Foam House, based in 1977 by the Bhanpurawala household, has carved a definite id within the Indian mattress trade. And, it has achieved this feat largely on account of word-of-mouth publicity.
“Now we have all the time offered to a phase who understands that sleep is an funding,” says Sabina Bhanpurawala, CEO, Foam House in a dialog with SMB Story. Sabina belongs to the second technology of the household.
In its early days, Foam House refurbished mattresses. It has since developed to construct its model and presently sells mattresses and pillows each in India and abroad markets. The corporate has a producing facility and just one retail retailer in Mumbai.
Foam House is now taking a look at a digital play to speed up its progress.
Bhanpurawala is hopeful that its success within the offline area can result in progress within the on-line market. “There’s large area for giving them (on-line customers) authentically created good high quality merchandise,” she remarks.
Foam House, whereas not disclosing its income numbers, stated it has grown over 3X within the final six years.
Retail focus
Bhanpurawala says focuses on the retail phase and has an in depth relationship with architects and inside designers to promote its merchandise.
“For us the clientele is a matter of status,” says Bhanpurawala, including that proper from the start Foam House has all the time produced high-quality mattresses that come at a premium pricing.
The worth of Foam House’s mattress ranges from Rs 30,000 to Rs 3,00,000.
Bhanpurawala says Foam House, which has 20 patents to its identify, has had the primary mover benefit. Its deal with expertise has stored it forward of the competitors because it understands the Indian market. In line with the CEO, the native market calls for the next diploma of customisation, not like different developed international locations, the place the main target is on standardisation.
“Customisation in India is a necessity and never a luxurious. Clientele expects you to provide them these choices and one can not falter,” says Bhanpurawala. “Now we have grown and stayed on our monitor to make sure that is persistently delivered.”
Trade outlook
The Indian mattress market generated a income of $239.30 million in 2023, in keeping with Statista and is anticipated to file a compounded annual progress price of 8.18% between 2024 and 2028.
This market consists of each unorganised and organised gamers with the presence of main names similar to , , , , and .
Right this moment, the mattress market in India is quickly altering on account of quite a few elements, which embody rising earnings ranges, elevated urbanisation, a rising variety of gamers coming into this phase, and specialised necessities like orthopedic beds.
“The truth that so many gamers from overseas at the moment are wanting to return to India is as a result of they see an incredible potential,” says Bhanpurawala.
Actually, through the pandemic interval of Covid-19, there was far more consciousness created in regards to the want for a great mattress and this was largely as a result of advertising initiatives of the new-age digital firms. It’s on this digital enviornment that Foam House needs to create its area of interest.
“There’s a lot consciousness now on this trade. I feel an trade that was sleeping all alongside, has now abruptly woke up. Because of the digital period this has occurred,” says Ms Bhanpurawala.
She says that is primarily as a result of academic efforts of those digital firms in telling customers how one’s sleep is extraordinarily necessary.
This has led to quite a few manufacturers out there on-line in a extremely aggressive market and the Foam House CEO believes they’re largely catering to the mass phase by providing value aggressive merchandise.
Digital plans
Whereas Foam House embarks on a digital journey, the CEO is evident that the corporate won’t resort to any reductions or advertising gimmicks and can deal with speaking with its customers about the advantages of a great mattress.
The digital foray poses new challenges for the corporate because it should preserve the identical requirements similar to offline, particularly by way of service high quality, understanding the necessities of the purchasers. It’s going to additionally need to cope with logistical points, on condition that mattresses are cumbersome merchandise.
“Our focus might be to faucet into these on-line clients who’re keen to spend and put money into sleep whereas shopping for a mattress,” says Bhanpurawala.
(The story has been up to date to vary the worth of the mattress)