2024 was another challenging year for the bedding industry but leaders are trying to create their own good fortune in 2025.
Inflation. An attention-consuming U.S. presidential election. Soft consumer demand. Supply chain hiccups. The past year presented a number of challenges for the sleep products industry. And, aside from the election, some of those same issues have bedeviled manufacturers and suppliers for the past few years. It has been frustrating and exhausting.
But 2024 also offered some bright spots, including sustainability innovations and initiatives that are making companies more cost-effective and efficient — and giving them new ways to entice consumers to buy.
And, after battling some of these same problems for years, companies have learned how to adapt, making their operations leaner, finding new markets and strengthening partnerships. If 2025 is the year that more consumers start buying bedding again — and a few other things break their way — manufacturers and suppliers are ready to profit.
We checked in with a handful of industry leaders to get their assessment of the year that was and the year ahead. Read on for more of their insights.
How would you describe 2024?
“Surprising.”
— Tobias Kirchhoff, founder and CEO of Variowell Development GmbH, a supplier of sleep-tech solutions, with headquarters in Münster, Germany, and U.S. offices in Chicago
“Challenging.”
— Darren Marcangelo, managing director for Spinks, a sustainability focused supplier of
innersprings based in Leeds, England
“We were pleasantly surprised by how strong 2024 was for us.”
— Matan Wolfson, vice president of business development for Texas Pocket Springs, a producer of innersprings and innerspring machinery based in Alvarado, Texas
“Challenging. Although SABA will realize growth in 2024, it was not an easy task and came from capturing market share. Like everyone in the industry, we hoped the market would begin to rebound in 2024 but that didn’t happen. Fortunately, we were well-positioned with new product launches and timely portfolio expansion, but we hope for a tailwind for the entire industry in 2025.”
— Jim Turner, CEO of SABA North America, an adhesives supplier based in Kimball, Michigan
“Transitional.”
— Gerry Borreggine, president and CEO Therapedic International, a bedding licensing group headquartered in Princeton, New Jersey
“2024: A new restart; a new realignment.”
— Andrea Lazzaroni, executive vice president and chief operating officer for Continental Ticking Corp. of America/CT Nassau, a ticking and tape supplier based in Alamance, North Carolina
Managing director for Spinks
Founder and CEO of Variowell Development GmbH
What trend, economic condition or event most impacted your business in 2024?
“The uncertainty in a major election year had a negative impact business. It seems to have placed many consumers into a holding pattern.”
— Borreggine, Therapedic
“Container availability and pricing has been a significant problem for our business. We buy a lot of our nonwovens from China as they manufacture the best quality for our products, and throughout the whole of this year we have seen delays, mainly due to the issues through the Suez Canal. This has also impacted our sales to Asia and Australia, with delays and cost increases.”
— Marcangelo, Spinks
“In terms of a single event, I think the antidumping duties placed on mattresses exported to the U.S. from Mexico had a huge impact on those producers, but also on many suppliers like SABA. We’ve supplied many great mattress producers in Mexico for years and, this summer, volumes plummeted almost overnight. We’ll see many of the best producers enter the U.S. market either through expansion or strategic partnerships and, as a supplier, we’ll just try to stay close to our customers and help in any way we can in this transition.”
— Turner, SABA
“The most significant economic trend impacting businesses this year has been persistent inflation, which has caused rising input costs for our business, leading to challenges in pricing goods/services while maintaining profit margins. Key points about inflation’s impact on business: increased operational costs (higher prices for raw materials, labor and utilities directly affect our business’ bottom line); price adjustments (forced to raise prices to offset increased costs, which can potentially lead to decreased demand); supply chain disruptions (further exacerbating price increases); uncertainty in planning (predicting future costs makes it challenging for business to plan effectively); and labor market fluctuations (the “Great Resignation” and ongoing labor shortages in some sectors continue to put pressure on our business to attract and retain employees with competitive wages and benefits).”
— Lazzaroni, Continental Ticking/CT Nassau
“Softer consumer demand in the U.S. in this election year, but this was hardly a surprise. It was offset for us by growth in other regions around the world.”
— Kirchhoff, Variowell Development
What do you think was the biggest bedding industry news story of 2024? Why was it significant?
“I believe the biggest news story was the Federal Trade Commission blocking Tempur Sealy International acquiring Mattress Firm. This was a shock as I felt confident this would go through; however, I was surprised the commission unanimously voted 5-0. Will this be the big news in 2025 and it finally gets approved?”
— Marcangelo, Spinks
“Casper sells itself to Carpenter. Nearly all the online mattress start-ups are now in the possession of companies producing foam.”
— Kirchhoff, Variowell Development
“The continued growth of direct-to-consumer channels. It’s significant because that growth is coming at the expense of traditional brick-and-mortar retail.”
— Borreggine, Therapedic
“The potential acquisition of Mattress Firm by Tempur Sealy International has to be the biggest story of the year. The largest mattress retailer being acquired by one of the largest mattress brands would be very disruptive.”
— Wolfson, Texas Pocket Springs
“The bedding industry is evolving with trends that include sustainability, technology, wellness, comfort, high quality and hypoallergenic materials. As we well know, a very significant trend in the bedding industry in 2024 was the growing focus on sustainability … and eco-friendly materials. Consumers are increasingly looking for options that are made from organic, natural fibers, such as … linen and organic cotton, Tencel, Celliant and many other innovations and also produced in a sustainable way with a short, local supply chain and possibly Made in USA. … To improve and grow our markets, we must educate, cultivate and prepare consumers to seek and buy products consciously, in accordance with the welfare of their present and future lives. This will be a significant change that reinvents our industry.”
— Lazzaroni, Continental Ticking/CT Nassau
Jim Turner
CEO of SABA North America
Matan Wolfson
Vice president of business development
for Texas Pocket Springs
What’s at the top of your to-do list for 2025?
“Looking daily on X (formerly Twitter) for what happens in U.S. politics — and (watching) tariffs.”
— Kirchhoff, Variowell Development
“Keep our business model lean and mean, while remaining supportive of our retail partners and their evolving needs.”
— Borreggine, Therapedic
“We will need to focus on strategic priorities that address both immediate challenges and long-term transformation without any distraction. The landscape will be shaped by continued technological advances, evolving workforce dynamics, sustainability imperatives and ongoing societal changes.”
— Lazzaroni, Continental Ticking/CT Nassau
“Growth is key for us in 2025. We have seen a decline over the course of this year with many of our international markets showing a decline. Therefore, the business and the sales team are working hard to grow in our traditional bedding industry in new territories, but also expanding into furniture and transportation seating.”
— Marcangelo, Spinks
“All Texas Pocket Springs’ units will be glue-free by end of 2025. Our newest glue-free assembler, GenE, is on its trial run. It’s a total game changer for pocket coils: no limitations for coil configurations, zoning, firm sides, firm perimeter, you name it and, best of all, it utilizes our patented QuadCoil design that consumers are looking for.”
— Wolfson, Texas Pocket Springs
What lingering challenge that’s been hampering the bedding industry would you like to see disappear or be resolved in 2025?
“Apathetic consumer sentiment/low consumer confidence compounded by ongoing high inflation and diminished buying power, ongoing market consolidation (and) low-cost imports.”
— Lazzaroni, Continental Ticking/CT Nassau
“Cheap, low-quality foreign imports.”
— Wolfson, Texas Pocket Springs
“I’d like to see housing starts increase in 2025 and interest rates decline. Both would benefit the home furnishings sector.”
— Borreggine, Therapedic
“We see significant discounting throughout large parts of the year, which undermines the value of the mattresses that are being manufactured and sold. In the U.K., a recent initiative by the Competition and Markets Authority has insisted that both online and traditional brick-and-mortar retailers reduce the volume of discounting and the amount of time their products are sold at a reduced price. We need consumers to see the value in the mattresses they are buying, not purchasing due to the fact that they have 50% off for most of the year.”
— Marcangelo, Spinks
What is the biggest opportunity you see for the bedding industry in 2025? How will your company meet it?
“As an adhesive supplier, we have an opportunity, or perhaps even an obligation, to show the industry how we can be part of the solution when it comes to mattress recycling. I tend to look at challenges more in terms of opportunity than threat. I think this area is a big opportunity for SABA. We have several innovations underway, which range from utilizing recycled mattress content in our adhesives to debonding solutions to matching adhesive composition with the foams bonded. We see multiple paths to help our customers support mattress recycling by design, without sacrificing durability and comfort.”
— Turner, SABA
“Potential tariffs could drive the bedding industry to prioritize domestic production, leading to a greater emphasis on American-made products.”
— Wolfson, Texas Pocket Springs
“The continuation of growth of the direct-to-consumer sector. We are only mildly engaged in that business currently. We hope to figure a way we can partner with our retail customers in partaking in this opportunity.”
— Borreggine, Therapedic
“Learning how a consumer uses a mattress. When does he go to bed? What is a typical room temperature during the night? How satisfied is he with sleep? Products collecting this data will provide valuable insights.”
— Kirchhoff, Variowell Development
“We have some exciting new innovations that will hit the industry next year, which we will be launching at Interzum Cologne. Breathability is an important attribute for most mattress constructions, and we will be launching both next-generation microcoils and cores.”
— Marcangelo, Spinks
“The biggest opportunity for the bedding industry in 2025 is likely to be the growing consumer demand for highly sustainable, eco-friendly bedding products (both in terms of materials but also in the logistics/production strategy) and stopping massive low-cost imports from countries that are certainly not sustainable and eco-conscious. Our company can capitalize on this by prioritizing the use of recycled materials, organic and natural components, and sustainable materials and (by utilizing) transparent manufacturing processes and strategic onshore production … while also educating customers on the environmental benefits of their choices. Our company is focused on developing a dedicated line of sustainable products, increasing our vertical U.S. capacity, innovating in design and technology, offering transparency in production, and sourcing and partnering with responsible suppliers.”
— Lazzaroni, Continental Ticking/CT Nassau
President and CEO Therapedic International
Executive vice president and chief operating officer for Continental Ticking Corp. of America/CT Nassau
Sustainability has been a focus of the industry for several years. What sustainability initiatives do you plan to tackle in 2025?
“Our project with the Mattress Recycling Council on high-performance carbons from used (mattress) covers.”
— Kirchhoff, Variowell Development
“Our goal in 2025 is to convert our entire production to our glue-free technology. We also plan on developing an economically viable pocket coil recycling machine.”
— Wolfson, Texas Pocket Springs
“Our small business model has always been focused on sustainability. In many cases, it’s a necessity to good business practices for our factories.”
— Borreggine, Therapedic
“We are underway with a number of sustainability initiatives within our organization, but for us, our biggest goal is with our Science Based Targets initiative, which focuses our business for a clearly defined pathway to reduce emissions throughout our business and supply chain.”
— Marcangelo, Spinks
“Looking toward 2025 … key sustainability goals could include reducing carbon emissions through energy efficiency upgrades and renewable energy sources; implementing circular economy practices like increased recycling and reuse of materials; promoting sustainable sourcing in supply chains; promoting materials (with) less carbon emissions and water consumption; prioritizing water conservation; enhancing biodiversity protection; and fostering employee engagement in sustainability initiatives, all while focusing on reducing environmental impacts across the entire business’ direct and indirect operations.”
— Lazzaroni, Continental Ticking/CT Nassau
Looking ahead to this time next year, what word or short phrase do you hope will describe 2025?
“Rebound.”
— Borreggine, Therapedic
“Surprise.”
— Kirchhoff, Variowell Development
“I’m always positive and chatty. I hope for growth, innovation, resilience, expansion, transformation, empowerment, adaptability, sustainability, prosperity, optimism, forward thinking, leading edge, disruptive, flourishing, thriving, strategic and absolutely future proof.”
— Lazzaroni, Continental Ticking/CT Nassau
“Resurgence. Obviously, we all hope the mattress industry outperforms the latest ISPA forecast and leaves us pleasantly surprised heading into 2026. If it does, it’ll likely be propelled by a strong housing market.”
— Turner, SABA
“Stability, adaptability and alignment with consumer values.”
— Wolfson, Texas Pocket Springs
“My colleague and good friend Gary Melder mentioned to me ‘Thrive in 25,’ which I think is a good motto for us all to use.”
— Marcangelo, Spinks
