By Karin Kloosterman

Isaac Berssassat, founder of Hollandia

Move over Serta, Sealy and Simmons – an Israeli farmer has developed what could be the world’s most comfortable mattress. His Hollandia mattresses are so comfortable that Canada’s luxury hotel chain Four Seasons has already put in its order to be manufactured in Israel. A few weeks ago, just after placing an order for my own Hollandia mattress, I spoke with the company’s CEO Avi Berssessat.

How does an artichoke farmer become a world-famous mattress manufacturer? I’d asked this question to Avi, whose father Isaac – an artichoke farmer from Israel – created a sleep system empire, with beds costing as much as $50,000, and available in 120 showrooms around the world. Today, if you go to Jerusalem’s famous Yachene Yehuda market and mention the name Isaac Barssessat, the stall owners will say proudly that Isaac was the “King of Artichokes who became the King of Beds.”

Here’s his story, also featured on Fox News: Years ago, in the early 60s, Isaac – now 78 –ventured off to Europe looking for a solution for his sore back. No matter what he tried, he couldn’t find a mattress in Israel that could give him relief and a good night’s sleep. In Holland he found that pain-relieving mattress and brought it back to Israel to study. Building on the concept and introducing new innovation with a research team, Isaac has now created a complete sleep solution soon to be experienced by Canadians.

Isaac’s mattresses will be available for Canadians to try at Four Seasons hotels. This follows the company’s expansion in North America – about a year and a half ago, Hollandia opened showrooms in the US.

While the “basic” latex mattresses lined with aloe, coconut fibers and organic materials of supreme comfort are available, expect to also find unusual and delightful bed frames, like Hollandia’s bed on wheels that folds up with a press of a button making it easy to reach the unhealthy dust bunnies (and mites) underneath.

But its Gravity Zero sleep system is the ultimate system. Designed for optimal restfulness, relaxation and rejuvenation, the Gravity Zero bed starts with a frame. Specially engineered laminates “tougher than steel” are designed as the bed’s base to eliminate extra movements or vibrations. This forms the platform for Hollandia’s Vita Talalay Latex Mattress. Covered in special aloe vera fibres offering “baby soft comfort,” the company says its rich, lush, breathable latex provides perfect point-to-point support.

Adjustable, the Gravity Zero bed comes with two massage motors and a micro-computer that offers a dozen different massage options customizable with different body positions. Motion detectors make sure that any motorized parts won’t injure pets or children. For sideways sleepers, a “Flexible Shoulder Zone” adjusts support that improves blood flow to eliminate tingling and numbing, says the company. See also its TV bed. Or the in-built safe in a bed, the Safe-T.

With 200 employees, and despite the threat of rockets from Gaza , Hollandia continues to produce mattresses from the Israeli city of Sderot.

Even though they know there’s only 8 seconds to spare when the siren sounds, “these people that work for the company,” says Avi, “are still ambitious and creative, bringing new design and always acting like leader in the market.” The rockets, apparently, don’t phase them.

And how Canadians know if a bed is the right one for them? “A bed is a place that you need to get in with joy and love,” says Avi. “If you came into the bed with the right smile this is the bed.”

::Hollandia website

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