Estimated read time: 4-5 minutes
Made from the highest quality, luxurious fabric, Minky Couture blankets take personalized comfort to the next level. They've been branded the "softest blanket ever" — and once you learn how they're made, you'll love Minky Couture even more.
CEO and founder Sandi Hendry started the company in 2009 when her daughter Shannon was in the hospital for several months with an illness. Hendry wanted to find a way to comfort her daughter during her long recovery, and Shannon asked for a "big baby blanket." Hendry searched high and low for the perfect fashionable, cozy blanket, but everything was substandard.
That's when she commissioned her production manager Jenna Houston to create the very first Minky Couture blanket. Initially, Hendry asked Houston to make 50 blankets due to their popularity. Fast forward to 2023 and that number is now in the millions.
Hendry recently gave Minky fans a peek behind the scenes at their headquarters in Ogden to help people understand all that goes into cutting, sewing and shipping each individual blanket.
A family-centric business
"We love this time of year because we are so busy," Hendry said in a recent Instagram reel. "We're like little elves wrapping up our packaging and getting our blankets ready to ship from us to you."
Some of those "elves" are Utah seamstresses who take the cut fabric from the warehouse to their homes so they can work while they're with family.
Hendry stressed that every one of their blankets is hand-touched, wrapped and sent with "a special hug from us to you" so you can feel the cozy luxury of Minky Couture when you wrap up in it.
Remembering how it started
Walking into the production room, Hendry pointed out the old-fashioned wooden frames they'd initially built to make their blankets. Eventually, the company moved on to automatic machines, which Hendry described as "life-changing" because it made their job "so much easier."
But they haven't thrown out the old ones just yet.
"We still use them," Hendry said, "They're very — I guess some people would say 'old-fashioned'... but they did the job." She added that she wants to remember and keep using the resources from the early days because "they did work" and "they got us to where we were going."
Inside Santa's Workshop
And then there's the warehouse, an 85,000-square-foot space that houses 800,000 to 900,000 units of product. Chief operations officer Kristine Snow said they call this warehouse Santa's Workshop during the Christmas season because everyone is working and moving things around as quickly as they can.
"All our online orders come to our warehouse where they are picked and packed just for you," Snow shared.
After being hand-packaged, the parcel gets a little extra touch of love before it's boxed up and sent off to "Santa's sleigh," which happens to be one of several semi trucks. According to Snow, Minky Couture fills up three semi trucks on average per day during this time of the year.
From 1 to 1 million
It's hard to believe that it's been more than 14 years since Hendry started Minky Couture with just one blanket for her daughter. One blanket became two more, which led to 10 more and then 100 more as people began requesting them for gifts. By 2015, Minky Couture had five locations throughout the state of Utah and a booming online business.
Since then, the company recently met a significant goal.
"This year, we are so humbled to reach the goal of selling a million blankets," Snow said. "That is a million people across the globe that this year alone will receive the cozy luxury of a Minky Couture."
In addition to sales, Minky Couture donates thousands of blankets to charities, hospitals and other needs throughout the year. For example, after the August wildfires in Maui, the company announced through the American Red Cross of Utah that it had set up a donation site for people across the country to contribute to relief efforts. Additionally, Minky Couture agreed to match $50,000 in donations. Giving back has always been one of the company's top values.
Why Minky Couture blankets make the best gifts
When you purchase a Minky Couture blanket for your friends or family, not only are you giving them the gift of personalized, luxurious comfort, but you're also supporting the loving hands that made them.
As a bonus, your purchase also helps the Heart of Minky Couture program, which donates mini-sized blankets to neonatal intensive care units across the nation.
These blankets are also backed by the Minky Couture Guarantee, which means they're made with the highest thread counts for long-lasting plushness and high-quality Minky fabric that retains its color and warmth for years to come. If you have any trouble at all with your blanket, Minky Couture provides world-class customer service to meet your needs.
To create the perfect, one-of-a-kind blanket for yourself or a loved one, visit softminkyblankets.com and choose your favorite color, design and embroidery options today. It's a gift that will provide personalized, luxurious comfort for years — and even generations — to come.
