Hi rbev2308,
I think you are correct in your assumptions. The short answer is that it’s more difficult to “differentiate” and they wouldn’t be able to maintain their margins as easily based on “marketing stories” compared to other manufacturers that sell latex mattresses at lower prices than they would charge and because it lasts longer (which reduces turnover and profit).
The largest manufacturers don’t focus on the “best” materials and are much more focused on their marketing efforts and marketing stories to build profit margins along the supply chain and build their market share. Even with more common materials such as polyfoam … they use lower quality less durable materials in their mattresses (even with the polyfoam and memory foam they use) and sell them at higher prices than the materials they use would justify (which is also part of the reason they don’t disclose the quality of the materials in their mattresses).
There is more about this in post #404 here and post #12 here and post #22 here along with this article.
What makes one mattress purchase (not just the mattress) “better” than another are how each mattress purchase compares to the others you are considering based on all the parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you.
Yes … outside of quality considerations or the “value” of the raw materials in a mattress … PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences) can be very different in different designs even if they use very similar materials and PPP is one of the most important parts of the “value” of a mattress purchase. If a mattress is otherwise great quality or has a great price considering the raw materials and components but isn’t suitable for you to sleep on it would have little value to you. Conversely … you can’t “feel” or test for the quality of the materials in a mattress based on your testing (low quality and high quality materials can feel the same or very similar) and if a mattress “feels” great but uses lower quality materials that only maintains it’s comfort and support for a short time (in some cases months to a few years) then it also wouldn’t be good value so knowing the quality and durability of the materials inside a mattress is also an important part of assessing “value”.
There is also more about much of this in the tutorial post here which has all the basic information, steps, and guidelines that can help you make the best possible choices … and know how to avoid the worst ones.
If a manufacturer is transparent and provides the information you need about the quality of the materials in their mattresses (unlike the major brands) then you don’t have to believe anyone’s claims or stories because you can identify any weak links and make meaningful comparisons between mattresses for yourself.
There is more about the functions of the comfort layers, support layers, and transition layers in a mattress and mattress designs and materials in general and more about the factors that affect sleeping quality and durability and how to test a mattress for PPP in the information and links in the tutorial post.
Once you get to step 3 in the tutorial … outside of Cozy Pure some of the better options and possibilities I’m aware of in the Norfolk area are listed in post #2 here.
Phoenix