The Evolution Earth range.
David Sternlight, Chief Executive Officer of Cabeau, says the travel neck pillow specialist is “hoping to triumph” at this year’s consumer-voted Travel Retail Awards.
Cabeau has been named as a finalist in the ‘Best Travel Accessory’ category at the 2023 Travel Retail Awards for ‘The Neck’s Evolution (TNE) S3 Travel Pillow’, and has also been nominated as a finalist for ‘Best Charity Initiative’ for its partnership with CleanHub.
The company arrives at the TFWA World Exhibition (1-6 October) in Cannes reporting an ‘incredibly’ response to three new product ranges launched into DF&TR earlier this year: The Neck’s Evolution S3, Air TNE and Evolution Earth.
“Our customers were excited about the innovation, and we worked hard together to make the transition into these new products ahead of an astounding travel season, post pandemic,” commented Sternlight.
All the pillows boast the brand’s globally patent-pending chinstrap technology, which is said to guarantee that the head remains upright and keeps the mouth closed when sleeping.
The Neck’s Evolution S3 pillow is available in seven colours.
Sustainable travel pillow
Sternlight describes the launch of the TNE pillows as an upgrade on Cabeau’s previous bestseller, the Evolution S3.
“We looked at where our travel pillows could make a leap into a great product,” he continued. “We’re proud that this travel pillow is not only the most ergonomically comfortable pillow on the market, but also provides 360-degree support with the new super-soft jacquard chinstrap feature.”
Cabeau’s portable and compact inflatable Air Evolution pillow now includes the chinstrap.
“This super-soft jacquard chinstrap versus a cord lock and toggle feature allows the consumer to better adjust their travel pillow for support. It also offers the chin a place to rest during seated sleep, providing the 360-degree support that no other travel pillow currently has.”
Currently, the company has listings on several airlines such as Kenya Airways, Edelweiss Air, China Airlines, Vietnam Airlines and EVA Air.
“We are happy to see the inflight business come back post-pandemic and we do well in this category with our Air TNE travel pillows,” said Sternlight.
“Because of the compact size and inflatable option, these are the perfect inflight option for those finding themselves in an uncomfortable position.”
Meanwhile, the Evolution Earth range represents the company’s first sustainable travel pillow option.
Sternlight spoke in detail about Cabeau’s sustainability ethos and mission during the recent TR Consumer Forum in Vienna, and Evolution Earth underpins the continued focus on sustainability.
“The Evolution Earth leads with the softest RPET fabric and uses recyclable packaging materials,” Sternlight explained. “We take our sustainability measures seriously and the Evolution Earth has allowed us to create a new way of looking at business moving forward in order to continue to support our sustainability offerings.”
Sternlight, pictured second left, featured as a panellist at Green Shoots Exchange during the TR Consumer Forum in Vienna, Austria, (21-23 June).
In recent years, the company has compressed its memory foam pillows for shipping by around 43%, positively impacting fuel costs during transportation across the supply chain.
Elsewhere, e-catalogues have been introduced to save valuable resources and materials.
Last year, Cabeau partnered with German company CleanHub as part of an aim to become plastic neutral. He commented: “What we found on top of a great organisation, is a true partner in CleanHub.
“We committed to and met the goal of stopping almost 25,000 kilograms of ocean bound plastic and re-routing that to recycle and waste management facilities, where it can be processed correctly and not dumped in the ocean.
“Additionally, we have signed on to CleanHub’s ‘Road to Zero’ plan and we’ll be announcing our updated efforts around this programme shortly.”
Growing the footprint
Over the course of 2023, Cabeau has opened several new accounts in DF&TR, in addition to successfully transitioning to new products.
Next year, the company is looking to grow its footprint further. “As the US and European markets have seemingly returned to normal in regard to travel in 2023, we look to continue our expansion into Asia, Africa and Latin America as those markets ramp up their global travel endeavours,” commented Sternlight.
He maintains that the team is committed to exploiting what is expected to be a strong 2023 holiday travel season.
“Additionally, our high-level goals for now into 2024 are to continue working with our travel retail and duty free partners to educate new consumers on why the Cabeau travel products are the most comfortable options on the market,” he added.
“We must also encourage our super fans to upgrade their travel pillows to the newest option of their choice. We have something for everyone.”
Cabeau is exhibiting at A21 Yellow Village.