Birkenstock is now selling beds for 10,000 euros

It's an amazing career that the Birkenstock company from Neustadt an der Wied has had. Started as a boring health shoe, the eco flip-flops first became popular with peace-moving hippies in the 80s. Today, Birkenstocks have not only arrived in the German mainstream, but are also internationally more successful than ever.

After even Hollywood stars like Miley Cyrus wore Birkenstocks, even American Vogue officially declared the shoes sexy. That was in 2013, and since then shoe sales have exploded. The workforce has doubled to 3,800 employees within three years (95 percent of whom work in Germany). Around 20 million pairs of shoes and sandals were produced last year and sold worldwide - one million in South Korea alone, where Birkenstock first entered the market in 2016.

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From the footbed to the box spring bed

About the coolness factor of Birkenstock of course you continue to argue. But the brand stands for one thing: for healthy products. The company now wants to use this to advance into completely new sectors. Birkenstock is presenting its first own bed collection at the IMM furniture fair in Cologne. Birkenstock is launching six different models - box spring beds are just as much a part of it as the classics with slatted or plate frames.

The Birkenstock beds are called Canberra, Sao Paulo or Montevideo - and of course you should be able to sleep healthier in them than in a conventional bed. "This is not a license business where we just put our logo on a product," said Birkenstock CEO Oliver Reichert of "Welt". He came up with the idea of building Birkenstock beds when he was looking for a decent bed for his children, but couldn't find anything that met his requirements.

Coming soon: body lotions and office chairs

Birkenstock developed its healthcare beds together with the Austrian upholstered furniture manufacturer Anger. "Aesthetic design", "high-quality materials" and "perfect workmanship" are intended to convince customers to spend 5,000 to 10,000 euros on a sleep system. The characteristic cork from shoe soles is also built into the beds. The anatomically shaped footbed of the shoes serves as a template for wavy curved slatted frames. The slogan "from the footbed to the bed" is of course obvious.

However, the beds should only be the prelude to a major Birkenstock product offensive. In February, the company presented a line of natural cosmetics at the Vivaness trade fair in Nuremberg - shower gels, creams, body lotions. Substances from the bark of the cork oak should be used for the creams. And in the furniture sector, too, the end of the road is far from being reached. Office furniture is to be presented this year, including chairs and desks.