Ralph Rossdeutscher, who founded mattress maker Natura World in Cambridge, Ontario, in 1994, has regained control of the brand’s intellectual property.
He also has signed a licensing agreement with manufacturer Blue Bell Mattress Co., based in East Windsor, Connecticut. Blue Bell has the right to produce and distribute the Natura brand throughout the United States.
Rossdeutscher was president and company principal of Natura World in 2011 when it filed for bankruptcy protection under the Canadian Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act. In 2012, when attempts to restructure failed, the former Spring Air Sommex mattress maker acquired most of Natura’s assets, but it too filed for bankruptcy and ceased operation in 2015.
According to a news release, Rossdeutscher plans to rebuild the brand in Canada and throughout the world using a licensing model with independent manufacturers. Natura was one of the first mattress brands to focus on an organic and natural product strategy.
Natura mattress production is expected to begin this month at Blue Bell’s 200,000-square-foot manufacturing plant. Blue Bell’s distribution network encompasses 1,500 retail outlets from Maine to Florida and as far west as Illinois. In 2014, Longroad Asset Management acquired a majority stake in the company, which does a significant private label business and is the largest domestic King Koil licensee.
