Sleep Country Canada already sells weighted blankets along with their mattresses. But now they will own some blankets with Jewish soul.
The bed retailer bought the wildly successful Canadian start-up business Hush Blankets, which was launched by two Jewish friends from Thornhill, Ontario.
Co-founders Lior Ohayon and Aaron Spivak dreamed up the idea in 2017. The two met while working on a program in Israel. One founder spent time volunteering with children who have special needs. The blankets are supposed to lower anxiety and help children and adults with conditions such as Attention Deficit Disorder get a better night’s sleep.
Hush earned $7.5 million the year the pair appeared on CBC’s Dragons’ Den in 2019. Now, Sleep Country is paying more than three times that much to take a controlling majority interest: $25 million.
The company will buy the rest of Hush over the next few years. Hush will continue to operate as a separate entity, and benefit from Sleep Country Canada’s national network.
In a news release, Sleep Country Canada said Hush’s Jewish entrepreneurs will stay on in their roles and Hush will continue to operate as a separate entity.
“Joining forces with a best-in-class and trusted brand like Sleep Country means Hush will be able to rapidly scale, [and] unlock attractive avenues for market expansion and revenue growth,” Spivak said in a news release Wednesday.
Watch the Hush founders as they prepared to appear on the CBC’s Dragons’ Den: