'Made In India, Not Resold': Frido CEO Defends Brand's Manufacturing Claims Amid Allegations
Frido CEO gave an insight into the challenging yet rewarding journey of domestic manufacturing, specifically detailing the creation of their flagship 'Cuddle Pillow'
Popular ergonomic wellness brand on Thursday responded to criticism accusing the brand of reselling a low-cost Chinese pillow at a premium. Ganesh Sonawane, Founder and CEO of Frido has defended the brand's manufacturing claims.
He gave an insight into the ''challenging yet rewarding journey'' of domestic manufacturing, specifically listing details of the creation of their flagship 'Cuddle Pillow' against a backdrop of strict regulatory hurdles.
The CEO responded to a post on X (formerly Twitter), which showed an image of a Chinese neck pillow priced at 166 CNY (about rs 2,100) with Frido's similar "Cuddle Sleep Pillow" sold for Rs 2,999, implying both the images have near-identical oval designs.
The inspiration for the high-density cooling pillow struck Sonawane during an overseas trip. "When I first tried these smooth cooling high density pillows in China, I fell in love instantly," he shared. The initial plan was to import the product. However, his local R&D team presented a strong counter-proposal to develop the product indigenously.
"They loved the samples too, but our R&D soon came back with a counter proposal that we should make the cushion here. Give us 3 weeks and we will match the density and feel," Sonawane recounted.
The plan hit a massive roadblock when the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) regulations were revised nearly banning the import of the high-quality cooling fabric essential for the product’s feel.
"Even fabric imports were almost banned. Now it has restarted but with massive tariffs," he noted. To maintain the product's quality and "delight," the R&D team was forced to innovate and develop the specialised fabric entirely in India. This move came at a staggering cost, with Sonawane revealing, "The covers of the cuddle pillow cost more than the cushion inside."
Sonawane affirmed Frido’s commitment to local production and employment. "These are made in India and we clearly declare the country of origin of products by law... we do 5x more manufacturing and employ 100s of people directly and 1000s indirectly and will continue to do both."
"Btw the Chinese version in the picture is smaller than the frido cuddle pillow," he concluded curtly. [sic]
