[Funding alert] Duroflex raises $60M from Norwest Venture Partners

Bengaluru-based sleep solutions company Duroflex has raised $60 million from Norwest Venture Partners for its house of brands – Duroflex and Sleepyhead. 

Norwest is a Silicon Valley-based investment firm that has invested in several of large tech-first consumer companies including Swiggy, Pepperfry, Mensa, Vuori, Udemy, Casper, Calm, Uber, and Spotify.

In 2018, Duroflex raised growth capital of $22 million from Lighthouse Funds. Since then, the company has grown 3x through focused retail and online expansion led by its omnichannel brand Duroflex and D2C brand Sleepyhead. 

ALSO READ

With Rs 3 lakh, how a Kerala engineer built Duroflex into a Rs 500 Cr mattress brand

The company operates its business under two main brands — Duroflex and Sleepyhead. Duroflex is an omnichannel player in the mattress category, with 33 percent of its revenues coming from ecommerce. A B2B player, its marquee clients include the likes of Ikea and Stanley, and it is now actively pursuing export opportunities. Sleepyhead is an online mattress brand focussed exclusively on digital-native millennials. 

“In 2018, we were thrilled to have Lighthouse join our cap table. They brought in their uniquely empathic and growth mindset and high governance standards. This helped us to grow the business by 3X. The economic recovery has indeed been “K-shaped”, and we are fortunate to be on the right side of this recovery,” said Mathew Chandy, Sleep Evangelist and MD, Duroflex.  

“In Norwest, we found a similarly empathic investor who also has deep roots in innovative Silicon Valley and a strong technology focus. Their capital and experience will be invaluable as we scale our business nationally, penetrate via D2C and digital, and deeply engage in sleep science,” he added.

Duroflex with its over 50 years of expertise claims to have led some category first innovations like doctor-recommended Orthopedic mattress range, experience centres focused on shopper experience and education, and creating India’s first sleep content IP, Sounds of Sleep. 

Launched in 2017 to cater to the ever-growing demand for mattresses online especially among first-time consumers, the brand offers benefits like ‘100 days free trial’. 

Mathew Joseph, Co-founder, Sleepyhead, said,

“Our products, prices, and experiences cater to their ever-evolving needs making us one of the leading brands in the D2C space. Our future focus is to strengthen our non-mattress category which includes beds, sofas, and sleep accessories.” 

“Norwest is delighted to partner with Duroflex, which is a very special company that delivers excellence in everything it does; right from its pan-India manufacturing and distribution network to its sharp focus on product quality, innovation and consumer experience. Its strong team culture and approach to building a truly omnichannel business is laying the foundation for further scale and a compelling IPO in the future,” added Shiv Chaudhary, MD at Norwest.

The fund raise was advised and managed by Avendus Capital.