Necessity is the mother of invention," as the Greek philosopher Plato famously said. It was also necessity, coupled with an enterprising spirit, which led to the creation of Blanky, the company featured in today's episode of the "Business with Impact" podcast, a partnership between CATÓLICA-LISBON and Rádio Renascença. Founded by Pedro Caseiro and Ricardo Parreira, Blanky brought weighted blankets to Portugal. A solution to help combats insomnia and the negative effects of stress.
Pedro Caseiro, holding a Master's degree in Business Administration with Specialization in Finance from CATÓLICA-LISBON, and Ricardo Parreira, holding a Master's degree in Strategy and Entrepreneurship also from CATÓLICA-LISBON, had already considered launching their own business. However, it was when Pedro Caseiro, experiencing worsening sleep problems, tried a weighted blanket and began sleeping better, that the opportunity arose. This is how Blanky was born in September 2020.
Used for several years for therapeutic purposes, particularly in Nordic countries, weighted blankets were, however, a new product in the Portuguese market. Available in various versions (including for children) and with a variable weight (ranging from 5 to 13 kg - not exceeding 10% of the user's weight), the weighted blanket promises to improve sleep quality based on the Deep Touch Pressure method, in which the extra weight relaxes the body, akin to a massage, calming stress and anxiety.
"My sleeping problems had been worsening since mid-2017, so I was looking for a natural alternative to help me sleep better because I didn't want to start taking chemicals at 30 years old. It was around that time that I came across the concept of weighted blankets," Pedro Caseiro explains. "I was in London at the time and realized that the product helped me sleep better. I presented the idea to Ricardo Parreira, and we decided to move forward with it."
It was still within the context of the pandemic, in September 2020, after six months of working on product development – improving manufacturing and refining the design – that both decided to quit their jobs and dedicate themselves full-time to Blanky. In that month, they began online sales in Portugal and Spain. A year later, they expanded internationally, and today they are the number 1 brand of weighted blankets in Europe.
One of Blanky's main differentiators is its focus on domestic production, although initially the blankets were produced in Asia because Pedro Caseiro and Ricardo Parreira did not immediately find a textile company in Portugal capable of producing this product on a large scale. Everything changed when they established a partnership with the Leiper factory in Guimarães, specializing in home textiles. This choice not only adds value to the local economy but also allows for strict control over the manufacturing process and a more solid environmental commitment. For this year, under the banner of innovation, the entrepreneurial duo is diversifying their portfolio with the launch of a new product: 100% bamboo fiber sheets, which besides being soft, combine comfort with freshness, ideal for summer nights.
Listen to Pedro Caseiro's interview on "Impactul Businesses" here.