Wakefit Success Story - How it is Enabling People to Sleep Better at Night?
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Sound sleep can work wonders for oneās body and mind. It can help you improve immunity, increase concentration, stay in shape, and look younger. Fascinating, isn't it? However, not all are lucky enough to fall asleep in a jiffy. A worldwide survey that ranked sleep patterns revealed that the Indians fall under the most sleep-deprived segment. Wakefit was established to tackle this issue and eliminate the menace of sleep deprivation once and for all.
Wakefit is a Bengaluru-based startup, which operates with the objective of bringing sleep into Indiansā consciousness and helping them take steps to improve their sleep health through a wide range of sleep-efficient products. A fully owned subsidiary of Wakefit innovations pvt ltd Bangalore, Wakefit commands a market share of 35-40%.
Keep on reading to find out more about Wakefit's Startup Story, Founders and Team, Name, Tagline, Logo, Wakefit Challenges, Revenue, Acquisitions, Awards and Achievements, Competitors, Funding and Wakefit Investors, and more.
Wakefit - Company Highlights
| Startup Name | Wakefit |
|---|---|
| Headquarter | Bengaluru |
| Sector | Sleep Wellness |
| Co-founders | Ankit Garg and Chaitanya Ramalingegowda |
| Founded | 2016 |
| Parent Organization | Wakefit Innovations Pvt. Ltd. |
| Website | Wakefit.co |
About Wakefit and How it Works
Mattress Industry in India
Wakefit - Founders
Wakefit - Startup Story | How Wakefit Began
Wakefit - Mission and Vision
Wakefit - Name, Tagline, and Logo
Wakefit - Business Model and Revenue Model
Wakefit - User Acquisition
Wakefit - Startup Challenges
Wakefit - Financials
Wakefit - Funding and Investors
Wakefit - Awards and Achievements
Wakefit - Acquisitions
Wakefit - Competitors
Wakefit - Future Plans
About Wakefit and How it Works
Wakefit was launched in March 2016 in Bangalore as a sleep solutions startup with an aim to revolutionize the quality of sleep among Indians. The Wakefit team believes that quality sleep is a basic need and not a luxury; this mantra motivates the team to focus on innovation in product development, efficiency in processes, cost optimization, and excellence in customer experience. Besides, Wakefitās superior quality products are also found really efficient and more affordable than its competitors.
Wakefit Advertisement
Wakefit currently has four variants of its core product, which can be summed up as:
- Orthopedic Memory Foam Mattress
- Dual Comfort Mattress
- Foam Spring Mattress
- 7-Zone Wakefit Latex Mattress
Wakefit had initially started with "Orthopedic Memory Foam" and "Dual Comfort" variants of its mattresses and eventually rolled out the other 2 as well. The company wants to keep things simple, and therefore, it delineates its Wake fit mattress into 4 easy-to-remember categories. Talking about the same, Wakefit founder Chaitanya Ramalingegowda said that this choice has been made to avoid decision fatigue.
With the plethora of decisions a person has to make in a single day, we want to simplify consumer's life by helping them make at least one less decision.
In line with this philosophy, the firm saw the transition from a mattress firm to a sleep solutions company, where it decided to launch bed frames, pillows, back pillows, and mattress protectors. To complete the sleep portfolio, the firm further decided to launch a maternity pillow, a nursing pillow, a pet bed, and a baby bed by the end of 2020.
In its current capacity, Wakefit is able to produce more than 500 mattresses a day and ships around 7500-9000 mattresses in a month. The machinery is imported from Europe and the Middle East so as to ensure world-class quality in terms of consistency and chemicals used. Manufacturing is done in Bengaluru, and quality checks take place in Europe. Wakefit is certified under the Certi-PUR process (for foam). The chemicals used are certified by Greenguard, an environmental institute that aims to reduce human exposure to pollutants. Wakefit invests its profits into German manufacturing equipment which in turn guarantees high efficiency and low costs.
Wakefit.co, the website hosted by Wakefit, conducted a survey and it was found that in India, 48% of people complained of back problems. Furthermore, 80% of Indians reportedly feel sleepy at work once every three days a week. To solve the increasing number of sleep-related problems, Wakefit included many innovative features while designing its products. Wakefit claims that its mattresses are made of proprietary "open-cell structures" for cool summers and that its high-density foam gives complimentary support. Body contour is another factor the company has focused on. Wakefit claims that its mattressesā memory foam provides pressure relief.
Since immigrant millennials in metro cities may prefer renting, Wakefit has tied up with online furniture and home appliances rental platform Rentomojo to provide mattresses along with the latter's beds. Wakefit is also in talks with more players in the B2B space.
The company now delivers products all over India. Wakefit sells products online through its website and e-retailers such as Amazon, Flipkart, and Pepperfry. It currently ships around 300 mattresses a day but the numbers do go up to 800 during the sale periods. Around 75% of its sales are from the top 8 metros and the rest are from the tier-2 and tier-3 towns.
Chayanika Goswami
Mattress Industry in India
The Indian mattress industry is a growing market, estimated at USD 2.31 billion in 2025 and expected to reach USD 3.48 billion by 2030, with a CAGR of 8.54%. While a few brands have been operating in the space, it is largely dominated by unorganized players. The overall market has seen very little innovation in the past few decades. With the entry of new-age players, the mattress market is seeing a revolution, with products designed and customized to suit customer needs and comfort.
As per internal estimates, Wakefit.co owns 2-3% of the overall mattress market but with respect to the online sleep solutions space, it commands a market share of almost 35-40%. As sleep health becomes a pertinent topic among wellness and health circles and as people start understanding the role of sleep in oneās life, the market is pegged to grow at a rapid pace and the team at Wakefit is confident of making India sleep better every day.
Wakefit - Founders
Ankit Garg and Chaitanya Ramalingegowda are the founders of Wakefit.
Ankit Garg
Ankit Garg is the Director and Founder atWakefit. He is a Chemical Engineer from IIT-Roorkee. He was featured in the Forbes 30 under 30 Young Entrepreneurs list of 2019. Ankit worked as a management trainee at Bayer Material Science for 4 years before starting up with Wakefit.
Chaitanya Ramalingegowda
Chaitanya Ramalingegowda is the co-founder of Wakefit. He has done an MBA from ISB, after obtaining a BE in Computer Science, and has been working closely with startups since 2012. Chaitanya has experience serving as a VP, Investor Relations, Director, and Business mentor in 4 different companies - YourStory, LetsVenture, PurpleGull Services, and Neotec Hub, before he joined Ankit to found Wakefit.
The growth that Wakefit has achieved can be attributed to the vision held by the two founders and a committed team of more than 250 employees who work tirelessly to ensure that people don't compromise with their sleep.
Wakefit - Startup Story | How Wakefit Began
The motivation to start up was born out of Ankit Gargās personal experience of buying a mattress. He comes from a strong āfoamingā background, having worked with a German multinational in the space. This gave him a detailed understanding of the raw materials that went into a mattress and the cost at which these materials were bought and sold. When he experienced the journey of buying a mattress through the traditional business model, he realized that there was no innovation in the product that was being sold; it was highly overpriced and the sales representatives of retail stores had no knowledge of the science of sleep. This sparked the drive to change the way Indians accessed sleep products in the country.
One day over a cup of coffee, Ankit and Chaitanya Ramalingegowda decided the time was ripe to revolutionize sleep and make good-quality sleep products accessible to larger masses in the country by bringing in a range of efficiencies in the business model. The growing popularity of D2C brands fueled the idea to start an online model where products were manufactured at a centrally located plant and shipped directly to customer households.
Before launching Wakefit officially, Ankit bought a few hundred mattresses and sold them on Amazon in 2015 to understand the unit economics. He made a profit of INR 60 lakh in this trial period.
Wakefit Memory Foam Mattress - Relieve Body Pain
Wakefit - Mission and Vision
Wakefit's vision is "to democratize sleep for one and all with premium quality sleep products at affordable pricing."
As an online mattress, bedding, online furniture, and furnishing company, Wakefit believes that it can educate the customers that this category too can be purchased online.
Wakefit - Name, Tagline, and Logo
Wakefit works with the vision to improve the sleep health of individuals. Its scientifically-designed mattress makes the users feel well-rested and allows them to wake up feeling active and fit; hence, the name 'Wakefit'.
The logo of the brand is colored in bright blue and orange tints, symbolizing energy and vitality. The letter "K" in the logo is ingeniously represented by a person who is fit and hence, jumping for joy!
Wakefit has opted for the tagline, "The more you know, the better you sleep" as per the brand's videos.
Wakefit - Business Model and Revenue Model
Wakefit follows a D2C business model so as to rationalize costs. The company operates in the e-commerce space and all the products are listed on its website as well as on Amazon, Flipkart, and PepperFry. Wakefit delivers to more than 19,000 pin codes in India through these channels. With 3x growth in revenue since inception, Wakefit has also maintained profitability since 2016.
The flagship product, Orthopedic Memory Foam Mattress, starts at INR 7499, the Dual Comfort Mattress starts at INR 6399, whereas the 7-Zone Latex Mattress and the Foam Spring Mattress are priced INR 9299 and INR 10,984 onwards. The product portfolio of the brand also includes pillows, bed frames, comforters, bedding accessories, Wakefit furniture for the living room, dining room, study, home and garden, kids, and more.
"We want to democratize sleep and for that it is important to ensure affordability. To reduce manual labor and increase efficiency, we are using vertical cutting and compression machines. Our customer acquisition cost is Rs 800-900, and our average ticket size is Rs 11,000, so there is no cash burn,ā says Ankit.
Since no middlemen are involved, Wakefit is able to provide prices that are 50% lesser than its competitors. The Wakefit mattress price starts from INR 5,000 onwards, which goes up to over INR 26,000.
Wakefit - Financials
| Wakefit Financial | FY23 | FY24 |
|---|---|---|
| Operating Revenue | INR 812.6 crore | INR 986.4 crore |
| Total Expenses | INR 965.7crore | INR 103.24 crore |
| Profit/Loss | INR -145.68 crore | INR -15 crore |
Expense
The firmās total expenses rose by 6.9% to INR 1,032.4 crore in FY24.
EBITDA
Wakefit managed to decline its losses by 90% to Rs 15 crore from INR 145 crore in FY23. Despite losses, the Bengaluru-based company achieved positive EBITDA at INR 65.9 crore in FY24. Its ROCE and EBITDA margins improved to 0.29% and 6.48%, respectively.
On a unit basis, Wakefit spent INR 1.05 to earn a rupee of operating revenue in FY24. Its current assets grew significantly to INR 574 crore, while its cash and bank balances were recorded at INR 17.21 crore in FY24.
| Wakefit FY23-FY24 | FY23 | FY23 |
|---|---|---|
| EBITDA Margin | -10.46% | 6.48% |
| Expense/INR of operation Revenue | INR 1.19 | INR 1.05 |
| ROCE | -21.46% | 0.29% |
Chayanika Goswami
Wakefit - User Acquisition
Ankit and Chaitanya undertook the deliveries themselves for the first 100 customers to closely understand the customer behavior, attitudes, and pain points.
āInternet adopters were our first users. We visited homes for our first 100 deliveries, and did video interviews for feedback."
Ankit shares that those experiences taught them how to improve their product in terms of longevity, aesthetics, packaging, thickness (soft/medium/hard), and helped them understand customer pain points better. The direct feedback received from the customers aided a lot in the development of the core offerings that Wakefit provides today.
Experts opine that the comfort and adaptability of a mattress can only be judged by an individual once he or she sleeps on it and experiences it for at least 14 days. A cursory visit to the store cannot give an indication of the quality. That is why Wake fit provides a 100 day free trial with 100% return policy. This Wakefit return policy also helped build confidence among customers in the online mode of purchase. The insights enabled Wakefit to model its organizational structure such that the customer pain points are adequately addressed right from the product development stage till the post-sale customer experience stage.
Wakefit.co has built a community of over 4 lakh customers and has garnered more than 12,000 positive reviews online that have propelled the business forward. The company never spent heavily on advertisements. Word-of-mouth marketing has been the most potent tool that has helped the Wakefit team build the business in a steady and sustainable manner. The firm also does a lot of online content marketing on the importance of sound sleep and health.
Wakefit - Startup Challenges
The major challenge in the mattress industry is the lack of awareness among the general public about choosing the right kind of mattresses and prioritizing sleep wellness. Wakefit is committed to bridging this gap by sharing trustworthy, first-hand information about choosing the right kind of mattress as well as building knowledge around the science of sleep.
Another challenge is making the most of the consumersā need to touch and feel the mattress. The Wakefit team believes that the right kind of mattress cannot be chosen merely by means of ātouch-and-feelā. So, the company offers a 100-day free trial policy which allows customers to test the Wakefit mattresses for themselves in the privacy of their homes and gauge whether it is the right choice for them.
One of the initial challenges that the Wakefit founders faced was to take care of everything by themselves.
"Taking care of everything ourselves was hard, as was finding the right people at the right time. We found the team through referrals and LinkedIn," said one of the co-founders fo Wakefit.
Chayanika Goswami
Wakefit - Funding and Investors
Wakefit has raised a total of $148.04 million across 5 funding rounds since 2014. Their most recent funding round was on January 13, 2023. The Funding details are as follows:
| Date | Amount | Series | Investors |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 13, 2023 | $39 mn | Series D | Investcorp |
| December 6, 2022 | $45 mn | Venture Round | Investcorp |
| November 11, 2021 | $28 mn | Series C | SIG, Sequoia Capital India and Verlinvest |
| December 15, 2020 | $25.50 mn | Series B | Verlinvest, Sequoia Capital |
| December 11, 2018 | $8.72 mn | Series A | Sequoia Capital |
Wakefit - Awards and Achievements
- Won the Startup of the Year award at the Small Business Awards 2019, conducted in collaboration with Economic Times & Entrepreneur magazine.
- Won the Business Today Coolest startup 2018 award.
- Won āStartup of the Year - Home and Lifestyleā award at India Retail and eRetail Congress 2019.
- Won Amazon Aces Gold as Bestsellers in 2019.
- Won Best Customer Service Award in 2019 at an Award ceremony organized by Entrepreneur India Magazine.
- Nominated for SABRE awards for its innovative āOne India One Wakefitā campaign
Wakefit - Acquisitions
Although mergers and acquisitions are common in the e-commerce segment, Wakefit wants to continue as an independent entity and has not acquired any companies till now.
Wakefit - Competitors
There are companies like:
- Cuddl
- Sunday Mattress
- SleepyCat
- Wink&Nod
- Sleephead
- Duroflex, all of which entered the industry in the last few years.
Wakefit competition is always raging from startups, unorganized players, and biggies like:
- Kurl-On
- Sleepwell
Wakefit - Future Plans
Wakefit plans to focus on expanding its product categories, omnichannel presence, and brand building to drive double-digit growth. They are also aiming to increase their presence in Tier II and III cities through store expansion, targeting 130 new stores by the end of FY25, 40% of which will be in Tier II towns. Wakefit also aims to increase their offerings in decor and furnishing, seeing it as a significant growth area.
Pratyusha Srivastava
FAQs
What is Wakefit?
It is a sleep solutions startup that offers comfortable mattresses and other related products such as pillows and comforters.
Who are the founders of Wakefit?
Wakefit was founded by Ankit Garg and Chaitanya Ramalingegowda.
Who are the Top competitors of Wakefit?
Cuddl, Sunday Mattress, SleepyCat, and Wink&Nod have entered the industry in the last few years. Kurl-On and Sleepwell are also rivals to Wakefit.
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