China's mattress maker Sleemon dreams of world success

Technical innovation pushes bedding company to the front of the field

On average, each night Chinese people sleep for barely seven hours, and up to 43 percent of them have a habit of spending time on their cell phones in the hour before falling asleep, according to the 2020 China Sleep Quality Index, released in Beijing on March 21.

The report, released to coincide with World Sleep Day, was based on a survey supported by Sleemon, a leading Chinese mattress manufacturer. Statistical samples mainly come from Chinese electronics Xiaomi, which has more than 261 million monthly active phone users and records more than seven billion nights' worth of sleep. Since 2013 the report has been published annually by Sleemon with related Chinese institutions, aiming to raise awareness of sleep health in China.

The report reveals up to 60 percent of Chinese people stay up late three times a week, while half of late sleepers are born after 1990. Also, 79.3 percent of the respondents confessed the quality of their sleep has been a concern while 67.4 percent of them purchased related products to improve sleeping.

To tackle their sleeping problems, Chinese people tend to pay a lot attention to the mattress, according to the report. 44.5 percent of interviewees expect their mattress to relax their spines; 38.3 percent hope the mattress can adjust and support a healthy sleeping posture, while 27.2 percent hope the mattress could involve AI technology to monitor their sleep activities.

These are some of the reasons that prompted the company to launch a new series of anti-bacteria mattresses on March 21. In response to the variety of demands, Sleemon has cooperated with the China National Institute of Standardization to collect a database of 26,000 Chinese body types and to summarize 226 typical human body models based on the data.

At present, China is the world's No 1 mattress market for its mattress production and exports, according to CSIL Furniture Market Research. In 2017, China's mattress industry generated a total output value of more than $8.9 billion, accounting for 32 percent of global mattress output value.

This scale of production attracts suppliers from all over the world. For example, the new mattress of Sleemon integrated technologies provided by American company DuPont and Swiss company Sanitized AG to prevent bacteria and dust mites, as well as latex and fillers from Thailand and Japan.

The company said, through the integration of the technologies authorized by DuPont, the anti-bacterial mattress can eliminate the unpleasant odor caused by mildew, body or foot sweat and cooking smoke, making the sleeping environment more refreshing and comfortable.

Especially for people who are affected by dust mites, a tiny eight-legged creature that can cause asthma, eczema and allergic rhinitis, the company said the mattress's long lasting anti-dustmite technology authorized by Sanitized AG, makes it difficult for the creatures to live. "It can be said to create a multi-dimensional and full effect three-dimensional anti-dustmite system for people."

"We are looking for high-tech and high-quality suppliers around the world to serve our own design and brand," the company said.