nornnorn - Circular economy-based mattress subscription platform

nornnorn

2021

PRIZE

  • Model Business Award
  • Redesigning Relationships Prize
  • Green Hospitality Prize
  • Nornorn Health & Wellness IMPACT Prize
Contents

Video

Description

Circular economy-based mattress subscription platform

Story

nornnorn is the world's first Circular Economy-based product subscription platform.

We help eliminate the upfront investment on high-value, long-life products, thereby lowering the access barrier to such products, whilst reducing the amount of waste, pollution and greenhouse gas emissions produced by the consumption system. Based on our Founder & CEO’s decade-long experience and expertise in the mattress industry, the first product category that we focus on is mattress for hospitality businesses.

Available in Thailand and Indonesia since Q3 2018, our mattress subscriptions last between 60 and 120 months, durations that are in line with the hospitality industry’s standard mattress replacement cycles. The high quality mattresses provided are purchased from leading local manufacturers (our supplier partners) with debt financing powered by green bonds. At the end of every subscription, used mattresses are retrieved, disassembled and recycled free of charge.

As we scale up, we will expand our service to the B2C market and other countries across the globe and apply our business model to other high-value, long-life products, such as batteries, solar cells and electronic appliances.

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Judge’s Comments

Guillaume Charny-Brunet

SPACE 10 Co-founder & Director of Strategy

Model Business Award

Very clear pitch. Well structured, specific and on point. Outlining both business and market potential. Successfull integration of a business model into a ""model business"". For this to be truly circular and even more viable in the long-term more efficient foam recycling is key. There is significant potential in looking at this beyond hospitality but also twards B2C. Other key areas of investigation to take this further include, if old mattresses could be turned into new mattresses with a change of material (highly recyclable foam in particular); what about integrating local production in new countries; and how does debt financing powered by green bonds work in practice, and how can this financing method acommodate scale?

Mariko McTier

Co-Founder & Representative Director, Social Innovation Japan
Co-Founder mymizu

Redesigning Relationships Prize

I thought this was an excellent example of how one can increase the recyclability of a product and reduce waste by redesigning the products ownership model. In particular, I like the approach to work with hotels rather than individual consumers - enabling the project to quickly tap into an industry that uses mattresses at scale, and quickly show how the system works. I would be keen to know more about the recyclability of the mattresses, and about how it works from the hotel's / other customers' perspectives. If it can be proven to be beneficial for all stakeholders, I think this could inspire more industries to redesign the relationships between suppliers, customers and the products that move between them.

Mohamed Muse Hassan

Director, Institute of Innovation, Tech, & Entrepreneurship at SIMAD University

Green Hospitality Prize

As they said, one great way to come up with innovation is from experience. And this circular economy-based mattress subscription platform demonstrates exactly that adage. Congratulations for identifying pain points in the hospitality business (your family’s business being one of them) and responding with an innovative business model. Another good thing I like about this project is that it integrates into its business model the industry standards such as the hospitality industry’s 60- and 120-months replacement cycle. This is great indeed. The only challenge I see here the perception clients will attach to this type of subscription service. Imagine what customers staying such hotels will think of if they see the “nornnorn” labels on their pillows and matters? Won’t they think of the hotel as unable to purchase high-quality mattress hence decided the subscription model

Kalaya Kovidvisith

FabCafe Bangkok Co-founder

Nornorn Health & Wellness IMPACT Prize

NornNorn not only helps us manage the largest bulky waste in our house, but also improve our health and wellness. The team also introduces subscription model as a way to disrupt the Take-make-dispose consumption of Bed & Mattress industry to a more circular and sustainable model.

Winners