How a homegrown online mattress startup is beating some stiff competition

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Dromma Bed

Buying a new mattress can be exhausting. First, you do your research, and then you have to travel to a store to deal with aggressive salespeople and an overwhelming number of options. You lie on each bed, finally find one you think you like, and of course it costs way more than you want to spend. Even after haggling the price down a bit, you're still unsure. How can you commit unless you've actually slept on it for at least a few nights? It's an unpleasant experience.

Fortunately, some innovative material technologies have led the way for another option. In recent years, a wave of online-only "bed in a box" mattress startups have emerged with a common goal: Make mattress buying easier, even painless. And one of the newest entries into the market, the family-owned Drömma Bed, is making waves and overcoming stiff competition.

Designing 'the most comfortable bed you'll ever own'

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Dromma Bed

Bigger is better: Drömma Bed mattresses are 12 inches rather than 10.

Since its launch in May 2015, North Carolina-based Drömma (the Swedish word for "dream") has managed to thrive as a small homegrown company in the massive cutthroat mattress industry, a space traditionally dominated by a few corporate retailers.

Drömma attributes its success to its commitment to superior American-made craftsmanship, personalized customer service, and its Southern roots - and by selling what the company describes as "the most comfortable bed you'll ever own."

Drömma was launched on a bootstrap budget by Derek Ridge and Rob Birkett (Ridge's soon-to-be father-in-law). Although the once booming manufacturing hubs around their hometown of Greensboro, North Carolina, have been wiped out by foreign outsourcing, they're still home to some of the oldest foam and textile producers in the US. So Ridge and Birkett spent months working with local industry experts to develop the signature Drömma Bed design.

The company's goal was simple: Engineer a "ridiculously comfortable" memory-foam bed, build it with high-quality American-made materials, pack it into a small box, and sell it at an affordable price. And by all accounts they've succeeded.

Drömma created its ultracomfortable design by combining many of the advanced features found in high-end foam mattresses that can sell for thousands of dollars, such as a ventilated latex top layer, a special cooling gel memory-foam layer, and a 12-inch construction instead of the industry standard 10 inches. The mattresses incorporate eco-friendly, soy-based foam to replace a portion of the typical petroleum-based foam polymers. And by shipping directly from the factory to the customer, Drömma cuts out the middlemen and offers luxury quality for a much more affordable price.

Once you order a mattress through Drömma's website, it's shipped right to your door in a conveniently sized box within a few days. Simply open it up, and the bed expands into its final size (up to California King). For those afraid to commit, every Drömma comes with a 200-night trial period with free returns and exchanges - twice as long as some of its competitors.

Connected to the community

Dromma Bed founder picture

Dromma Bed

Derek Ridge and Rob Birkett launched Drömma in May 2015.

Aside from its innovative product design, one of the biggest things setting Drömma apart from the crowd of corporate mattress companies is its strong sense of community values.

Ridge and Birkett committed to sourcing and manufacturing their beds 100% locally to support the Southern textile economies. Every mattress is made within a short drive of the founders' hometown; it's a move they see as a small step to combat the wave of outsourcing destroying many US manufacturing sectors.

Drömma gives back to that community as well, participating in programs with nonprofits to provide free new beds to low-income families in need. Every returned bed in good condition gets picked up and donated to a nearby charity.

The rapid growth of the online mattress industry is changing the way Americans buy their beds. Drömma Bed is showing that even a small company can make a big splash in a crowded industry by offering a high-quality product and staying true to its roots.

"We hope our customers will love the Drömma Bed as well as the values and American craftsmanship that go into making it," Ridge says. "We're confident we can give our customers the best sleep of their life on a bed they can be proud to sleep on."

Find out more about Drömma.

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