For many entrepreneurs, a great idea arrives suddenly. For Rudo Kemp, it came through years of trial, industry learning and a restless desire to change how South Africans experience sleep. Today, as founder and CEO of Sloom, Kemp stands at the forefront of South Africa’s mattress industry, building a home-grown brand that has redefined both product design and the customer experience.
“I started Sloom in 2016 with a simple idea. Create one mattress that almost anyone can tune to their comfort, then make the buying experience simple, honest, and online,” Kemp explains. “I never liked selling a product someone might regret. Sloom was built so friends, family, and every customer would love their sleep.”
Roots in Johannesburg, a Journey into Bedding
Born and raised in Johannesburg, Kemp attended Helpmekaar Kollege in Braamfontein before pursuing a B.Com in Industrial Psychology at North-West University in Potchefstroom. It was there, while his wife Susan finished her final year of study, that his professional path shifted unexpectedly.
Initially hired to manage HR for a music company, he was soon asked to oversee its side business: a bed shop. The role opened a new world. Kemp not only ran the store but eventually bought it, revamped its brand and website and later sold it.
That led him deeper into the sector, joining a mattress factory in Carletonville where he managed the foam plant.
“That experience gave me deep technical knowledge of foam and product design,” he recalls. It was the foundation for what would later become Sloom.
Building Sloom from Scratch
Launching an online-only mattress brand in 2016 was a bold move in a market long dominated by established players and in-store purchases. In its early years, Kemp carried the company almost single-handedly.
“In the early years I did everything: customer support, bookkeeping, deliveries, packing frames in my garage,” he says. Susan supported marketing while still holding a full-time job.
Sloom’s concept a modular, adjustable mattress-in-a-box was pioneering in South Africa. Customers could tailor firmness to their comfort, removing the uncertainty of traditional mattress shopping. It resonated. By 2019, momentum built quickly, with growth accelerating through 2020.
Today, Sloom has evolved into a company of 22 employees, with a factory in Cape Town, a distribution hub in Johannesburg and dedicated logistics and customer care teams in both cities. Kemp’s role has shifted from hands-on operations to product leadership, supplier partnerships and brand strategy, though his imprint is visible in every aspect of the business.
Challenges and Resilience
The journey has not been without challenges. Early supplier negotiations were difficult, particularly in convincing partners to adopt zip covers and modular builds. Later, the COVID-19 pandemic and global supply chain disruptions tested resilience.
“Supply shocks pushed raw material prices and timelines. We tightened operations, stayed close to customers and protected lead times wherever possible,” Kemp says. Transparency became a strategy: by openly sharing material specifications, the company built long-term trust with its customer base.
Achievements and Milestones
Sloom has introduced several firsts to the South African market. It was among the first to popularise the mattress-in-a-box format, while pioneering modular mattress design locally. The brand also introduced the Cape Town King, the largest standard mattress size available in the country, bigger even than a Super King.
The company remains firmly committed to local manufacturing, sourcing over 100 raw materials from South African suppliers. This approach not only strengthens local industry but also reinforces customer trust in a proudly South African brand.
Kemp’s vision for Sloom extends well beyond mattresses. In the next two years, the company will expand into sleep-adjacent categories with products for pets and babies, while strengthening its logistics for faster delivery across South Africa. Plans also include material upgrades, advances in ergonomics and durability, and sustainability measures such as shifting to paper-based packaging.
The five-year horizon is even more ambitious: market leadership in South African sleep innovation, deeper job creation and manufacturing expansion within the country.
“Category innovation that keeps making mattress choices simpler and more confident for buyers” is how Kemp frames the goal, alongside measurable progress in sustainability and responsible sourcing.
A Vision Rooted in Simplicity and Trust
Kemp’s story is one of persistence and ingenuity that is from running HR in a music company to managing a foam plant, to launching a brand from his garage. Along the way, he built a reputation for transparency and customer-first thinking, values that continue to define Sloom.
“We built a trusted direct-to-consumer brand that puts customer sleep and plain-spoken transparency first,” Kemp says. It is an ethos that has resonated with thousands of South Africans, carving out a new narrative in an industry once resistant to change.
In a country where entrepreneurship often demands resilience and reinvention, Rudo Kemp has shown that innovation is not always about complexity. Sometimes, it begins with a simple promise, a better night’s sleep.
