Former Bernardsville, Bedminster Locals Create ‘The World’s Most Comfortable Sheets’

SUMMIT, NJ — Summit based and home start-up, Boll & Branch is fast becoming one of the leaders in the bedding industry today. Just in 2016 alone, it grew three times its size. Yet who would’ve thought that the seed that grew this business sprouted from a local husband and wife team.

Co-founders Scott and Missy Tannen, who are parents to three daughters in Chatham, created Boll & Branch in 2014 with no previous textile industry experience.

Scott was an established entrepreneur in the tech space and Missy was a third-grade teacher in Bridgewater. Ties to the local area, Scott grew up in Bernardsville before meeting Missy and bouncing around for a bit including Bedminster and Madison before choosing Chatham to stay.

During the moves, Missy had been searching for quality, cotton sheets for their home. Terms such as thread count and Egyptian cotton were thrown around for consumers and prices soared based on these terms.

“I learned that neither of these terms mean quality,” Missy told Patch. “I started learning everything there was to learn about sheets and saw a business opportunity to sell online.”

The couple opened their business in Chatham at first but have expanded so much they moved to Summit.

“Most people buy bedding buying as an uneducated consumer,” said Scott. “They are not sure which attribute makes for a better product. In reality what you can’t fake is what something feels like. Better cotton used in the product creates a better finished product.”

Scott noted that a higher thread count only equates to density and doesn’t necessarily mean softer or stronger. And many brands will inflate the cost of their products based on thread count.

During their research, Scott and Missy also discovered that the industry had unfair, inhumane farming and manufacturing practices throughout its supply chain. Farmers and factory workers alike are treated poorly, paid little and earn few of the benefits of their hard labor.

To change this perspective, Scott and Missy began using only organic cotton. They are also only working with factories that treat workers fairly and provide healthcare to employees and their families. Boll & Branch is fully supporting about 1,000 factory workers and 10,000 farmers above the poverty line today — and the company’s impact continues to grow.

The organic cotton used in Boll & Branch is grown in southern India. The products are toxin-free as well to minimize the impact to the environment.

“The first time when I felt the prototype of the product, I thought this is it,” Scott said. “I never felt anyting like this… The most gratifying thing is that every bit of the product was created by Missy. Everything down to the tension of the thread and the way it was woven came out of her head.”

Today they offer bedding, bath and baby collections, with products ranging from $25 to $270, a third of the price of high-end retailers and bedding brands. Their final product is something they claim to be the “world’s most comfortable sheets.”

For more information or to order the product visit www.bollandbranch.com or Facebook or Twitter or Pinterest or Instagram.

(Images provided)

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