Vy Nguyen: Co-CEO of Avocado Green Brands
Episode 817
On today’s episode, Kara welcomes Vy Nguyen, Co-CEO of Avocado Green Brands and Founder of Brentwood Home — a leader building one of the most recognized names in organic, non-toxic mattresses and sustainable home goods.
Vy’s entrepreneurial journey began in 2010 when he launched Brentwood Home with his own capital, focused on wellness, craftsmanship, and vertical integration. In 2018, he helped bring Brentwood Home together with Avocado to form Avocado Green Brands — creating a unified company built around transparency, long-term thinking, and products designed to be better for people and the planet. Today, Avocado has become a trusted name for consumers seeking healthier homes without compromising on quality or growth.
In this episode, Vy shares what it really takes to operationalize sustainability at scale, how to build long-term trust with consumers, and why mission must live beyond marketing and inside every department. From leadership structure to supply chain decisions, this conversation is a thoughtful look at how values-driven companies can compete — and win — in today’s market.
If you’re interested in the future of sustainable business, building mission-driven companies, or how companies create lasting trust with consumers — this episode is for you.
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To learn more about Vy Nguyen and Avocado Green Brands:
https://www.avocadogreenmattress.com/
https://www.instagram.com/avocado.green
https://www.linkedin.com/in/vy-nguyen-830400107/
Transcript
Kara Goldin 0:00
I am unwilling to give up that I will start over from scratch as many times as it takes to get where I want to be. I want to be you. Just want to make sure you will get knocked down. But just make sure you don’t get knocked out, knocked out. So your only choice should be go focus on what you can control. Control. Control. Hi everyone, and welcome to the Kara Goldin show. Join me each week for inspiring conversations with some of the world’s greatest leaders. We’ll talk with founders, entrepreneurs, CEOs and really, some of the most interesting people of our time. Can’t wait to get started. Let’s go. Let’s go. Hi everyone, and welcome back to the Kara Goldin show today, I am joined by an incredible entrepreneur, V Nuan, who is the CO CEO of an incredible brand called Avocado Green brands actually had also launched previously, Brentwood home, which is going extremely strong as well. The two companies merged, and Vy is the CO CEO now of the holding company known as Avocado Green brands, one of the most recognized names in organic, non toxic mattresses, bedding and sustainable home goods, if you have gone to any upscale mall lately, you may have seen avocado. Let me tell you, the mattresses are to die for you get much better night’s sleep on them. They are so amazing and made such a difference in my sleep. So I am so excited to learn a lot more about what is behind this brand, but it was built with a bold vision to create products that are better for people and better for the planet, without compromising on quality craftsmanship or growth. And Vy’s leadership with the company has scaled into a nationally recognized brand, as I mentioned earlier, Vy originally launched Brentwood home in 2010 and in 2018 avocado merged with Brentwood home, so building a unified platform centered on wellness, sustainability and operational excellence. I cannot wait to hear more about how Vy is building this incredible better for you, mattress brand in a space that is not necessarily known for brands, and certainly not for wellness and sustainable brands. So very, very excited to meet the man leading this so, very, very, very excited. So Vy, welcome to the Kara Goldin show.
Vy Nguyen 2:47
Hi, thank you. Thank you for having me. That was quite the introduction. I hope I can live up to part of it.
Kara Goldin 2:54
I love it. Well, let’s start with the brand avocado, since maybe people have seen that in in maybe the local mall they’ve gone to, maybe they’ve heard a friend talk about the avocado mattresses and everything that is so amazing about them. But how do you define the mission and the vision behind the Avocado Green brands?
Vy Nguyen 3:20
Yeah, I mean, we really set out to build a product and a company that was really mission driven from the get go, you know, we’re B Corp certified. 1% of our mattress sales go to go back to charity for 1% for the planet. And, you know, I think more importantly, we set out to build a product using all natural materials, and in the bedding industry, it’s that’s not the easiest thing to do, and so it took some time to really help, to help the supply chain develop the kind of components we need. In the mattress industry, there’s also a flame retardant law that you have to pass. And for a long time, you know, most factories really resorted to finding economic options for that. And a lot of times it turned out to be a sort of chemical fire barrier type material that they would wrap the inside of the mattress in. And, you know, we set to try to find something very natural and organic. And that led us to using all 100% natural wool, and there was really not a well developed supply chain for that, so we spent a lot of effort and energy developing that we use only latex, organic certified latex for our mattresses. We don’t use any foam in there. All of our covers are 100% cotton on top. So all materials that really provide sort of natural breathability, natural temperature regulation, meanwhile, providing a really solid sort of support and a very durable product. So we didn’t set out to try to build the cheapest mattress out there. We really set out to build something that could last a long time and something that people can be sort of proud of buying. And feel good and healthy on.
Kara Goldin 5:02
So as I mentioned, you had started Brentwood home, which is still going very, very well. What’s the difference between Brentwood home and Avocado Green? Sure.
Vy Nguyen 5:16
Very good question. Yeah, when we initially launched Brentwood home, it was really, sort of on the same premise, but it was really, you know, California lifestyle driven, sort of wellness driven, but it just wasn’t as, I would say, extreme in terms of the type of components and materials we were going after. I think even when we started that, it’s, it was maybe four or five years before avocado, the types of materials that were available at market weren’t fully there yet, and so I think it was just a it was a stepping stone into what avocado became, and it was just a precursor to that. And and what happened when avocado got started was it was much more focused from the get go on, let’s only use natural materials and and not compromise on that. And if we, if we can’t find it, let’s work with someone to develop it. And so I think there was, that’s where the real focus on the material, part of it and the supply chain part of it, really drove us to really creating something really unique with avocado.
Kara Goldin 6:23
So somebody’s going in to purchase a new mattress, what do you hear today is like the most important thing that consumers are looking for? I mean, I would imagine Comfort is key, but everything that you’re doing around sustainable and knowing what they’re sleeping on, I guess too, is it would probably be so key.
Vy Nguyen 6:49
Yeah, no, I think what we hear is, you know, comfort’s obviously top of the list, sort of durability. There is temperature regulation. A lot of people tend to sleep hot. And there’s obviously knowing that it’s safe and non toxic, and we start from the premise, let’s only use natural organic materials that leads to a product that is safe and non toxic. And because we’re choosing the best, highest grade natural materials, it leads to natural cooling, natural temperature regulating product. And all that leads to just a very great, durable, comfortable product. So, you know, we start from the premise of, how do we build it from nature, and then, and then it checks all the boxes along the way, because all everything the consumer is asking for exists out there is just over the over the span of time the industry has tried to figure out ways to mimic what nature has. But how do we do it, sort of cheaper, faster, and take those sort of compromises, and we sort of took it back to like, let’s not make those compromises and find and source the best materials we can do.
Kara Goldin 7:54
So when you brought the two brands together, you and I were briefly talking about this before we hit record. So how did that all come about, and did did you have plans to actually do something like that, to create a larger company? Or, how did like for anybody thinking about maybe they’ve got a company, and should they actually go and merge with the company, acquire, sell, yeah, how did that all come about?
Vy Nguyen 8:24
No great question. So the the original team that was ideating on starting avocado came to us. They had much more of a sort of storytelling, marketing background, not background in sort of production mattress industry experience. So they, they sort of through talking to different people in the industry, found us as as sort of the quality producer that that they could work with. And so when they first approached us, it was, you know, how do we we want to create a mattress that’s using natural materials? We, you know, it’s going to be called avocado. And so they sort of tasked us, like, let’s, can you help us make this product? And sort of, we took that as a, you know, as a test to see what we could do. We spent, you know, close to a year, sort of prototyping, making samples, really crafting the product to the point where they were happy with it, we were happy with it, and we could really bring it to market. And there was early 2017 I think is when the first unit sort of rolled off the production line that we took it, they took it to market within about a year’s time, we could just see the trajectory of the of the product, of the brand, really, I think capturing the imagination of the consumer was just the right the right message at the right time. There was just intersection of people looking for healthier products, looking for brands they could trust, looking for brands that are very transparent in what they do and what they offer the consumer. A lot of different things came together so we could. To see that the brand really resonating with consumer and so about a year and a half into our sort of supplier relationship with them, we got all together say, look, there’s so much more opportunity here if we work together as a team and put all this together and really unify the supply chain. Because that’s what we’re going to need to do to scale it. There was so much parts of the supply chain that that that needed to be built out, and so, yeah, so we engineered a merger of the two companies. And since then, you know, really have put the vast majority of our resources behind avocado. And it’s, it’s grown from, you know, those early days to to what it is today. You know, we’re approaching nearly 1000 employees at this point. Wow. And we’re in 600 retail locations. We have 14 of our own retail locations, so it’s grown a huge amount in 10 years. So we’ll be hitting our 10th anniversary here at the end of the year.
Kara Goldin 10:59
So where do you see the majority of your new customers coming from? Are they walking through a mall and seeing avocado? Are they coming in through word of mouth or from maybe advertisements on social where is it coming from? You know, we
Vy Nguyen 11:19
try to have a balanced approach at this point, we always talk about, you know, we want to be where the consumer wants to shop, and so we obviously still do a huge D to C business, which is via our website, Avocado Green mattress. But we have been expanding our retail operation. Like I said, we have a 14 of our own. What are experience centers, which are company owned, real brand stores in, you know, like you said, traffic, like high traffic locations, those are curated to really get the entire avocado experience, the entire avocado product line, the real whole lifestyle, everything from, you know, your crib mattresses, to your kids to pillows, organic sheets, pillows, blankets, then the entire gamut. We’ve obviously been expanding that. And then over the last couple of years, we’ve been expanding our mattress offering that’s still our sort of hero product. And there we’ve been growing into our strategic partner doors. And there We’re now approaching about 600 locations that are, you know, different dealers that we work with and and we reach all 50 states at this point.
Kara Goldin 12:28
So what do you think are some of the biggest operational challenges in maintaining kind of the standards that you set at scale?
Vy Nguyen 12:37
I mean, for us, it’s obviously, you know, I’ve talked a couple of times already about just scaling the supply chain, getting latex in the quantities we need was a challenge initially. Getting the amount of wool, the amount of cotton fabric that that as a company grew like that was actually a real big challenge early on. Now, you know, as as a business, as has really sort of scaled, it’s a little bit different. I mean, we feel like we run three different businesses. So, you know, we have a manufacturing business that’s got to make a lot of product, make it efficient, you know, productively, make it with high quality control, make it very consistently. Then we have this sort of fulfillment operation where, you know, we have to fulfill D to C customers. We had to fulfill wholesale customers who were ordering by the truckload. Then we have to service our own stores, which is running, you know, our team members, our individual, you know, all of our sales team members, all of the individual locations, and all that entails. So we feel like the operational it’s like three different businesses that we we have to sort of manage, and they all have their own sort of unique challenges.
Kara Goldin 13:43
Yeah, definitely. So when you look at at scaling, you talked about, you have 1000 employees now. I mean, that is, you got to get everybody on board on the bus right around everybody’s got to be really thinking and and believing in what you’re offering. How do you do that? Like, how do you hire for that? Because that’s a lot of people to employ, but making sure that people are really understand the vision of avocado and are speaking that,
Vy Nguyen 14:14
yeah, no, I think we spent a lot of time, you know, in the company, speaking about our mission and and, and our passion for sustainability, I think, you know, we want to, obviously, find people who believe in what they’re doing and, and that’s up and down, you know, the our employment stack, I mean, everybody from the factory floor all the way to the executives. You know, we when we do our quarterly business reviews, when we do our town halls, you know, we start off by talking about, what’s our vision, what’s our mission, like, what, what are our major goals this year? And so, you know, we try to set a tone, a path that that everybody understands. And, you know, sometimes you just, it’s sort of a repetition, you we, we have to preach it, say it. And. And make sure that it’s gets codified that way and and I think, you know, it goes a long way to making sure everybody’s sort of marching in the same direction.
Kara Goldin 15:10
Yeah, definitely. What misconceptions Do people still have about organic mattresses and kind of sustainable home goods? I feel like even your sheets that you guys have launched, I was amazed at the quality, because it really, oftentimes I have had, not always, but some organic sheets just don’t really feel like they’re that really, they’re very good quality, right? They’re too thin or something about it. But when I tried yours, it was just amazing. They’re nice, they’re thick, they’re soft,
Vy Nguyen 15:47
yeah, no, I think that that’s some, you know, one of the misconceptions is that you’re compromising quality to go to using natural and I think, you know, the technology obviously, has evolved a long ways, and I think if you do it where you don’t compromise quality, using natural shouldn’t have to compromise quality, certainly synthetic materials over time. You know, there’s technology that gets put in them to solve for different, different issues. But when we think about like a sleep surface, which is, you know, where you’re going to spend a third of your time, you know, having something that you’re not worried about, if it’s off gassing or that you’re worried about, you know, your your baby sleeping face down on it, and having their mouth on it, are you going to be worried about? What is it made out of? We think those things are very, very important. So I think that’s one misconception that somehow, using natural somehow compromise the quality and and that’s not necessarily the case. It’s it’s about how you do it and not compromising on, you know, where you source the product. Like, like, when we buy organic cotton, you know, we buy long staple organic cotton for our sheet. We’re not trying to buy, you know, the lowest price cotton in the market, when we source our wool, we actually had to go to India, work with the local farmers to help them get certified organic, make sure that they understand, you know, we’ll pay a little bit of a premium because they can’t feed and they can’t treat the their their herd a certain way. And that leads to, you know, better fur. And in the end, it leads to a better product we get. But that’s there’s a time, there’s a time that it takes for that to happen. And you have an issue where, you know, farmers don’t want to invest in that, because they need to sort of make a living today. And so one of the few things we did the first few years in India was, we would pay half of that year’s crop up front so that they, they would, they would be able to get those, those those funds, be able to really commit to the organic standards and not worry that they weren’t going to have a buyer at the end of the season. So there are things like that. And you know, to make sure that the quality is is really the highest. I think the other misconception is people who are used to sort of a memory foam feel, or used to a certain type of feel, they they somehow think you can’t recreate that with the components we use. And, you know, we’ve done a lot of work along that that area, so we could create a very, very nice and we have lots of different fields. So we could create a very, you know, plush, plush feel. We could create a very firm feel, and everything in between. And a lot of that work is because, you know, we we started to create our own spring system. So we have our own spring factory, and the spring support system really is a big part in how you create that feel. We always have partnerships with our latex factories. So over time we’ve we’ve really have dialed in how to make latex from the sap of a rubber tree feel a certain way, and then all the different fibers we use in the different ways we layer them create a lot of different fields. So I think that’s the other misconception. Is that if you buy a all natural, organic mattress, like there’s, there’s not variety in the field, or that you can’t get this ultra plush, you know, amazing feeling it
Kara Goldin 19:11
are you have you grown beyond the US for your markets? Or and do you think just Canada? Just Canada?
Vy Nguyen 19:21
Yeah, we get a lot of inquiries from different countries, and some of them are, some of them are tempting. But, you know, we always look back and say, Look, there’s, there’s a lot to do here in the US, and really scratching the surface, there’s, there’s a lot more awareness that we can need to get out here. And so we want to focus on this market.
Kara Goldin 19:43
What is the most difficult product that you’ve produced? Because you do have different mattresses you have, you talked about different components, including the latex and as well as the different fibers that. Using, but when you’re actually creating a product, I often think that founders, or even, you know, entrepreneurs, CEOs of companies as you are, that are really innovating and doing things in a way that are kind of breaking barriers in an industry. Is there one product where maybe you don’t get as much credit for creating this, you know, product that people are like, Oh, it’s great. And you’re like, telling your friend that was really hard to do you better appreciate it.
Vy Nguyen 20:33
Well, I will tell you, we just launched our grand Luxe line last year and and it’s a extreme, and it’s a very high price point. It’s definitely in the Uber luxury category. But people think it’s sort of just price there to price there, but it’s a lot of work to put that bed together. There’s like, 18 different layers. It’s because there’s so many layers, and we don’t believe in gluing our layers together. It’s, it’s got to be hand stitched from the side. There’s, there’s, like, there’s probably, like, three or 400 stitches along the side of the border that, you know, somebody’s got to do by hand. There’s a, you know, hand tufting on the top. And you have four or five different layers of springs, and you got all these different exotic fibers, from alpaca to wool, silk blends of fiber. And so it takes a lot of people to put that bed together. It takes a lot of hours, and, you know, the end of the day, and it’s a heavy bed in the end, when it’s finished being made, it’s, it’s probably, you know, over 200 pounds. And so it’s, it’s quite a product, I mean, but it is built to last a lifetime. And so I think when, people see see the finished product, maybe there’s an under appreciation of how many sort of hundreds of hours that it’s taken to put all that together.
Kara Goldin 21:48
When do people get to a point of moving from the cheap mattresses for whatever? I don’t even know if you could buy a mattress for 99 bucks anymore, but let’s say, let’s use that just as a fun number to where they want to really move into the luxury category. Who is that consumer? When do they do that?
Vy Nguyen 22:13
That’s a good question. You know, we kind of talk about it a little differently. We say, you know, we want to go after the master bedroom customer. And I think that’s maybe where it is. It’s like, maybe when you get to the point where you you have a master bedroom, and so, you know, when you’re shopping for your king size and Queen Size master bedroom bed, I think that’s, that’s kind of where you you really need to get a grown up bed and and that’s, you know, I think when people start to really think about buying a high quality product so that it lasts and and maybe it’s perhaps when you when you buy your first home and you realize, okay, I’m not going to be renting and moving every year or every other year. I’m actually going to be a little bit more stationary. And so let me buy something of high quality that’s going to stay with me.
Kara Goldin 22:59
Yeah, definitely. And once you get the mattresses, is there any sort of tips that you suggest to consumers that they should do in order to keep their mattress as good as it was when it was first purchased?
Vy Nguyen 23:17
Well, like with our mattress, the one thing you don’t have to do is you don’t have to rotate them or turn them or turn them anything, because our mattresses are held together with, generally, like 24 different tufts that hold all the layers together, so the materials never shipped around. Um, I would say, in general, the one thing consumers probably under appreciate is how important a pillow is for for good night’s sleep and a comfortable sleep. Everybody has a sort of different body profile, so finding that right pillow is important. And then, and then, you know, having changing that pillow out in probably higher frequency than most people do is probably important, because pillow will sort of lose its support and everything and and making sure that you have the right support is probably 60, 70% of like feeling comfortable on your mattress starts with the pillow.
Kara Goldin 24:05
Yeah, and you got is you all are selling the pillows. You have amazing, amazing pillows. What’s your favorite pillow that you sell?
Vy Nguyen 24:13
I The one I sleep on. I like the most is our molded latex pillow. Oh, I just like it because you don’t fluff it. Stays one size. It doesn’t have to be fluffed or any because it’s just a solid mold. And, you know, obviously we have different heights, so you got to find that one height that sort of fits your neck profile, and then it works great. Because it’s, you know, it’s going to be the same height every night.
Kara Goldin 24:36
Yeah, definitely. So you are really leading this category and shaping the future of, I think, sustainable consumer brands, not just in the mattress industry, in the home industry overall. How is the definition of luxury really evolving in the home category overall? That you see, I mean, I’m sure you look not just, uh. At kind of the products and in the categories that you’re selling, but also overall, like, what do you think is happening right now in the luxury category?
Vy Nguyen 25:11
I think, I think people who can afford luxury are starting to really focus on, you know, whether it’s a luxury experience, luxury has become a lot less what label you’re just playing and a lot more what you’re consuming, you know, and whether that’s through an experience, through, you know, a dinner and outing with friends, and we think it’s the same thing with our product. It’s, you know, you’re certainly not showing people what type of mattress you have, so, but it’s luxury because you’re willing to spend on a high quality product that you know is going to be good for you, and that’s better, better for your health and better for your sleep. And so, you know, I think that’s that’s our sense where luxury is going is that it’s a lot more commitment to having a great experience with the product, and not necessarily having a product that that other people recognize.
Kara Goldin 26:08
Yeah, definitely, when you think about success, and for not just the avocado, but also you’re running Brentwood home as well. What is success for you. And it’s, you know, I think it’s always, I love asking this question, because real entrepreneurs, they sort of shuffle it. They know that there’s just driven to, you know, keep going and and make it better and better. But what do you? What is success for you?
Vy Nguyen 26:44
I know you mean, you always feel like there’s, there’s always a another hill to climb at every at every turn. And yeah, look, I think for us, especially as a brand, at least success is when we feel like we, as at avocado, are a recognized leader in sustainability. You know, that we are sort of known and in the same sort of, you know, context as a Patagonia, or somebody who it goes beyond the product you sell, but it it goes to, you know, recognizing that the brand stands for something much more bigger and much more meaningful than the individual product they sell. And I think, you know, we’ll continue to work to get our message out there, but I think that that’s a big part of what success would mean in terms of what we’ve done to get to make sure that people understand our mission and understand what everything it stands for. Well.
Kara Goldin 27:44
V, thank you so much for joining us. Avocado Green brands, proof that sustainability doesn’t have to be a side initiative. You’ve built an incredible company that I am so honored to say I’m sleeping on so it’s, it’s really, really terrific, and the mission and transparency and operational discipline are so in alignment, and I think so top of mind for many, many consumers today who really want to really understand what is in their home, what is underneath them and what is underneath their family and friends, etc. So I think you’re just so on target. So for everyone who has not tried avocado, definitely find them in the local retail stores or go on to their site. Your site, by the way, is very easy to navigate. And I was also on talking to your customer service, asking them questions and and give them an A plus, plus. So they were, they were really terrific. So really, really happy that, like, the entire experience was really terrific. So V, yeah, no, totally so. V, thank you so much. CO CEO of Avocado Green brands, really appreciate
Vy Nguyen 29:10
you coming on. Thank you. Thank you for having me. It was great chatting with you.
Kara Goldin 29:14
Thanks again for listening to the Kara Goldin show. If you would please give us a review and feel free to share this podcast with others who would benefit, and of course, feel free to subscribe so you don’t miss a single episode of our podcast, just a reminder that I can be found on all platforms. At Kara Goldin, I would love to hear from you too. So feel free to DM me, and if you want to hear more about my journey, I hope you will have a listen or pick up a copy of my Wall Street Journal, best selling book, undaunted, where I share more about my journey, including founding and building. Hint, we are here every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Thanks for listening and goodbye for now. Can.
