Hilding Anders relaunches “Sand by Eastborn”
In 2005, the Dutch bedding market was primarily dominated by a specific type of product category. Most beds and mattresses in Dutch homes came in the form of a boxspring and there were only a few brands dominating the market. In the Nordics, however, the continental bed – which today is the most widely purchased bed in the region – started to gain a lot more traction and it was not long before more markets started to introduce a more majestic way of sleeping.
The brands that were selling continental beds in the Netherlands at that time were premium priced and so the management team in Vroomshoop, today the home of Hilding Anders Netherlands, saw an opportunity to launch a brand that offered continental beds, but at a more affordable price point. The result was “Sand by Eastborn” and it immediately started resonating with Dutch consumers. Through Hilding Anders’ acquisition of Eastborn in 2007, Sand by Eastborn reached even greater heights – boosting its marketing spend – and by 2008 the brand was generating a record one million euros in turnover in just 7 days.
However, when the financial crisis hit, the previous willingness to purchase a more novel product offering started to wane among consumers. Consequently, more energy and resources were allocated to the company’s other two brands, Pullman and Eastborn.
Fast forward to spring of 2020, during the first phase of covid-19 lockdowns in the Netherlands – Annemiek Postma, Product Development Manager, - took up an evening course in circular economy.
“It was a very interesting course and I started to think more and more about the Sand concept. I thought it was the right concept to revisit”, commented Annemiek Postma.
The management team made the decision to relaunch Sand by Eastborn which was in part based on the company’s decision to adapt a more circular approach to production processes.
By adapting a circular economy approach, Hilding Anders can reduce its waste significantly by keeping raw materials in use for as long as possible and thus offering more sustainable products to consumers. Becoming more circular however will be a step-by-step approach as it encompasses all facets of a products life cycle. With Sand by Eastborn, the brand will in the future be able to offer consumers an end-of-life solution. Consumers who’ve previously bought a Sand by Eastborn can return the mattresses to Hilding Anders who will recycle the product and reuse the raw materials for production of new mattresses.
Furthermore, all beds from Sand by Eastborn are designed in way so that the usage of glue and the use of virgin materials has been significantly reduced to offer a more sustainable product. All without compromising on comfort. They’ve made covers removable so that they can be recycled when the product reaches end of life and they’ve also set up a system for refurbishing old beds and mattresses. Finally, another innovation that they’ve made is to use special wooden slats when transporting beds to retailers which allows for the dealers to return them to be reused for future deliveries instead of being thrown away.
“We are incredibly excited about the revamped “Sand by Eastborn” and very pleased with how it has been received thus far. When we started to develop the new range, it was important for us that we did not resort to a simple “greenwashing”, and we therefore took our time to review the entire value chain and thoroughly thought out the entire concept. The result is that we can offer a more sustainable product offer whilst maintaining excellent quality and comfort. We want to improve people’s lives through sleep, and making comfortable bedding solutions is at the heart of it. To find the sweet spot in using as few virgin materials as possible whilst maintaining the right standard of comfort was a bit of a challenge, but I am very happy with the excellent work from the team in bringing this to life”, commented Frank Abbeel, Managing Director of Hilding Anders Netherlands.