Bedding sources enhance comfort features
By David Perry -- Furniture Today, February 12, 2007
Las Vegas — Bedding producers are going to some great lengths to add new comfort features to their beds. Bedding buyers shopping the wealth of mattress lines here will have plenty of comfortable options from which to choose.
Second-tier and specialty bedding producers are rolling out everything from organic bedding materials to high-tech visco-elastic foam to provide unique sleeping experiences in their sleep sets.
Arcadia, Calif.-based Vivetique, which bills itself as a leader in organic bedding, gives consumers layers of choices with its new Easy Ship Bed, made with the same all-natural latex materials used in many of its other mattresses. The new bed is customizable with three layers or zones, each of which may be sold separately or as a set. The zones have varying degrees of firmness so the layers can be rearranged to make the sleep set more or less firm depending on each customer's wishes. The latex pieces can be easily rolled and packaged in a box and shipped via UPS, a feature which the company says makes the sleep set more accessible and affordable.
Vivetique's organic message is resonating with consumers, company officials say. "People spend a third of their lives in bed, so it makes sense that as consumers switch to organic food and clothing, they would also want organic bedding," said Steve Carwile, Vivetique's CEO. "As the market continues to grow, Vivetique will remain in the forefront — expanding our range of organic products to ensure that as many people as possible get a comfortable and health night's sleep."
Also touting a natural story is InnoMax, a specialty bedding producer. Its new Comfort Craft 9500 features a reversible all-season duvet top that has natural bamboo fabric and Talalay latex foam on one side, with "Cool Plus" fabric and visco-elastic foam on the other side. That bed, retailing at $2,499, can be used with various specialty bedding modules, including air, latex and visco designs, among others.
A number of bedding producers are touting a cooler-is-better story this market.
That is a major message of Dormia, which is introducing its new "Cool Gel" Mattress. Dormia says its new "cutting-edge technology" was developed after a year of research and study with key players in the medical field. It provides superior pressure relief, improved conformity, better support and a cooler sleeping surface, according to the company.
"Having a cool sleeping surface combined with pressure relief will be the next wave in the industry," said Mike Zippelli, CEO of Dormia. "We have always been huge advocates of high-performance foam, but a cool sleeping surface really excites us. The full body 'Cool Gel' pad dissipates heat like no other material in any mattress made."
While Dormia touts the high-tech nature of its new gel product, it also tells a natural story. Some of its mattresses use all-natural bamboo covers and feature insulating layers of wool and other natural fibers.
Park Place is offering products at both the hot and cool ends of the product spectrum this market. Its Sleep Therapy Wellness Collection includes a Cool Therapy design, designed to provide a cool and comfortable night's sleep, as well as a Heat Therapy design, which uses temperature-regulating technology to balance body heat.
Other designs in that collection include the Aloe Therapy, the Aroma Therapy, the Eco-Therapy, the Oxygen Therapy and the Magnetic Therapy beds, all giving consumers a variety of options designed to give them healthier sleep, according to that producer.
Comfort is directly linked to Gold Bond's newest line, the Comfort Collection. Gold Bond, one of the country's oldest independently owned mattress producers, targets the under $1,000 market with that new line. The new beds are designed to bring added value to consumers shopping in popular price points, according to Bob Naboicheck, president.
Some producers are losing sight of the importance of the market for bedding at less than $1,000, he said, noting that Gold Bond sees an opportunity to bring more value to consumers and boost its market share at under $1,000.
The six innerspring models in the Comfort Collection retail from $599 to $999.
