We all know that a good night sleep means a great mood in the morning! Meet Alex and Clara who understand how sinking into a comfortable, fresh and clean bed with the right bedding can make all the difference in getting that beauty sleep. They have gone beyond the norm to create sheets with sustainable textiles with products made from bamboo and cotton.
1. How did you come up with the Idea of Sunday Bedding?
The idea of Sunday Bedding started when we were shopping for our new home together. We quickly realized that as consumers, it was easy to get lost in the jargon like ‘thread-count’ or ‘weave’ without really understanding how this affects sleep. Sleep is also so personal, and as a couple, we have entirely different sleep preferences.
Combining Alex’s expertise in home textiles (his family has been in the textiles business supplying products to established American & European clients for decades) and my interest in building an e-commerce brand. We launched Sunday Bedding with the hopes of becoming everyone’s sleep sommelier.
2. What was the hardest part in the early stages of the company’s growth?
Building a good brand is a combination of art and science. Being a textile expert doesn’t necessarily equip you with the skills of developing a brand. Given my prior background in finance and data analytics, being analytical is something that I am comfortable with but cultivating brand love is so much more than that! Neither of us had a massive exposure to the creative side of the business, so finding and managing the right creative partners has been quite challenging. We are fortunate to have found a fantastic marketing and branding team who can articulate our brand vision. However, it could be challenging initially to find the right partners.
3. Do you think luck played a role in the success of Sunday Bedding?
Definitely! It would be unfair and a little egotistical to attribute our growth purely to our expertise. We are well aware that our competitive advantage lies in the fact that we have direct ownership of our factories. When speaking to brand owners from various industries, finding the right supplier is often cited as one of the main bottlenecks of a small business. We are fortunate to have a background in B2B textiles manufacturing so that we can focus on new product development and telling our brand story via partnerships and marketing.
4. How has the bedding industry changed over the years?
There has been increasing awareness on the environmental impact of the textiles industry (including home textiles). 90% of textiles produced today is cotton or polyester or some a mix between the two. Cultivating 1 kg of cotton uses as much as 3,800 litres of water and producing polyester consumes twice the amount of energy for the same amount of cotton. At Sunday Bedding, we offer different fabric options. We believe that the textile industry must diversify to reduce our footprint across different metrics (water, waste, energy, etc.).
We are seeing more customers trying to understand the impact of their purchase on the environment. They are more aware of the different types of materials available (e.g. bamboo, TENCEL, French Linen, etc.). This trend is already gaining traction in the fashion industry, where fast fashion giants like H&M and Zara have committed to reducing textile wastage. As customers evolve and become more aware of the environmental impact of textiles, we hope that we can play in part in this process by sharing our knowledge in textiles.
5. What advice would you give to a bedding company just starting their business?
I think this applies to any business – not just bedding – but I would say it is essential to understand what your value proposition is. Also, how this translates into a competitive advantage. This allows you to determine what are your non-negotiables and how you can scale as a business.
At Sunday, we think that direct to consumer brands should offer more than just lower prices. Diversity is a core value of ours as we provide a variety of fabrics and designs to pair with your lifestyle preferences. Not only that, but we also believe that it is the way forward towards building a sustainable textiles economy.
If you strive to wake up to a better morning, go on to their page and start exploring!
