by HIGH POINT — In our latest Consumer Insights Now research, 26% of younger consumers (ages 18-36) said eco-friendly materials are important features in a mattress. That accounts for a large portion of future buyers, which is part of the reason Diamond Mattress has invested heavily in sustainability.
The company has earned GreenGuard Gold certification and can place the GreenGuard Gold label on all of its products, including private-label opportunities. The trusted label helps retailers communicate to the consumer that they are making a healthier choice for their family by purchasing a GreenGuard Gold-certified bed.
Jessica Lester, Diamond’s marketing director, sheds light on why the company went to the lengths it did to go through the certification on all of its mattresses: “It boils to down to our core values as a company,” she said.
“At Diamond we have an acronym — ICARE — and it stands for integrity, curiosity, accountability, responsiveness and engagement,” she said. “The certifications we’ve been pushing for are centered around integrity and curiosity. We ask ourselves questions and challenge ourselves to set our company apart in the industry, and so the processes we’ve been following to become a more sustainable and certified manufacturer follow our core values as a whole.”
Mike Juoni, the company’s recently named senior vice president of sales, says that looking across the industry, certifications like these help drive the entire industry forward.
“The GreenGuard Gold certification takes it to the next level,” he says. “Each mattress goes through a rigorous testing program, and we are assuring clean indoor air quality across the entire portfolio. Regardless of where someone falls on the health spectrum, nobody wants those volatile organic compounds floating around in their home.”
Juoni, who was previously with Corsicana, says he is excited to broaden his industry experience with his new role at Diamond. Particularly, he enjoys being back at a privately held family-owned business like he was when he started his journey in the mattress industry.
“I’ve had a couple of excellent stops in my career and have learned a lot from amazing people,” he said. “I’ve also seen very different go-to-market strategies. Diamond is growing, and one of the skills that I’ve been able to hone in on over my career is helping people create repeatable processes to help companies grow at scale. One of the things I’m most excited about here is that you have a fourth-generation business that has no debt, owns its equipment and building, and has employees with a long tenure.”
He added that no matter which brand we work for, everyone should pay attention to sustainable products in the mattress category.
“Even 30 years ago we had recycling programs like Out Cycle because we realized these big bulky mattresses were taking up space in landfills. We make our mattresses better so they last longer, and not as many end up in landfills. Anything that we can do as people and as an industry to help minimize that is going to be better for us, our economy and for the planet.”
At High Point Market, the company is telling the story of is sustainability focus through its GreenGuard-certified products as well as products made in partnership with recycling company Reprieve, which took over 1.4 million plastic bottles out of circulation last year and recycled them into usable parts.
“These are going to be talking points that we will carry forward as a team,” he said. “In addition to GreenGuard, nearly the entirety of the steel we use for coils is recycled.”
One of the specific products is a new addition to the natural latex model in the company’s Ethos collection. The Avani Hybrid is designed to meet the rising consumer demand for premium, eco-conscious mattresses and combines a foam-encased coil unit, micro-coils and 3 inches of natural latex. With a suggested retail price of $2,499 for queen mattress only, the company says this model delivers a compelling value proposition with margins of 60% to 70% for retailers.
The original Ethos lineup includes the 14-inch Cove hybrid, 15-inch Natural hybrid and 12-inch Organic hybrid. The collection is made using GOTS-certified organic cotton and wool, natural latex, nontoxic EcoFlex foam and Diamond’s patented zoned and nested wrapped coils.
The company is also highlighting its nine-model Black Diamond collection this market. Its key feature, Diamond Ice Flex, uses advanced mineral technology to continually pull heat away from the body for a cooling effect that the company says lasts over 12 hours.
“Whether you’re looking at our Black Diamond, Dream Stage, Generations or any other of our collections, we’re bringing forward the story of sustainability.”
In High Point, the company continues to share a showroom with Fashion Bed Group and showcase its mattresses on the brand’s frames and foundations. They are in Atrium on Main, Suite 206.
