By Jennifer Leonard

QVC continues selling—and adapting to the new rules dictated by the coronavirus. And while new vendors no longer arrive for on-air training and appear live to showcase their products, the retailer hasn’t slowed down in the number of new goods presented.

In fact, this May, One Fresh Pillow, a subscription-based pillow company, will launch—and cofounder Adrianne Kautz, 39, from Tallahassee, Fl., is excited. “It never crossed our minds that we’d reach this level, at least not this soon,” she says.

It all started back in 2016 when Adrianne was annoyed. Standing in Target to buy a pillow for what felt like the millionth time, she noticed the one she and her husband, Aaron, had finally found and loved had been discontinued.

“I was so tired of going out and buying pillows,” she recalls. “And then we got one we liked, and I couldn’t find it again. I said to myself, ‘If I never have to shop for another pillow again, I’d be thrilled.’”

Luckily, instead of giving up on pillows altogether, Adrianne found inspiration in her frustration. She and her husband, who both work full time as interior designers, came up with an idea to sell a comfortable and supportive pillow that came with a subscription. Shoppers would choose how often they wanted a new one—and never stand in a store squeezing bed cushions again.

Their first step was finding a design that worked for everyone. “It was a lot of trial and error,” says Adrianne. “We would take two pillows we liked, tear them apart and Frankenstein them back together with binder clips. Then measure and adjust the soft fill.”

The couple then did a beta test, a trial carried out by a third party, to rate people’s satisfaction with their final prototype. “They selected people based on height and weight,” Adrianne explains. “Every single person, from the smallest to the largest, preferred our pillow. Now we knew it was going to work for a majority of people.”

After a lengthy search for a manufacturer, the couple finally had a product ready to sell. They spread the word through social media. “I think 90 percent of our first orders were from people we knew,” Adrianne says.

The buzz grew until a former QVC buyer, who now works for a marketing firm in West Chester, Pa., heard about the growing company. “She got in touch on Instagram and said we are a great fit for QVC,” says Adrianne. “She wanted to chat and held our hand every step of the way.”

Countless meetings and phone calls later, Adrianne says her impression of QVC changed. Not being familiar with the company in 2020, she says, “I was worried about being true to ourselves. We like to have fun and not be too vanilla.” But QVC got it.

“It’s our story as a husband and wife starting this company that’s so appealing to QVC. Just two people with a crazy dream who are passionate and authentic.”

While Adrianne is eager to go on-air next month, those plans may change due to the coronavirus. But whether it’s in person or by telephone, she’s ready to sell. “I’ve done their training online. Any anxiety I have is probably more about the way I look in quarantine!”

Look for One Fresh Pillow on QVC this May, and find out more at onefreshpillow.com.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jennifer Leonard is a writer at VISTA Today, specializing in retail and consumer marketing. A West Goshen resident, Jennifer has 20 years of experience as a full-time editor and writer for magazines including Woman’s World, Cosmopolitan and Seventeen. Jennifer is available at jleonard@vista.today.

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