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German Start-Up Variowell Wins CES® 2023 Innovation Award in Digital Health
January 3,
2023 by HFBusiness Staff in Business Strategy, Industry 
Freezing, shivering, sweating - everyone's nighttime perception of warmth is different. The German Start-up Variowell Development asked 3,300 consumers in 5 countries globally. Over 50% answered that they or their partner often feel too hot at night - male and female consumers alike.
Interesting fact: Over 30% react by sticking a foot outside of the bed. But most consumers are just increasing the air conditioning – not great for the environment. One thing is certain: body temperature, heart rate and blood flow change regularly during the night.
It is therefore not uncommon to sweat during sleep and at the same time feel cold at the feet. The topper from the German company Variowell Development GmbH is ideal to deal with this common problem.
"With Pepaminto, for the first time it has been possible to easily implement different thermal settings in a bed during the night by adapting the heat dissipation within the foam," explains Variowell CEO Tobias Kirchhoff.
The idea behind the technology, which has just won the CES® 2023 Innovation Award in the category digital health, is a combination of thin warming-strips and naturally cooling bands of graphite. The cooling properties were tested in the company's own sleep lab and independently verified by the renowned Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology - EMPA for short.
Together with the warming-strips, the heat dissipation and therefore temperature in the feet and lumbar section can be changed subtly during the night. To improve the sleep experience, Variowell is using the capabilities of the Apple Watch.
"Test users were surprised how easy to use the topper can be adapted to the thermal reception of the user," Tobias continues. "Our constantly changing body temperature affects our perception of warmth during sleep, and thus the quality of our sleep experience."
The Pepaminto is a great combination of "Smart Home" and "Smart Health." To realize this product, Variowell Development teamed up with Bosch Global Software Technologies which were convinced by the state-of-the-art product concept of Pepaminto.
The topper "made in Germany" will be presented at the influential technology event CES® in Las Vegas, from Jan. 5 to 8. This annual trade show and awards recognizes outstanding design and engineering in 28 consumer technology product categories.
The products submitted are judged by a distinguished panel of industry experts, including media representatives, designers, engineers and others, based on innovation, technology and functionality, as well as aesthetics and design. Following the launch at CES®, Pepaminto will initially be introduced in two test markets, the UK and Switzerland. The launch in further markets will follow in 2023.
Website for the product: www.pepaminto.com.