When you think of health and fitness products, a custom pillow is more than likely not the first thing that comes to mind, but perhaps it should be? These days, most health and fitness experts can agree that plentiful and effective sleep each evening is vital to a healthy lifestyle. That’s where Pluto Pillow can help.
I had a chance to try out a Pluto Pillow, custom-made to match my body type, sleep habits, and comfort preferences. To gain more perspective on how important your pillow is to a healthy night’s sleep and daily function, I was also able to interview Pluto co-founder and CEO Susan Saeliu.
Pluto Pillow is a company based in the city of Industry, California, built out of necessity and a hole in the market for custom-tailored sleep pillows. CEO Susana Saeliu was experiencing constant neck pain in 2017 and had discovered that a main culprit in her struggle was her pillow.
Pluto was born out of necessity of a custom pillow
Together with co-founder Kevin Li, Pluto Pillow was formed to tackle a space in sleep products that remained more of an afterthought in our daily health and wellness. In a recent interview with CTW, Saeliu elaborated:
As I was getting older, I was thinking of ways to maximize my sleep at that time. Our body is so important, so we focus on our mattress so much, but our heads don’t typically go on the mattress, at least in Western societies. So your head is spending so much time on a surface that has the potential to throw your alignment off. I think having the right pillow is super essential to sleep, more than the mattress.
The two co-founders then began testing all of the available components and fillings for pillows, working alongside sleep researchers to find that perfect combination of support and comfort. The result was a hybrid combination of a foam core and a plush outer pillow.
The growing team now combines its curated materials into 35 different custom combinations for sleepers, using patent-pending technology and its own proprietary algorithm. The company continues to grow its staff and customer base and was even recently on Shark Tank, where Susana and Kevin walked away from an offer.
Lucky for me, I was able to try out a Pluto Pillow for myself. Here are my thoughts.
My custom Pluto Pillow review
To begin, the process was super easy. I went to Pluto’s website and chose to customize my pillow. The automated questionnaire then asks about your physical traits, such as height and weight, followed by ten simple questions pertaining to your current pillow and sleep preferences.
This includes questions like, “Do you sleep on your back, stomach, or side?” and “is your current pillow too soft or too firm?” The entire process, from beginning to end, took a bit over five minutes, including signup.
From there, I received my brand new Pluto Pillow very quickly, along with some cool branded packaging. When I opened the box, there was my custom-designed pillow. To my surprise, on top of it sat a breakdown outlining my sleep preferences, as well as a note with my name handwritten.
Better yet, each pillow box comes with an Airheads candy. When I spoke with Susana Saeliu, she even joked about trying to get a sponsorship from the candy brand. I fully support it and believe this was a very thoughtful touch for customers.
My verdict
After sleeping on my custom pillow for over a month now, I thoroughly love it and can say that I have definitely slept much better. I have been the type of person that has never truly loved my pillow and have many times lost the gamble of purchasing a pillow from a big box store after simply squeezing it or putting my head against its plastic wrapping while standing awkwardly in the aisle. I have a pile of failed pillow experiments in the guest room to back that statement up.
After a long, hard-earned day of delivering you readers the latest in fitness news, I now rest my weary head on a custom pillow that keeps it settled and supported, allowing me to sleep on my side while keeping my melon nice and cool.
I’ve noticed that I wake up far less throughout the night and find myself switching positions less too. The firmness of the foam core keeps my pillow supportive, while my plush outer layer offers me cooling comfort.
At first, I admittedly wasn’t sure if this was the pillow for me, but after about three or four nights, I was sold. If you purchase a custom pillow of your own and are not completely satisfied, one of the perks of Pluto is that you have 100 days to send it back and try a different combination, free of charge. I didn’t have to do that, but it’s awesome to know that’s an option.
Final Thoughts
While a pillow is not a fitness product per se, it is undoubtedly imperative to one’s overall health and, as a result, fitness. Whether you make it out of bed for that 5:30 a.m. workout on your FORME Studio, or you have the remaining energy after work for your favorite spin class, all begins with effective sleep the night prior.
In speaking with Susana, I’ve come to learn her background in an Entrepreneurial family in Los Angeles that has set her up for early success in her own career. Pluto Pillow remains her latest venture, and it already appears to be a successful one, as the company continues to grow market presence along with its plush offerings, including a custom body pillow coming soon. Pluto’s CEO shared her thoughts on the future of the brand:
We want to be the face of comfort for pillows. So, not only just sleep pillows but for other products going forward in terms of, what can we do for those (customers) when they think about comfort, Pluto is one name that comes to mind.
If you have trouble sleeping or have never truly found the right pillow like me, I recommend checking out Pluto Pillow. Each custom pillow starts at $95 for a standard size pillow or a King size version for $115.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
