The Kathy Ireland effect

JACKSON, Mich. - RemZzzs will be featured in a future episode of Modern Living with Kathy Ireland, a magazine-style program that features “the hottest stories, trends and breakthroughs that will educate and motivate viewers.”

The program is independently produced and distributed worldwide on WE tv and Bloomberg International.

“We shot video with her in her studio in Santa Barbara, Calif., for about 45 minutes in June,” said Bob Rutan, CEO. “She works with a lot of companies who have invented new products or who have put new products out on the market.”

RemZzzs makes CPAP mask liners that improve compliance by increasing comfort and reducing leakage.

A camera crew was also at Medtrade Spring in Las Vegas in April to shoot testimonials from users.

“We don't have an air date yet,” said Rutan, “but it will likely be later this summer.”

Modern Living with Kathy Ireland is not the only unconventional way that RemZzzs has spread the word about its product. Rutan and his wife, both RemZzzs users, have also been touring the U.S. in a motorhome on and off since 2010 as part of their “Freedom to Sleep” tour. They finished their latest tour in March.

“It's just sharing our product with people and giving out samples,” Rutan said. “Once you get someone using these, they don't want to quit. So getting in front of people has been key.”

RemZzzs hit a speed bump in 2013, when Medicare re-assigned its CPAP mask liners to a non-covered code (the agency said they were a comfort product and “duplicative of what is already provided on the mask”). But that's all in the past now.

“It was hard at first,” Rutan said. “We lost a few DMEs who said they couldn't sell it if they couldn't bill it. It took us a year, but we rebounded.”

Rutan says he and his wife are “pretty much done” with touring and now plan to focus their marketing efforts on online advertising and their social media presence.

“It's been really gratifying,” he said. “This product first helped my wife and then me and now countless others. The latest study says there are almost 1 billion people with sleep disordered breathing. If you just get the word out, they'll want to try it.”