405In recent years, as people's living standards and health awareness have improved, more and more people have begun to pay attention to sleep quality. As a result, mattresses and other bedding are no longer just simple household items, but have become consumption choices closely related to health. Comfort, health, and intelligence have become important considerations in purchasing decisions.
It is against this backdrop thatCasper, an American mattress brand, has rapidly emerged.
Image source: Casper
In 2014, the Casper brand launched itsfirst "The Casper" mattress, pioneering the "boxed mattress" concept.
Reportedly, it achieved $1 million in revenue within 28 days of launch, and sales in the first year exceeded $100 million, which is about 720 million RMB. Later, in just 5 years, the brand's valuation surpassed $1.1 billion, equivalent to about 8 billion RMB!
A Startup Story Driven by User Needs
According to information, the Casper brand was jointly founded by five friends: Philip Krim, Neil Parikh, Luke Sherwin, Jeff Chapin, and Gabriel Flateman.
At the beginning of their venture, they keenly identified the pain points of the traditional mattress industry: complex channels, inconvenient transportation, poor experience, and consumers having difficulty finding truly satisfactory mattresses.
Five brand founders Image source: Google
To change this situation, Casper adopted innovative compression packaging technology, compressing mattresses into a box form that is easy to transport, completely solving the problem of transporting large mattresses. After receiving the product, users can restore it in just one minute, greatly enhancing the shopping experience.
At the same time, Casper adopted the DTC (Direct-to-Consumer) model, selling directly to consumers, cutting out the middleman, and passing the cost savings to users, truly achieving good products, good prices, and good service.
Image source: Google
Outstanding Quality is Casper's "Winning Secret"
Another important reason why Casper has grown so quickly is the truly outstanding quality of its products. The brand targeted consumers' needs for healthy sleep and designed high-quality, innovative mattresses that meet user requirements.
They divided the mattress structure into four layers: the top layer of breathable foam provides a cool and comfortable touch; the second layer of memory foam conforms to the body's curves, enhancing support; the third layer of transition foam helps distribute pressure; and the bottom layer of support foam stabilizes the overall structure. The four-layer stacked design is both elastic and supportive, perfectly balancing comfort and support, and is deeply loved by consumers.
Image source: Google
Multi-channel Layout: Connecting Online and Offline
Of course, Casper's success is not just due to its products; a comprehensive layout of online + offline channels is also key to the brand's breakthrough. Especially in online marketing on TikTok, the phenomenal social media platform, Casper knows how to "play".
Reportedly, in 2021, Casper joined the TikTok platform and began to focus on operations. To turn more potential audiences into loyal fans, Casper released a large number of promotional videos close to everyday life, including scenes of pets and people enjoying comfortable sleep, as well as lighthearted and humorous short story clips. After posting, these indeed attracted a lot of traffic and fans.
Image source: TikTok
Currently, Casper's TikTok account @casper has accumulated 111,600 followers and over 1.7 million likes.There are 17 videos on the account with over one million views, with the highest-viewed video reaching 4.9 million views, 739,600 likes, and 16,000 comments.
Image source: TikTok
This highly clicked and interactive video is very creative in content. By telling the story of a girl who has long struggled with poor sleep, it guides users to pay attention to sleep issues, with Casper products being the hidden answer.
Such creative content successfully attracts many young people to watch. To penetrate the user base, Casper also focuses on interaction, communicating with potential users like friends. For example, when someone commented "Thank you, please don't use flash, I'm scared," Casper replied, "We'll use night mode." This witty response invisibly brings the brand closer to users, avoids hard selling, and allows users to develop a favorable impression of the brand in a relaxed atmosphere.
Image source: TikTok
In addition, Casper has established partnerships with many TikTok influencers, leveraging their influence to promote products. For example, TikTok influencer @dmichaelburke shot a product video for Casper. A collaborative short video about mattresses has reached 376,500 views. The video is unique, using a one-person, two-role Q&A format to portray the scene of "the mattress is so comfortable, I overslept," naturally integrating product highlights into the storyline. Upon release, it sparked interest in the product among many users.
Image source: TikTok
As for offline layout, Casper is equally attentive.
Currently, the brand has opened dozens of retail stores across the United States, where users can purchase directly in-store and personally experience the products. It has also partnered with large retailers such as Target and Costco, allowing users to purchase Casper mattresses through multiple channels.
At the same time, Casper regularly creates pop-up stores, experience centers, and other innovative scenarios in different cities to attract user interaction, allowing users to try lying down and sleeping, directly experiencing the comfort of its mattress products.
Outdoor pop-up Image source: Google
Building an Independent Website to Enhance Brand Control
In addition to deploying on mainstream platforms, Casper has also built its own independent website. The official site is simple and clear, with product information that is straightforward and intuitive, making it easy for users to choose the right product for themselves.
Their independent site also has a mall feature, allowing users to place orders directly after selecting suitable products, without needing to jump to a separate e-commerce platform.
This "self-produced and self-sold" approach can, to some extent, facilitate user orders while reducing the brand's dependence on third-party e-commerce platforms—a win-win situation.
Image source: Casper
Conclusion
Through the case story of the Casper brand, it is clear that as long as you fully leverage product advantages, carefully plan channels, meticulously refine user experience, and steadily cultivate the market, overseas markets remain a high-potential, worthwhile track for investment.
For domestic brands considering going overseas, opportunities in overseas markets have always existed. So rather than hesitating and waiting, it's better to take action early and start a new journey for your brand abroad!
