In Conversation With - Kabir Siddiq, Founder & CEO, SleepyCat
1: What led to the creation of SleepyCat? Walk us through the journey.
The Journey of SleepyCat began when I entered the old and unchanged mattress Industry. I realized a big gap existed in the market between manufacturing a mattress and eventually delivering it to a consumer. This long chain; mostly distribution, logistics, warehousing, and retail, severely inflated the price of a mattress without reason. In addition, the quality and structure of a mattress being sold at a price like that were nowhere close to being comparable or justified! To top it all, mattress shopping was troublesome with so many unnecessary choices. We wanted to simplify this and make the process of mattress-shopping fun and easy while delivering a world-class product through just four simple clicks!
2: What comprises the product portfolio? How many SKUs do you offer on your website at present?
From introducing India to the concepts of 'mattress-in-a-box' we have grown into a complete sleep solutions brand where we not only provide mattresses but also other bedding essentials that add luxury to your sleep routine. Our current product portfolio includes Gel Memory Mattresses - 6 inch & 8 inch, 7 inch Latex Mattress; Pillows - Memory Foam, Cuddle (best known as pregnancy or lumbar pillow), Cloud (Microfiber Pillow) -all with cases, Single & Double all season comforters, Bed Base - Metal Base & DIY Ohayo Bed, Weighted Blankets, Pet Beds - regular & orthopedic
3: SleepyCat is a D2C brand. How do you peg the growth of the brand in this sector? Did the brand see an increased demand in the pandemic?
We see a large growth in the online segment as more people from tier 2 and tier 3 cities develop trust in online marketplaces. That coupled with the pricing and service offered by these brands make it a much more attractive deal for consumers. Things will be easier, cheaper and more achievable.
We have achieved a great product market fit that can be seen with our mattress being the highest rated in the country. We’re now geared to scale up our operations. We plan to expand our design capabilities by building a state of the art design lab, have more warehousing across 6-8 cities for 1-2 day delivery to all Tier 1-2 cities and max 3-4 day anywhere in India.
While the pandemic did affect the business at the beginning due to delivery being restricted to essential services, we have actually seen a growth in the months since lockdown got lifted. There has been a renewed consumer focus on their homes and wellbeing.
4: What are the innovations undertaken by SleepyCat in the D2C Sleep Solutions?
We focus highly on RnD while developing our products. After all, this 'Mattress-In-A-Box' brand was founded after understanding the vast disparity between the traditional market and the requirements of the consumers. Our research is done at every level of the business right from material procurement to customer journey. SleepyCat believes in quality experiences and hence we continuously try to improve our standards and provide the best quality for our customers.
We pride ourselves on introducing India to products that include a DIY bed(can be assembled in just 5 mins), weighted blankets and an orthopedic bed for pets.
5: Many D2C brands are now taking the omnichannel route to be able to cater to a larger audience. Do you plan on doing the same for SleepyCat? If yes, by when?
We have covered all bases in the online marketing platform, we’re present on all social platforms and very actively work with creators and influencers across platforms. Recently we were also part of an offline exhibition in Delhi. We have plans on launching experience centres soon.
6: What are your future plans for SleepyCat?
We have achieved a great product market fit that can be seen with our mattress being the highest rated in the country. This is evident on Google, FaceBook and Amazon rankings. We’re now geared to scale up our operations. Our plan is to expand our design capabilities by building a state of the art design lab, have more warehousing across 6-8 cities for 1-2 day delivery to all Tier 1-2 cities and max 3-4 day anywhere in India.
SleepyCat has many exciting products lined up for release in the next quarter. We are looking forward to creating an extension of multi-functional accessories for our Ohayo Bed, variants for our pillows and comforters. The second half of the year is an exciting time with multiple product launches – all designed to deliver maximum comfort.
