MAM
The Sleep Company targets Rs 80-85 cr ad spend
Mumbai: The Sleep Company (TSC), a comfort-tech brand, is eyeing to achieve profitability by the end of FY25. The company has embarked on its brand-building journey for the last 12 months, with nearly one-third of its expenditure now allocated to brand building. Having launched its 100th store in India, the company is further looking to solidify its market position by enhancing its omnichannel presence. To support this, the company has set its advertising and marketing budget to be INR 80-85 Cr for FY25. While 75-80 per cent of expenditure will be on digital platforms, traditional media spending will be around 20-25 per cent.
In just 4.5 years since its inception, the company has touched a significant milestone of achieving INR 500 crore ARR (Annual Recurring Revenue). It is India’s fastest D2C brand to open 100 COCO (Company-owned, Company-operated) stores in just two years since venturing into offline retail. The company opened its first store in Bengaluru in June 2022.
The Sleep Company is well-positioned to reach the INR 1000 crore revenue mark in the next 2-3 years. This smart goal is the leadership’s strategic vision and will be driven by a comprehensive growth strategy, with expansion plans across India.
The Sleep Company has doubled sales every year since its inception, documenting a 2.3X surge in its sales last year. The company drives 85per cent of its sales from its omnichannel presence, including physical stores and online, through its website. It has the largest market share for office chairs in India, having witnessed a remarkable 10X growth since the inception of its chair category. It is looking to double its market share in the next 24 months with the recent launch of its chair brand, ‘ErgoSmart by The Sleep Company’.
The Sleep Company co-founder Priyanka Salot said, “Innovative products, a strategic omnichannel presence, and a determined focus on customer satisfaction have fuelled our tremendous growth and expansion. Central to our success is our proprietary SmartGRID technology, which gives us a distinct advantage in the market. Our long-term objective is to become the undisputed leader in our field by continually introducing innovative products and expanding our offerings. We believe that integrating AI into our solutions will further enhance the customer experience. We are deeply grateful to everyone who has played a part in this journey and we are concerned about the interest of all our stakeholders. Our commitment to enhancing people’s lives with our top-notch sitting and sleep solutions is stronger than ever.”
Founded in 2019 by Priyanka and Harshil Salot, TSC is the world’s first and only provider of SmartGRID technology, revolutionizing sleep and sitting solutions. As one of the country’s fastest-growing brands, it is at the forefront of reshaping both the D2C and the omnichannel landscape in the mattress industry. The company offers a host of products including mattresses, sofa, pillows, cushions, bedding, office chairs, smart recliner bed etc.
Commenting on this achievement, The Sleep Company chief marketing officer Ripal Chopda said, “Reaching our 100th store signifies our team’s dedication and the trust our customers have placed in us. Through our COCO model, we control the in-store experience, and our sleep labs give them a first-hand touch and feel of the technology behind our products, elevating customer engagement. We are now gearing up for a new phase of growth, driven by strategic marketing initiatives predominantly towards brand-building initiatives. Our focus will be on creating more personalized and engaging experiences for our customers, leveraging data-driven insights and innovative campaigns to elevate our brand.”
The Sleep Company’s marketing blueprint includes a significant push in digital marketing, driven by a tailored media mix model for each market. These media channels will include platforms such as TV in regional markets, print media, and social media. As part of TSC’s marketing strategy, the company has been leveraging its collaborations with prominent Bollywood and TV celebrities to engage with its existing and potential consumers.
MAM
Brands push beyond compliance as trust takes centre stage
ASCI AdTrust Summit 2026 spotlights shift from legal checks to credibility.
MUMBAI: In a world where a disclaimer can be legally sound yet socially suspect, brands are learning that compliance may tick boxes but trust wins markets. At the inaugural ASCI AdTrust Summit 2026, a panel on “Beyond Compliance: The New Currency of Trust” unpacked a growing industry reality: the gap between what the law permits and what consumers accept is widening and fast.
Moderated by Meenakshi Ramkumar of National Law School of India University, the discussion brought together leaders across law, marketing and academia to examine how brands must evolve in a digital ecosystem increasingly shaped by scrutiny, scepticism and speed.
Ramkumar set the tone by highlighting a critical shift, advertising today operates in the same digital space that fuels misinformation, scams and fake news, making credibility harder to establish. “The challenge is not just about what brands do, but the broader context of low institutional trust,” she noted, adding that when violations go unchecked, trust erodes not just in brands but in the regulatory system itself.
This vacuum, she said, has given rise to consumer activism from boycotts to social media backlash as a parallel accountability mechanism.
For Amit Bhasin, Chief Legal Officer at Marico, the distinction was clear, legal compliance is non negotiable, but insufficient. “Compliance is the minimum threshold. The real challenge is staying aligned with changing consumer expectations,” he said.
He pointed to how advertising narratives have evolved from traditional depictions of gender roles to more shared responsibilities reflecting a broader societal shift. “Earlier, it was fine to show one person doing the household work. Today, that may not land well. Consumers expect brands to reflect reality,” Bhasin observed.
He also highlighted internal debates where campaigns that may be legally permissible are still rejected for being culturally insensitive, noting that responsible advertising often requires asking uncomfortable questions before the public does.
If compliance is the baseline, reputation is the battlefield.
Bhasin noted that reputational risk has become a far greater concern than legal exposure, particularly in an era where campaigns can be dissected within hours online. “Earlier, a controversial ad might invite a newspaper editorial. Today, within hours, you’re at the centre of a storm,” he said.
Brands, he added, now evaluate campaigns through a dual lens legal viability and reputational vulnerability with the latter often proving more decisive.
From a healthcare perspective, Satish Sahoo of Cipla Health underscored the complexity of operating within fragmented yet stringent regulatory frameworks, spanning drugs, food, cosmetics and Ayush. “Anything under a drug licence is the most tightly regulated,” he said, adding that this necessitates proactive, not reactive, compliance.
He shared an example from the oral rehydration salts (ORS) category, where Cipla resisted the temptation to position products aggressively despite competitive pressure. “Our product is WHO compliant, and our communication reflects that. We chose not to blur the lines, even if others did,” he noted.
The long term payoff, he suggested, lies in credibility built over consistency, not quick wins.
Yet, as Harsha N of National Law School of India University pointed out, even perfect compliance does not guarantee trust. Drawing from historical and modern examples from exaggerated product claims in the 1800s to contemporary environmental and health advertising, he argued that legal frameworks often lag behind consumer expectations. “A brand can be fully compliant and still be perceived as misleading,” he said, citing instances where fine print disclosures fail to reach or convince the average consumer. He added that larger companies carry a disproportionate responsibility to set ethical benchmarks, even in areas where the law remains silent.
The conversation also turned to digital advertising, where the challenge extends beyond content to how ads are experienced. From algorithmic targeting to personalised messaging, brands now operate in an environment where regulation struggles to keep pace with technology.
Sahoo noted that social media has amplified awareness, with influencers and consumers increasingly scrutinising product claims and calling out inconsistencies. “Awareness has gone up dramatically. People are questioning what goes into products and what brands are saying,” he said.
The role of self regulatory bodies such as Advertising Standards Council of India also came under the spotlight.
Harsha acknowledged that while SROs play a crucial role, they are not immune to criticism, particularly around perceived conflicts of interest and enforcement gaps. “SROs have a higher threshold of responsibility not just to interpret the law, but to anticipate societal expectations,” he said.
He added that failures in self regulation often push the burden back onto government intervention, underscoring the need for stronger, more proactive oversight.
One of the more nuanced debates centred on whether building trust comes at a cost. While Sahoo acknowledged that quality and compliance can increase costs, he argued that companies must absorb them as part of their long term strategy.
Bhasin, however, framed the challenge differently not as cost, but as competitiveness in a market where not all players play by the same rules. “The real tension is when others cut corners and you choose not to,” he said.
The panel concluded with a call to embed trust into business metrics.
Sahoo suggested that organisations must go beyond revenue targets to include consumer equity and trust based KPIs, ensuring that ethical considerations are not sidelined in the pursuit of growth. “Trust sounds abstract, but it can translate into measurable consumer equity,” he said.
As the discussion wrapped up, one message stood out: the rules of advertising are being rewritten not just by regulators, but by consumers themselves. In an ecosystem where attention is fleeting and scepticism is high, brands that merely comply may survive, but those that build trust are the ones that endure.
