From niche to everywhere: Building a global brand on day one | Catarina Dahlin (Dagsmejan)

How do you take a bold idea and turn it into a worldwide success? Catarina Dahlin, Co-Founder & CEO of Dagsmejan, shares the journey of transforming functional sleepwear into a global brand sold in 100+ countries. Named Switzerland’s fastest-growing startup in 2023, Dagsmejan proves how daring to innovate and thinking globally from day one can redefine entire industries.

Catarina Dahlin, Co-Founder & CEO of Dagsmejan

As co-founder of Dagsmejan, Catarina Dahlin turned a simple question—can sleepwear improve your sleep?—into a global brand. Today, she leads one of Europe’s most innovative direct-to-consumer startups.

Catarina Dahlin is the co-founder of Dagsmejan, a Swiss-based sleepwear brand pioneering innovation in functional textiles for better sleep. Since its launch, Dagsmejan has sold over 1 million products to customers in more than 100 countries, with 80% of sales driven through digital channels and over 50% coming from outside Switzerland.

Under Catarina’s leadership, Dagsmejan was named Switzerland’s fastest-growing startup by the Financial Times 1000 in 2023. In recognition of her entrepreneurial achievements, she was awarded the SEF.WomenAward as Female Young Entrepreneur of the Year in 2022.

Dagsmejan has become the official recovery and sleepwear partner of top-performing athletes, including the Swiss National Ice Hockey Team and the Tudor Pro Cycling Team. The company has also led two Innosuisse-funded research projects in collaboration with leading Swiss and international academic institutions, reinforcing its commitment to science-backed innovation.

Today, Dagsmejan is recognized not only for redefining sleepwear but also as a symbol of how daring to innovate can turn bold ideas into global success stories.