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We Intend To Aggressively Expand Our Business Into The Tier II And Tier III Markets: Punit Jindal, MD, Sleepsia

We are soon launching an innovative range of pregnancy pillows, body pillows, kids’ pillows, and new variants of microfiber pillows.

Please tell us about your venture. How did you come up with the idea, and what has been the journey so far?

Founded in 2018, we started our venture from India and the United States with the primary vision to address the improper sleep cycle or shoulder or neck pain issues among modern-age generations. After extensive research, we discovered that untimely exhaustion had become a typical output of today's action-packed lifestyle. After a long day, the quickest way to recharge your body is by having a good night's sleep, but it is easier said than done. A considerable portion of the world population doesn't feel relaxed even after sleeping seven to eight hours. Why? One of the primary reasons is they don't have adequate sleep accessories, especially pillows. Needless to say, the right pillow can 'make or break' sleeping habits.

Keeping this in mind, we came up with a variety of premium-grade pillows. Our portfolio has many high-end genres, including memory foam, cervical, contour-shaped, half-moon, lumbar-support, knee-support, and orthopedic pillows. In particular, our contour-gel memory foam pillows are even recommended by physiotherapists for patients suffering from cervical pain.

Our journey has been fairly successful. In fact, we generated profit in the first year itself. Over the period, we have served 2,00,000 happy customers and strengthened our product portfolio. We also expanded our footprint in the international market going beyond the US market and venturing into countries like Canada, Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Netherlands, and Poland.

Can you share some details about products and offerings as per consumer traction?

We have an excellent hold in the western market. In fact, 80% of the orders we get are from western countries. The remaining 20% come from other parts of the world, including India. At present, we deliver 500+ orders daily, out of which 80% of orders are for Bamboo Pillow. These pillows are top-rated in the western markets. On the other hand, Bamboo, Cervical, and Lumbar Support Pillows are massively popular in the eastern regions.

How innovative and tech-led is the product range of sleep pillows?

At Sleepsia, our primary motive is to promote customers' overall emotional and mental wellness. To do so, we have created a unique confluence of cutting-edge technology and smart innovation

deeply rooted in our wide-ranging pillow variety. For instance, our memory foam pillows have an exclusive slow rebound element. Our pillows are also durable, hypoallergenic, sculpt easily to the shape of the customer's back or neck, and provide full support. Furthermore, our ergonomic pillows are specially designed to target pain points, relieve pressure, and enhance comfort, making them extra useful for people spending long hours glued to a desk.

What are the consumer demand and scope strategies for the Indian market? 

The US sleep market is valued at USD 30 billion. In contrast, the Indian sleep market is still nascent, so there is a huge demand here. However, Indian consumers are gradually becoming aware of how sleep products like bamboo, memory foam, cervical, and other pain-relief pillows can help them stay physically and mentally healthy. At present, around 10%-12% of our orders come from the Indian Territory. We expect this number to shoot up to at least 15% this year. Till date, we have served 2,00,000 happy customers. We aim to scale our number up to 3,000,00 happy sleepers by the end of 2022.

What are your future expansion plans for India and the rest of the world? Which countries are you looking to expand your offerings into and why?

We have already established our production capacities in India to meet the supply-chain demand. We are now focusing on expanding it further. To do so, we are working on strengthening our product portfolio by adding valuable products such as pregnancy pillows, body pillows, and kids’ pillows.

In terms of growing businesses in other countries, we plan to foray into the Middle East market. The market scope is enormous there, and we plan to make the most of it.

What about the funds? Are you looking for funds to fulfill your expansion plans? If so, can you share some details about your investors?

We have not raised funding as of now, but we are open to high-yielding partnerships with marquee investors and venture capitalists. Having said that, we have enough internal funds to back our immediate expansion plans. To be precise, we are looking forward to having a fruitful partnership, but that aspect alone doesn't steer our business.

What is your outlook for the year 2022? What will be the hottest trends in the sector?

2022 seems a promising year for us. We are gearing up to launch a few more products and are optimistic about achieving a positive consumer’s response.

Given the rising health consciousness triggered by the ongoing pandemic, more and more people have switched over to pain relief pillows and invested in sleep products & accessories. This trend will continue for days to come. In fact, the sleep market is projected to grow at a CAGR of a minimum of 10%. It is also forecasted that with the advancement in technology and awareness, many customers may switch from the traditional street-side shops and local ginners to branded sleep products.

Which market is you planning to tap currently and which market is poised to have the most potential?

With more products coming into our portfolio, we aim to expand our footprint further in the Middle East and the Indian Territory.

As per market research reports, the US sleep market is valued at USD 30 billion. In contrast, the Asia-Pacific sleep aids market was estimated to be around USD 11.95 billion. The inference from both stats suggests that the Indian sleep market is still underpenetrated compared to the US market. Therefore, it has more potential to flourish.

As an entrepreneur, what difficulties or challenges have you faced while setting up a unique startup or a market that is clearly untapped?

Every challenge is an opportunity to succeed. The supply chain was a massive problem when we started catering to the global sleep accessory requirements. We had to import products from China and then take it forward. But gradually, we strengthened our production capacities in India and ensured that supply chain operations were smooth.

Particularly in the Indian market, the biggest challenge was consumer awareness. Even now, a lot of people don't know about a variety of pillows like memory foam, bamboo, and others that can effectively offer backache or neck pain relief. As per the World Sleep Foundation, pillows need to change after every two years. This basic sleep hygiene needs to be always practiced. Most people had no idea about such facts.

So, to resolve this awareness gap among Indian consumers, we started making people aware of the benefits of these specially designed pillows. We also spread awareness about ergonomically designed pillows that target pain points, relieve pressure, and enhance comfort. Driving awareness is not a one-day process, but we can say that we made a difference in promoting adequate sleeping habits and hygiene.

What are your plans for Sleepsia in 2022? What is coming ahead for the brand?

For 2022 and upcoming years, we have highly-ambitious plans. At present, we are working on creating strategies to expand our global footprint beyond tier-I cities. Not only in India and the United States but in every country Sleepsia operates, we are planning to introduce ourselves in the tier-II and tier-III market aggressively.

Shed some light on the upcoming products that are supposed to be launched soon.

Leveraging our experience of dealing in the international market, we are in the process of extending our innovative world-class product portfolio filled with state-of-the-art pillows.

We are soon launching an innovative range of pregnancy pillows, body pillows, kids’ pillows, and new variants of microfiber pillows.

What revenue and growth (in revenue as well) are you expecting to generate this year?

Since its inception, Sleepsia has catered to more than 2,00,000 happy sleepers worldwide and rolls out 500+ orders daily. Considering this, our projected global revenue for 2021-22 is expected to be between USD 3 to 3.5 million. For the Indian market separately, the projected revenue during this period is forecasted to be between INR 20 million and 30 million.

The brand is planning to launch customer experience labs in India. Could you please elaborate on this? When can we expect this to be released, and where will these stores be located?

Most customers have an inadvertent emotional attachment to products. It is primarily determined by how customers feel about a product before, during, and after using it. We aim to deliver the best customer experience for which we are establishing customer experience labs. These labs will be used specifically to conduct research, develop, manufacture and market the product or service at par with customers' expectations and surpass it eventually.

Please share some inputs around upcoming strategic tie-ups for brand promotion across the globe?

To effectively scale up our business, we are gearing up to join forces with several MSMEs and SMEs, including technology, R&D firms, and logistics institutions. We are currently in discussion with many potential partner enterprises.

What are your views on the current scenario of the D2C market in India? What can we expect in the future from the sector?

The sleep industry in India is currently split between the organized and the unorganized sectors. While the unorganized sector dominates it, we are now witnessing a shift towards the organized sector. It shows the evolution of a buyer who is far more aware and willing to pay for high-end quality today. They are also digitally smart and prefer to use modern resources to meet their needs. In the future, the organized sector market share will definitely increase. Supply chain inefficiencies will reduce, and cost-efficiency will grow. As a result, the CAGR will scale up to least 10%.

Considering the constantly evolving sleep aid landscape, we use multiple means to communicate with our target consumers. Our ultimate goal is to break down the barriers that prevent sleep science from reaching people.


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