Mr. Jinoj’s Vision to Create New Industrialists & Entrepreneurs in Feminine Hygiene Sector of India

In recent times, there has been an ongoing discussion on the quality issues of feminine hygiene products. Some sanitary napkins available in the market contain hormone-disrupting, VOCs (volatile organic compounds), and phthalates. Studies show that long-term exposure to these harmful chemicals can be absorbed through the genitals, causing menstrual irregularities, rashes, and infections. In the pursuit of increasing their sales, numerous sanitary napkin brands compromise on the quality of their products. Furthermore, there also seems to be a shortage of options available. Most sanitary napkins are designed from a generic outlook, neglecting the unique needs of every woman. Given these difficulties, Wager offers custom-made, high-quality products to fulfill the sanitary needs of Indian women. Being one of India’s top sanitary napkin manufacturers and private labelers, the company boasts of a diverse product range that includes economy pads, premium pads, maternity pads, panty liners, etc. In addition to this, the company performs an array of different operations, functioning as Sanitary Napkin Making Automatic Machine Fabricators, Automatic Machine Technical Consultants, New Product Design Innovators, Private Label Sanitary Napkin Manufacturers, & a Seamless Packing Solution Provider.

Wager: An All-Encompassing Feminine Hygiene Brand

Established in 2009, Wager is a trusted Automatic Sanitary Napkin Making Machine Fabricators in the country which has production capacities ranging from 300 to 900 pads per minute. Wager is also a top rated Manufacturer of Sanitary Napkin Products for Private Labels. Over the years, the company has dedicated most of its time to conduct researches and studies to help them custom-make their products to meet the needs of its clients and end-users. The never-ending list of positive customer feedback and reviews is a testament to the company’s top-notch products.
What makes Wager different from ordinary sanitary napkin manufacturers is its persistent attempts to bring about awareness. The company makes genuine efforts to connect with its end-users. Founder & Managing Director of Wager, Mr. Jinoj K stated, “I ensure I’m directly connected to the end-user through our NGO called CHRD (Centre for Hygiene Research & Development). We regularly conduct awareness sessions at schools, hospitals, IT companies, and homemakers in rural and urban areas.”
The brand considers itself as an overall solution provider of Comfort, Health, and Hygiene during Menstruation. It’s constant engagement with customers through such awareness sessions, gives the company an understanding of the different needs of different sects of women. This further helps the company come up with new technologies and designs to resolve its customers’ problems. Last line under the same title – In the last decade, the company has successfully delivered over 30 unique sanitary napkin product designs for Private labels nationally and internationally. Since Wager is a manufacturer, it is rare that the general public knows about their brand. But their private label brands are quite popular in the market.

Mr. Jinoj’s Motivation Behind Founding WAGER

Back in 2007, Mr. Jinoj was watching a Malayalam Movie named Notebook directed by Rosshan Andrews, with his family. In the movie, there happened to be a scene wherein a teen schoolgirl gets her period during school hours. Unprepared, the girl gets flustered with embarrassment and hesitates to ask for a pad. After a while, she manages to muster the courage to ask a boy to buy her sanitary napkins from a store nearby. This particular scene intrigued Mr. Jinoj and compelled him to ask his elder sister whether this was a common scenario at the school she taught. Much to his surprise, she admitted that this was more common than it should be. This kept him thinking for days on end. He wondered why such a natural bodily function was looked down upon. Another thing that bothered him was the unavailability of such a basic necessity. “It kept me thinking and concern for many days on why such a common and natural issue should remain unresolved even after centuries of technological advancement.” He said. The urge to resolve this issue kept Mr. Jinoj on his toes for several days. He approached numerous vending machine companies to see if those machines could be used to produce sanitary napkins. After several vain attempts, he thought of designing and making his own vending that would exclusively make sanitary pads and sell them to the schools nearby.

The Virtues That Drive Mr. Jinoj and His Brand

A successful company is one that works on building a relationship of trust and transparency with its clients. “Transparency is the basis of any relationship, be it friendship or business.” Said Mr. Jinoj. For the company, every customer serves as an opportunity to impart real knowledge. The company believes in helping its clients launch their Private Label brand. Over the years, the brand has launched more than 40 private label brands in the sanitary napkins industry.

Some Noteworthy Milestones of WAGER

Having been in the sanitary napkin industry for nearly a decade, WAGER has won numerous laurels and hit new milestones with each passing year.

Here are some of the most notable milestones:

• In 2007, the company started R&D on Vending Machines for Sanitary Napkins.
• In 2009, the company manufactured its first set of Vending Machine & Incinerators.
• In 2010, the company manufactured a fully sealed Sanitary Napkin brand called ‘Sanion’.
• In 2013, the company shifted to Product Development and Consultancy in association with some of the top Chinese companies.
• In 2014, the company consulted and worked with Kudumbasree, Asia’s Largest Women SHG under the Kerala Government.
• In 2017, it established its 1st factory in Tamil Nadu along with two Production Lines and launched more than 5 private Label Brands.
• In 2018, it established its 2nd factory in Cochin along with a Pouch Making Unit and also launched more than 12 brands through Private Labeling.
• In 2019, the company was already supplying more than 40 private label brands across the country and overseas.
• In 2020, the company is set to install two new factories in 2 other states in the country. The production of the same will commence in 2021.

Mr. Jinoj’s Inspiring Entrepreneurship Journey

Mr. Jinoj’s entrepreneurship journey started rather early. He was just 22 when he decided to start his venture of making Sanitary Napkin vending machines. During those days, topics revolving around menstruation and sanitary napkins were considered taboo, even by women. To add to the absurdity of the situation, Mr. Jinoj was an unmarried male with practically zero experience in the field. “One can imagine the mental block in people to accept me into their premises to hear about my product.”
What came in handy was his experience working as a newspaper boy at the age of 13, and as a corporate salesman at 17. His nine years of experience handling all types of tasks and customers helped him move forward.
Another setback for him was his financial background, which proved to be a deterrent to his business endeavor. He was forced to prove his efficiency everywhere to be noticed. Despite the challenging circumstances, Mr. Jinoj kept at it and surmounted all the obstacles. He managed to scale his brand not only at the regional/national levels but also at the international level. His success story is a testament to the power of grit, persistence, and a strong belief in one’s ideals.

The Driving Force Behind Mr. Jinoj

Throughout Mr. Jinoj’s entrepreneurial journey, his primary focus has been on his efforts and not the monetary aspects. For him, the money came almost automatically once he focused on his work. The learnings from experience held much more importance to him. His vision was crystal clear from the beginning. He had forecasted much ahead that a good quality napkin manufacturing business would be a sure shot success. While he has already achieved his first 5-year target just as planned, his next 5-year vision is in the making.
Mr. Jinoj firmly believes that his relentless efforts, struggles, and failures have made him the successful entrepreneur he is today. “As the founder of my company, I ensured to learn every aspect of my business to its roots. I wasn’t a bright student in the class and hence, memorizing stuff was tiring sometimes, but the desire to learn gave the necessary boost.” He said.
Despite his academic inadequacies, Mr. Jinoj ensured that he was open to learning everything he could. This helped him absorb what was important and discard what wasn’t. It also taught him the significance of consistent focus and learning.
When asked about his support system in the industry, he said that his mentor and business partner, Mr. Jun Li, CEO of one of China’s biggest manufacturers of feminine hygiene products, has been very supportive during his early days. Mr. Jun Li’s immense knowledge and experience in the industry has been a guiding factor for Mr. Jinoj. Their QC Labs have been home to Wager’s in-house R&D facilities to create advanced and hi-tech product designs for our clients until 2020.

Mr. Jinoj on the Importance of R&D

According to Mr. Jinoj, R&D plays a significant role in the success and growth of the company. He says that a major chunk of WAGER’s success is attributed to its R&D department. “I operate from the R&D unit as it is very crucial for product design and procuring relevant raw materials. Private labeling in the sanitary napkin industry without an R&D sector will not be able to survive for long.” He said.
Until this year, the company’s in-house R&D lab in China, which is regarded as one of the best labs in the world, helped it come up with the latest and most advanced testing systems. From 2021, the company is establishing a Common Facility Centre cum QC Lab with State-of-the-Art Infrastructure and testing systems exclusively for Absorbent Hygiene Products in India. This will be one of its kind in our country which will help quality products to find its due recognition in the market.

Mr. Jinoj’s Personal and Professional Goals for the Coming Years

Today only 20% of the female population use sanitary napkins. To fill this deficiency we need more new entrants in the market with competitive and meaningful products that are known for their quality. Because of the increasing business opportunities, Mr. Jinoj plans to create new industrialists and entrepreneurs who can enjoy the benefits of this rising industry. Mr. Jinoj says that he is keen on establishing new associated factories across India, mainly because various brands have started looking within the country to manufacture their products. Give the bright prospects, Mr. Jinoj is working on establishing new associated factories in Maharashtra and Andhra for his clients, who happen to be new in the manufacturing field. In the associated factory model, a new entrant can immediately take advantage of our decade long expertise, industry knowledge and quality guarantees.

Mr. Jinoj on Customer Awareness

One of Mr. Jinoj’s primary concerns is how easily a customer trusts a sanitary napkin brand. For them, an advertisement or two with some discount and some fancy words thrown on the packaging does the trick. This lack of awareness poses a severe threat to not just their hygiene but also the quality standards in general.
“I eagerly look forward to the day when women will be wise enough to question every claim made on a sanitary napkin packet and smart enough to compare quality instead of price. Because it’s an open secret that the compromise made on the quality of feminine hygiene products is the compromise on their reproductive system, and not to mention the future of our country.” He said. Mr. Jinoj believes that many women completely miss out on the essential factors of menstrual hygiene, and focus more on the less important factors, which must change. Despite the pervasive ignorance, he is hopeful that things will change with proper awareness and education.

Mr. Jinoj’s Message to Aspiring Entrepreneurs

Every entrepreneur sets out on his/her journey with the idea to innovate. In the pursuit of the same, they are faced with a gazillion obstacles, the burden of which can either make them or break them. Having been in the industry for nearly a decade, Mr. Jinoj has acquired some timeless wisdom which he’d like to impart to young entrepreneurs. Here’s what he has to say, “ A start-up must have a clear understanding of themself in the first place. A business largely runs based on the Founder’s capacity. Hence, it is imperative that we unmistakably know our strengths and weaknesses before venturing into a business. When we know what we don’t know, we can identify people or technology to fill in that gap.”

“Family support is one of the most important factors in business success. Especially when you are in the business of feminine hygiene, having an understanding and a supportive family speeds ups the efficiency and palliates our journey. Mr. Jinoj and Smisha, a passionate teacher by profession, are married for over 8 years and together they have two amazing sons Aaron and Aarav”