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Cover Story T


he consumer awareness and interest in organic products has grown signifi- cantly in recent years. While food has been the most prominent organic group, the desire for “clean” ingredients has ex- panded across multiple product catego- ries. According to a 2016 report from the Organic Trade Association, “sales of non- food organic products increased by almost 9 percent to $3.9 billion. Increasing con- sumer awareness that what we put on our body is as important as what we put in our body is driving the growth in organic fiber sales.” This increased awareness has had a real effect on the market as well. As the demand for organic has increased, the cost of these raw materials has gone down— which has effectively narrowed the retail price gap between most certified organic and conventional products.


As organic options have become more mainstream, consumers have become more discerning as well—not just about the ingre- dients that go into the products they buy, but the way in which they are made. Today’s consumers are not only interested in building a healthier environment for themselves and their family, they are conscious of supporting companies that are committed to more ethi- cal and environmentally sound business prac- tices as well. According to recent research from Mintel, a leading market research agen- cy, 56% of consumers will stop buying from companies that they believe are unethical— while more than a third will tell their friends about brands they believe are honest, fair and responsible. OMI’s customers tell this same story, with over 70% of sales coming from re- peat and referral customers. While many companies have tried to cap- italize on this growing demand for organic products—few can match the strict stan- dards to which OMI has held itself from the beginning. Founded by Walt Bader in 2003, OMI was built on the belief that people who are looking to introduce certified organic products into their lifestyle should have the opportunity to purchase a certified organic mattress as well, consumers’ goal is simply


to reduce their exposure to potentially harm- ful chemicals that are emitted from synthetic raw materials. That same year, the compa- ny opened the doors of its Eco Factory—an unprecedented manufacturing facility that remains unrivaled in today’s bedding land- scape. Located in Northern California, OMI’s Eco Factory was the first sleep product man- ufacturing facility in America to receive certi- fication from the Global Organic Textile Stan- dard (GOTS). In addition to being smoke- and fragrance-free, the facility utilizes air purifiers that cleanse the compressed air and even sanitizes its raw materials to reduce natural contaminants like mold, mildew, yeasts and bacteria, which could otherwise migrate into the facility and finished goods. With an equal focus on “cleanliness, quality control and pro- duction,” the Eco Factory team makes every OMI mattress and sleep product by hand. In addition to ensuring greater quality control, handmade labor is also less energy consum- ing than a manufacturing process that relies primarily on machinery and automation—the OMI Eco-Factory itself releases no toxic pol- lutants of any kind into the environment and recycles nearly all of its production scrap. “Sustainability


and environmentalism is


who we are and what we are about,” says OMI CEO Jeff Bader. “OMI has always been and continues to be the standard for certified purity. We don’t compromise with our raw ma- terials or manufacturing or green wash in our advertising. We are an authentic and honest, family-owned company and we are proud to manufacture our own products at our own factory right here in the USA.”


More than just following strict organic standards, OMI has been driving the category forward. In fact, the company was instrumen- tal in crafting the organic global latex stan- dard (GOLS). In 2008, OMI became the first company in the US to introduce a fully cer- tified organic latex mattress—and has since expanded its offerings to include more than 100 certified organic sleep products, includ- ing 20 mattress models across three distinct collections, with retail price points ranging from $1,995 to $11,495 in queen.


“People are driven to purchase our bedding products today in part for the same reasons that they buy any bedding—comfort,” Bader explains. “But educated and health-conscious as they are, organic bedding consumers want more than physical comfort. They also want the psychological comfort of knowing they are experiencing a long-term, healthful sleep envi- ronment choice for themselves and their family.” In addition to its ongoing commitment to making cleaner and healthier bedding op- tions more available to the public, OMI has also remained steadfastly dedicated to help- ing its retail partners succeed over the years. As the consumer interest in natural products continues to grow, it’s more profitable than ever for retailers to carry certified organ- ic bedding. Today, more than 80% of US households are already buying organic prod- ucts for their homes and families—and nearly six in ten consumers are opting for organic options over conventional products when given a choice. With organic demand increas- ing retailers cannot afford to miss out on an opportunity to introduce these consumers to the organic mattress category—OMI provides a wide range of products (for both adults and children) and price points so that retailers can meet this growing segment of customers. While many of OMI’s retailer partners have


been champions of the organic lifestyle them- selves, it is far from a requirement for sales success. For many retailers and consumers, the organic certifications and product purity are a secondary benefit to the level of com- fort and quality OMI’s mattress programs de- liver. “Whatever a retailer’s motivation to carry our line may be,” says Bader, “OMI’s products sell on their merits—beautiful, comfortable, durable, handmade and made-to-order latex mattresses that feature a 20-year warranty.” At the premium level, OMI offers retailers a wide array of mattress options across its OrganicPedic and OrganicPedic Earth col- lections. Since it first debuted in 2008, the OrganicPedic Collection has been expanded to deliver a wide array of comfort levels and construction choices. With 15 different mat- tress models (including youth, crib and hide-


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