Hi there,
Welcome to the 17th edition of "State of anew sleep".
Every month, I pull back the curtain on what's keeping me (and the team) busy at anew sleep. The good, the messy, the 'why did we think that would work' moments.
New launch: Weighted plush toys
Okay, so this one's been in the works forever.
You know how our weighted blankets have been helping kids settle down? Great. But when it comes to being portable, we know they fall short (try shoving a weighted blanket in a school bag, not happening).
So we thought, what if we made the same calming pressure... but portable? And cute?
Meet the squad:
🐶 Scooter
🐰 Skippy
🦖 Spike
They're about 2kg each, super soft, and basically a portable calm-down buddy. Some kids sleep with them, others drag them everywhere. One parent called it "a hug you can pack."
The launch? Honestly, way better than expected.
Designing these was fun but exhausting: endless debates about ear length and whether dinosaurs should be green or blue. The team had opinions.
Deep creative research
I've been talking about zero party data for a while now, and usually it's pretty standard stuff. You know, surveys after someone buys something, exit forms, things like that.
But this month we did something different. We went on Reddit.
We found some parenting subreddits and just started asking questions. Nothing promotional, just stuff like "What's the hardest part about getting your kid to calm down after school?" or "Anyone ever tried weighted stuffed animals?"
We weren't trying to sell anything. Just genuinely curious about what parents are dealing with.
And it was amazing how open people were. They told us things we'd never hear in a formal survey. Real stuff, you know?
We didn't bombard them with questions either. We just asked and listened. Since they chose to share their thoughts, it counts as zero party data.
Some of what they said ended up shaping our product launch. Other insights changed how we even talk about what we make.
Here's what really stuck out:
- Parents already have enough to remember at bedtime. They don't want another task. But if their kid naturally grabs something? That's completely different.
- Nobody really knows what "calming" means. Parents say things like "I need my kid to reset" or "transitions are hard." That language makes way more sense to us.
- People are so tired of products that claim to fix everything. They'd rather hear "this might help" than some big promise.
Reddit's become a huge part of how we understand our customers now. It's quick, honest, and way closer to how people actually talk and think.
We're going to keep doing this. Just asking real questions and paying attention to what comes back.
New design incoming
Okay, so we finally did it.
We brought on a designer to help us stop looking like we built our site with whatever was lying around.
Our product pages are solid, but everything else? It's kind of all over the place. You can tell we've been adding stuff as we go along, and it's starting to show.
We're working on the front page and collection pages right now. Just trying to make them so people can find what they're looking for without clicking around forever.
The truth is, we keep launching new products, and our site needs to grow with us.
Right now it feels like we've been sticking new pieces onto old ones.
The design is happening, but now we need a Shopify developer to actually build it.
Someone who understands performance, makes things work on mobile, and won't make it more complicated than it needs to be.
If that sounds like you, or you know someone who's good at this, let me know.
We just want someone who cares about making things work properly.
Until next month
Thanks for sticking with me through all of this.
I'll keep these coming every month. If you want me to dig into something specific next time, hit me up on LinkedIn.
Talk soon.
