Mini massage chair gets maximum exposure

Although 2010 is less than three months old, it already has been a good year for Cliff Levin and the folks at Inada USA, a distributor of massage chairs.

Orders in January and February tripled the orders received in the same two months of 2009, and that was before two major publicity “hits” that are sure to boost spring orders.

“We are having trouble catching up with demand,” Levin told me enthusiastically a few days ago.

Most of the buzz has been about the Cube, a 48-pound mini-massage chair that folds into — you guessed it — a cube when not in use. (It even has a handle and wheels that make it easy to move around.)

The Cube was featured in late February in the home section of the New York Times, and is on the cover of the spring Hammacher Schlemmer catalog that will land in mailboxes any day.

In January, the product won the prestigious Innovation Award at the Consumer Electronics Show. It marked the second consecutive Innovation Award for Inada, whose Songo DreamWave chair was so honored at the 2009 show.

Levin has been so busy that, now more than ever, he appreciates having a massage chair for himself.