In Belgium, we have a small continuous production line, J-Flex from Hennecke. We can produce foam blocks with the same width as the mattress, and then cut the mattress.”

Latexco also produces products with different densities, ranging from 35 to 50 kg per cubic meter, and with different hardness. "If you want to deliver products throughout Europe, you must have a large portfolio of products with different qualities."

In the United States, Limer from Latexco's North American business said that the company is the only manufacturer that casts polyurethane and latex under the same roof.

"We do boxed pours in the US, which makes us very customizable," he said. "If the customer wants to make adjustments here and add additives there, we can do it without starting a huge block production line. Also, from a R&D point of view, it’s good. We don’t have to pour 50 feet of foam. To find out, it’s not behaving like we thought."

Vita Cellular Foams (UK) Ltd., located in Middleton, UK, has also been investing in this area. Nick Wood, the director of operations of the Vita Vitafoam division, said that the bedding market is still an area of ​​positive development.

"Vita is actively working with its strategic partners to support the growth of its market," he said. "Vita has invested heavily in the new foaming plant Hyflo, with the goal of developing products for the new mattress market of tomorrow," Wood said.

The company has seen the rewards of this decision and has launched several new products in the past 12 months.

Wood says that for a variety of reasons, most bedside table designs use only 100% foam. Each brand usually has a mattress structure, so the feel of the mattress must be high-quality and universally attractive. For example, Vita has developed many foams, including the ReVo brand.

The demand for generally attractive comfort in the bedding market has prompted mattress designers and foam suppliers to innovate. This happens faster than required by traditional markets. Changes in structural materials and methods have traditionally produced different mattress characteristics.

Sustainable raw materials have not had much impact on the mattress market.

"We hardly see consumer interest," Dow's Penrith said. "Even if you have polyols from renewable resources, you still have isocyanates from hydrocarbons. I see more interest in recycling. This is especially true in Europe, where the 2020 [EU] directive will reduce the ability of consumers to waste The landfill disposes of the mattresses."

Dow is working with German manufacturer H&S Anlagentechnik to recycle post-consumer mattress foam into polyols. New polyurethanes can be made from these.

Compared to more traditional mattresses, boxed bed mattresses that only use foam are easier to disassemble at the end of their useful life.

Vita's Wood said: "As with any recycled material, any hygiene risks must be eliminated before the material is reprocessed into another product."

He added that there are several foam materials in the company's product portfolio, which contain materials from more sustainable sources.

Lobkowicz said that Eve is open to more sustainable materials, “but for consumers, this is always a tricky story,” he said. "Do you want to say that this is more sustainable than other foams, or do you want to focus on the product that is best for their back, durability and sleeping environment? It's a balance."

Whatcott said, Purple is doing everything it can to achieve sustainable development while maintaining product quality.

"We work hard to make sure we realize what our impact is," he said. "For materials of natural origin, we want to make sure that they do not inhibit rebound and that the foam maintains its function. There was a spike in soy-based foam, but the soy content is so low that there is almost no soy." "It doesn't seem to matter to us. Don’t want to do something on a whim, we want to participate in something that has an impact."

According to Limer of Latexco, sustainable materials are more important in Europe than in the United States.

"The sustainability story is a differentiating factor, but it will only help a certain percentage of the market," he said. "Our goal is to zero landfill and try to recycle all waste into different products. We have a department in Europe that is responsible for recycling our waste and waste, but waste from other manufacturers turns it into products. "

It is impossible to try a boxed bed purchased before buying online, so manufacturers must explain the product on the web page, which leads them to talk more about material technology.

"They came to us and asked to explain how this technology works," Penrith said. "This will definitely change the situation in materials science."

Eve's Lobkowicz believes that trial and return are a good solution for businesses and consumers.

"Only a small number of people send it back. I think it's better to put the product at home and sleep on it than to lie in the store," he said. "We are a direct-to-consumer business, so the concept makes sense. If you have a lot of stores, it's not that important, but I think this experience is useful for customers."

Eve uses feedback from customers who return integrated mattresses to help optimize the product. Some returns are sold as refurbished products at low prices.

Purple's Whatcott agrees that rewards are risky. It recently started introducing mattresses to Mattress Firm stores in the United States, so people can try them out for themselves.

What about the future? Geeraert of Latexco Belgium believes that we may see more smart mattresses in the next few years. It may be possible to monitor heart rate or humidity. The hardness and ventilation can be automatically adjusted for better comfort.

"You can make your mattress smarter. If it thinks there is too much moisture, it can do some ventilation," he said.

"In my opinion, this is the bedding of the future-the integration of certain types of electronic products in the mattress. The mattress can react to the environment or the person sleeping on it in a smart way. But I No. There will be no substitute for bubbles in the near future-we will still sleep on bubbles. "

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