Plufl may not be well-known by its brand name at this point, but there’s a chance you’ve heard about their flagship product: a human-sized dog bed. The founders, Noah Silverman and Yuki Kinoshita, went viral on social media with the prototype for their product and even appeared on Shark Tank, where they sought out an investment in their company and walked away with buy-in from Mark Cuban and Lori Greiner. Touting “the best nap of your life” as the key selling point, Plufl is in the business of providing a premium experience for those who enjoy naps. I remember first hearing about them right before a local PAH munch, and then again during the munch. It was clear to me and the pets and handlers at that munch that this product has extreme potential to take the pet play world by storm, yet Plufl seems to have set their sights very narrowly on nappers. Maybe it’s a coincidence, maybe it’s intentional. Regardless, I have proof that Plufl could be onto something if they market in part to the pet play community.
Early Adopter
I remember being very intrigued when I initially heard about (and immediately starting reading about) Plufl. The company was hyperfocused on napping, despite openly calling their product a “dog bed for humans.” How could they miss the associations people might make between their product and BDSM?! Maybe Noah and Yuki are extremely pure of mind, maybe not. Regardless, after seeing their product, I quickly had a vision for how that product could be used in my life: a bed for my pup to curl up and nap in while staying over. Initially, the $500 price point of Plufl kept me from pre-ordering one, but it was all over when I received my annual bonus from work and suddenly had some “extra” money to play with. I placed my order for a “Pioneer Edition” Plufl in January 2023 and received it in May of the same year.
There were times during the four month wait that I wondered if I would ever receive the Plufl. The guidance I was provided when I ordered in January was that the Plufl I ordered would ship in mid-April. Mid-April came and went with no Plufl. I remember checking their website after mid-April passed and found their website was down. To be honest, I thought Plufl as a company shut down and took my money with it. After all, how does a company that sells $500 dog beds stay afloat in this economy? Thankfully, a few days later I received an email from Plufl providing an update: the new delivery target was May. A few days into May, it was finally here.
The box my Plufl arrived in. Believe me, it’s a lot more compact in-box than it is fully assembled.
Assembly wasn’t terrible, but with the sheer size of the product, I’d argue that it’s absolutely a two-person job. In a matter of a few minutes, I went from having a box I’d been patiently waiting for over four months to “the thing.” I laughed a bit once it was fully assembled because it felt so absurd in the moment. Before me was a $500 dog bed made for humans in my home taking up quite a bit of space. I took a little break to process that information, but finally knew it was time to put the Plufl through its first test. I sat down in the Plufl and stretched out. The outer “ring” was very squishy in a way I like, but the padding on the bottom was just “okay” for me. It wasn’t terrible, but it also wasn’t going to replace the mattress of my bed any time soon (however, I did sleep in it a couple nights). Maybe this was a conscious decision as a product designed for napping.
The Million-Dollar Question
Now that I had the Plufl in my home, it was time to put it to the real test. Would my pup like it? Would he love it? Would he be indifferent? There was only one way to find out and $500 was at stake.
Zander knew the dog bed was coming and was excited about it. That excitement only grew once I told him it arrived and I sent along a photo of the Plufl next to my cat’s bed for scale.
The Plufl next to my cat’s bed for scale.
After a couple days passed, the day had come. Zander was home with me, in his gear, and wiggling with excitement as the pup examined the dog bed. He crawled over to the Plufl, got in, and immediately cuddled into its fluffy cover. It was an instant hit, and he fit perfectly inside it. Multiple times after this moment I’d heard how comfortable it is and how he could easily nap in it. Success! I let out a sigh of relief and ran to my home studio to grab my camera. I knew I needed to capture this moment and how overwhelmingly cute Zander looked in the Plufl.
A Second Opinion
A few days later, I had an opportunity to hang out with a local pup friend. He was going to be coming over, and most likely would come equipped with his pup gear. He also knew the Plufl was coming and was interested in seeing what it would be like. The pup came over and almost immediately made a beeline for the dog bed. While this pup was taller than mine (though is excellent at making himself “small”), he shared similar thoughts on how comfortable it was. Later on, he even (I believe unintentionally) fell asleep in the bed while waiting for me to finish delivering a training in the studio. It was at this point I knew Plufl was onto something and absolutely missing out on an opportunity to tap into the pet play world.
Closing Thoughts
Plufl, “call” me. Let’s talk about how you can break into the world of pet play and put the “dog” back into “Human Dog Bed.” 😉
