Sleeping Baby – Building Your Brand in the Japanese Market

Client Details

Project Details

Sleeping Baby is a premium American brand behind the innovative sleepsuit and swaddle for newborns up to 3-4 years old which was featured on Shark Tank. Their premium product is designed to help babies transition out of traditional swaddles, prevent startling, reduce crying at night, and help millions of babies and parents around the world sleep better each night.

Upon entering a partnership with Sleeping Baby, we took on 3 key marketplaces: Japan, The UK, and The US, and achieved notable success in each.

To enhance the client’s visual identity in the Japanese market, we developed a full local visual identity of their brand, including localized product naming, logos, icons, and product images. Simultaneously, we helped build their Japanese website by localizing their existing US website. Lastly, to bolster brand awareness, we took strategic PR initiatives and executed PPC advertising campaigns on both Meta and Google.

Brand Localization: When in Japan, Do It the Japanese Way

Brand localization is crucial for foreign brands entering the Japanese market due to the unique language and culture of the country. Unfortunately, many foreign brands struggle to resonate with Japanese customers during this initial phase.

One unique psychological trait of Japanese consumers that many foreigners fail to understand is their uncertainty avoidance tendency. Compared to their counterparts, Japanese consumers are more conservative in their purchasing habits, usually preferring established products and brands. Additionally, they often seek detailed information about products and services before purchasing. ​​

Keeping this in mind, we prioritized establishing Sleeping Baby as a recognized and trusted brand in Japan, ensuring consistent and reliable information across all customer touchpoints.

Starting with the brand name, we decided to set the Japanese brand naming as “スリーピングベビー” (Katakana of ‘Sleeping Baby’) based on industry research and search volume impact for the keyword element such as “ベビー(Baby)”. In addition, we added the Japanese brand name on top of the official logo to communicate local and international feelings about the brand.

Alongside the iconic Sleeping Star in the logo, we introduced two new characters exclusively designed for the Japanese market, which were Okurumin (the Japanese version of the Zipadee-Zip Swaddle Transition) and Musasabi (the Japanese translation of Sleeping Baby’s original Flying Squirrel pajama).

These characters not only strengthened Sleeping Baby’s product identity but also cultivated a deeper connection with the brand.

*Our design was featured in the MdN Designers File 2021 Book.

Our next challenge was to design the new Japanese website from scratch. Given our experience in Japanese web design, we quickly put together a new layout and extracted several unique value propositions (UVPs) for Sleeping Baby to display on the new website.

From detailing the product range and providing size charts to offering step-by-step guides on properly swaddling babies, we ensured that all essential information was readily available for parents seeking a seamless transition to swaddling.

It is noteworthy that Japanese customers commonly appreciate products that have received awards. This inclination is prevalent in Japanese web design and product packaging. So, we’ve included this idea in Sleeping Baby’s Japanese website by displaying all the awards of the brand including:

• • The National Parenting Product Awards – 2018
  • What to Expect Best Sleep Sack Editor’s Award – 2019
  • Parent’s Picks Award – 2019

*Sleeping Baby’s Japanese website developed by Humble Bunny.