One company's tireless innovation of the sleep industry

Buying a mattress in 2018 is a very different experience to what it was just a few years ago.

Bed showrooms were full to bursting with hundreds of apparently identical mattresses at vastly different prices, leaving most consumers wondering how on earth to choose the right one for their needs.

And what are their needs exactly? Soft or firm? Springs or foam? How much should they spend? Which brand to choose? Where to shop?

There has been an awakening in the sleep industry in recent years that dates back to the summer of 2013 when four entrepreneurs came together in a co-working space in New York and founded Casper.

With the intention of flipping the mattress industry on its head, they revolutionised everything from the shopping experience (online only with next day delivery and 100-night trial) to the product itself (one perfect mattress for all sleepers).

Fast forward to 2018 and the concept has taken hold so much so you’d be forgiven for forgetting mattresses were ever bought anywhere but online, and that they ever had anything but the cutest of human names.

But it doesn’t stop there.

Casper and its peers appear to have sparked a revolution in sleep, which has spread like wildfire due to their competitive social media advertising campaigns and celebrity backings.

Sleep has been redefined as one of the key pillars of a healthy lifestyle on both sides of the Atlantic.

Keen to keep abreast of the movement, a recent report by the brand identified a whole new generation of people categorised by their uncompromising new love of bed.

Those belonging to ‘Generation Bed’ would sacrifice a night out (28%), skip a gym class (23%), give up their computer or smart phone (19%) or even shun a promotion (5%) for more time in their new beds.

What’s more, these days, no meal is worth getting out of bed for, meaning 65% frequently eat multiple meals in bed - including lunch (21%), dinner (26%) and even afternoon tea (14%).

Constantin Eis, co-founder of Casper, said: “At Casper we believe that sleep is much more than one of life’s fundamental necessities.

“We love our beds, and have long thought that ‘bedtime’ is much more than a synonym for ‘sleeptime’.”

But not content with revolutionising one global industry and sparking an international trend, Casper has bigger plans still.

First up: the environment.

According to the National Beds Foundation, more than 167,000 tonnes of mattresses are sent to landfill each year in the UK.

In an effort to tackle this growing environmental crisis head-on, this year Casper launched a new service in which they will collect your old mattress and recycle it when your new Casper is delivered.

Every mattress will be sorted and the individual parts separated, sanitised and recycled by a variety of different UK industries.

Following the process, your old mattresses could be turned into carpet or even isolation material.

Next up: travel.

Passengers flying stateside from UK airports can now enjoy Casper-engineered sleep products on American Airlines flights, transforming their in-flight sleep experience.

They’ll get a mattress pad especially engineered for flights, two different pillows, a duvet, blanket - and even Casper pyjamas and slippers.

So they will sleep soundly during their hop across the pond.

It is no wonder Casper was named one of Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies in the World.

All that remains to be seen is what the future holds for sleep, but one thing’s for sure, dreams are the limit.