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Gravity Blanket

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Gravity blanket is a weighted blanket product originally developed and subsequently spun off from the technology media company Futurism. The blanket was crowdfunded via a viral Kickstarter campaign that exceeded its fundraising goal by nearly US$4.7 million. The blanket was considered by Time magazine to be among the top 50 inventions of 2018, with the magazine noting that while Gravity did not create the idea of a weighted blanket it "perfected the art of marketing them to the masses."

Corporate history

Futurism's products arm developed the idea of their Gravity blanket a month after the 2016 United States presidential election and the general rise in anxiety disorders observed in the general population.[1][2] In 2019 following Futurism's sale to Singularity University,[3] Gravity was spun out into its own company led by Mike[4] Grillo and Alex Klokus, Futurism's founder.[5] The company was subsequently acquired in 2021 by Win Brands Group,[6] with Grillo citing a limited ability to grow without a retail store footprint.[5] According to the Wall Street Journal, at the time of the sale, the company itself was profitable and generated $22 million in revenue in 2020, with 20 percent increases year-over-year. The Gravity blanket accounted for "roughly" 70 percent of its revenue with other sleep products also being successful.[6]

Kickstarter campaign and viral growth

The Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign for the Gravity blanket was launched in April 2017 with a listed goal of US$21,500. During the campaign's first day, it raised US$150,000—US$128,500 more than its stated goal. After the company purchased advertising, more than US$2 million was raised within two weeks.[7] When the campaign closed, it had raised more than US$4.7 million.[8]

Early in the blanket's campaign, the news website STAT uncovered that the campaign made, according to the New Yorker, "big claims on shaky research", claiming that the blankets could treat psychological ailments. When this came to the attention of Kickstarter, Gravity removed the word "treat" before ultimately deleting the section entirely.[7][9]

Sales

By May 2018, the company had grossed approximately US$15 million in sales and shipped 65,000 units after a feature on Good Morning America.[2][10]

Critical reception

According to WIRED, Gravity "is one of the best-known names in this category".[11] Writing for the New Yorker, Jia Tolentino was impress with the product, noting that while she normally had fitful sleeps, the gravity blanket "felt wonderful" and noted how "that night I slept so deeply that I woke up unnerved."[7] Tolentino added the blanket to her nightly routine and found that it "enacts a fantasy of immobilization that is especially seductive in a world of ever-expanding obligations".[7]

In a review for The Guardian, Rhik Samadder called the blanket "deeply comforting" and, despite the blanket being "hot", he was "highly impressed".[12] Entrepreneur magazine considered the product to be among "10 genius marketing campaigns that went viral" in 2018[13] while Time magazine credited it as one of the top 50 inventions of 2018 that, while not a new product field developed by Gravity, the company "perfected the art of marketing them to the masses."[14]

Writing for USA Today, Lindsey Vickers came to a similar finding as Tolentino and Samadder. Vickers felt that she "had even more restful sleep than usual", but noted that it could get hot. While she "wouldn't go as far as saying it reduced [her] stress and anxiety", she felt that she was "able to fall asleep faster and loved the blanket’s gentle embrace." She praised the build quality of the blanket, stating that it's "well designed, and it shows when you use it." Like Samadder, Vickers felt that it had a propensity to make the bed hot, stating that she "never wanted to sleep with the blanket on even remotely warm nights" as she feared she "would have woken up feeling sticky all over, and more grotty than refreshed come morning."[15]

Vickers noted how other reviewers found the blanket weight options to be limited, potentially too heavy for some lighter weight people, and that "feel[ing] too heavy" was a common complaint among "a number of reviewers". Vickers noted that the blanket received more than 1,500 consumer reviews, with some believing that it helped manage their anxiety or relieved their symptoms of anxiety. Vickers ultimately concluded that, while the price "is steep", the blanket "won't disappoint" customers who "can deal with the heat" and are "looking for a well-made weighted blanket".[15]

References

  1. ^ Jennings, Rebecca (2018-09-10). "Fidget spinners, weighted blankets, and the rise of anxiety consumerism". Vox. Retrieved 2024-05-18.
  2. ^ a b Fetters, Ashley (2018-12-17). "The Problem With This Year's Most Comfortable Holiday Fad". The Atlantic. Archived from the original on April 15, 2019. Retrieved 2024-05-18.
  3. ^ Willens, Max (2019-03-15). "Gravity blanket seller Futurism acquired by Singularity University". Digiday. Retrieved 2024-05-18.
  4. ^ "Gravity Products CEO Mike Grillo: DTC is not a business model". Digiday. 2019-03-14. Retrieved 2024-05-18.
  5. ^ a b Coffee, Patrick (April 27, 2021). "Gravity Blanket's CEO shares how he used his advertising experience to launch a business that doubled its revenue in three years". Business Insider. Retrieved 2024-05-18.
  6. ^ a b Patel, Sahil. "'Gravity' Blanket Maker Sold to Holding Company for Direct-Commerce Brands". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2024-05-18.
  7. ^ a b c d Tolentino, Jia (2018-02-26). "The Seductive Confinement of a Weighted Blanket in an Anxious Time". The New Yorker. ISSN 0028-792X. Archived from the original on March 7, 2018. Retrieved 2024-05-18.
  8. ^ Scordato, Brian (June 5, 2017). "Why $200 Adult Security Blankets Are A Stroke Of Startup Genius". Fast Company. Retrieved May 18, 2024.
  9. ^ Thielking, Megan. "Makers of Crowdfunded "Gravity Blanket" Withdraw Unsupported Medical Claims after Raising $3 Million". Scientific American. Additional contributions by STAT. Retrieved 2024-05-18.
  10. ^ Willens, Max (2018-05-03). "After selling $15 million of gravity blankets (really), Futurism created an 8-person team to develop more products". Digiday. Retrieved 2024-05-18.
  11. ^ Grey, Jaina; Giordano, Medea (2020-05-17). "The Best Weighted Blankets and Eye Masks for Calm and Comfort". WIRED. Retrieved 2024-05-18.
  12. ^ Samadder, Rhik (2019-07-09). "The Gravity Blanket promises a 'gentle, loving embrace' - but will it help me sleep?". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-05-18.
  13. ^ "10 Genius Marketing Campaigns That Went Viral". Entrepreneur. 2018-05-31. Retrieved 2024-05-18.
  14. ^ Ducharme, Jamie (2018). "Blankets That Ease Anxiety: The 50 Best Inventions of 2018". Time. Retrieved 2024-05-18.
  15. ^ a b Vickers, Lindsey (August 30, 2022). "This weighted blanket changed my sleep for the better". USA Today. Retrieved 2024-05-18.
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