In a country with not a wide enough reach of sanitary products, Wager has step in the right direction. It has been rated as one of India’s Top Sanitary Napkin Manufacturer. The Founder and Managing Director, Mr. Jinoj Kandankovil, is one of the youngest and successful Industrialists in the Sanitary Napkin Industry in India. Under his instinctual direction and progressive leadership, Wager has delivered more than 30 plus varieties of sanitary napkin products to esteemed clients across the country and overseas.
Give us a brief about Wager
Wager Group is a combination of Wager International Pvt Ltd, Wager Packaging India Pvt Ltd, Wager Machineries, Prozone Hygiene Pvt Ltd and Wager Consulting. We manufacture Sanitary napkins and machines under Wager International Pvt Ltd. Wager Group was established in the year 2009. With its high level of commitment and incredible efficiency, we have risen to be the most trusted Manufacturer and Private labeller of Sanitary Napkins & an eminent Maker of Automatic Sanitary Napkin Making Machines in India.
Our continuous research and study has resulted in wide range of custom-made products to meet specific needs of our clients and their end users. We take pride in accomplishing top-notch product quality and genuineness in customer service.
What are the products and services offered by Wager?
We manufacture high quality Sanitary napkins, Maternity Pads, Panty Liners, and Herbal Pads etc. We are the only OEM and ODM of Sanitary Napkins in India with more than 40 private labels from our production. We are also manufacturers of fully automatic and semi-automatic Sanitary napkin making machines.
Access to international routes via air and sea are also easy from Cochin. Above all, Kerala has a reputable image on a world level in terms of health, hygiene, lifestyle and literacy.
We help young startups and new entrants to start business without having to spend lakhs of money on the machines or facing those daunting risks involved in manufacturing. We offer supportive consulting services too for those who are newly venturing into the industry.
Under Wager Machineries, we manufacture a uniquely designed product called FootOp, a foot operated door opener to be used at hospitals and public bathrooms to stop spreading of virus and germs through door handles. It turned out to be all the more beneficial during COVID times.
Under Wager Packaging we offer high quality product packaging solutions especially for sanitary napkins
How do you ensure quality in your products?
The Quality of our product is the first and foremost priority of our manufacturing process. When a customer launches their own brand manufactured by us, we take is as our responsibility to ensure the end user comes back to the product considering the comfort and convenience in using our product. Such an assurance comes only when we give utmost priority to quality. Our QC division is well equipped with latest lab facility with testing tools to conduct quality checks on the finished products ensuring the napkin delivered to client is defect free. Every single napkin is checked from production line through advanced defect detection cameras on well-defined parameters before dispatch. We strictly implement the principles of self-inspection and mutual inspection between different processes, precisely control each production detail, track records throughout the whole process and ensure consistency in product quality. Hygiene workers are made to follow strict clothing and disinfection steps to abide by our quality and hygiene standards. We follow certain strict quality tests every 15 mins and 3 hours, and material tests before starting production. Aging Test, Raw material quality consistency test, GSM Test etc. are to name a few that we follow mandatorily
Why did you choose Kerala for setting up your manufacturing unit?
Kerala is a natural choice as we are all Keralites. But it is also a conscious choice because of the quality of labor and administration. It is a comfortable state to do business without the torment of bribery at the administration level or the issues with illiteracy at the labor level. Our vision itself was to make Kerala a national hub for manufacturing feminine hygiene products. So it was only right to establish here. Access to international routes via air and sea are also easy from Cochin. Above all, Kerala has a reputable image on a world level in terms of health, hygiene, lifestyle and literacy.
Considering you are into the manufacturing sector, how do you manage human resources?
Human resources are a challenge at all times. Especially in manufacturing of sanitary napkins if we do not have dependable man power it is risky in the long run. The technicians and laborers need proper skills and training to minimize wastage and maximize productivity.
Every day we start with our morning meeting which gives them a clear idea on the work scheduled and their goal for the day. Teamwork is an essential culture that we follow. Core Team members meet every week to discuss on interdepartmental functioning and the forecast for the coming week. Our staffs enjoy free monthly quota of sanitary napkins for their personal and family usage. Hand wash and sanitizers have been our staffs’ daily routine practiced religiously from the beginning. We continuously educate them on importance of quality and hygiene practices
Who are your customers? Do you have International clients?
Corporates and industrialists from big brands are our regular clients. We do have clients from abroad who make products from our factory due to better quality and price compared to other countries. Many young startups and entrepreneurs who wish to venture into the sanitary napkin industry have been expressing a great deal of enthusiasm in making a mark in this field. As our MOQ is as low as 1 Lakh pieces (although our daily production capacity is 1 million) they find it easy to launch their own brand with low investment.
How is the access to menstrual hygiene products in India?
In India only about 20% of women are using commercial sanitary napkins. Indian Government has been taking a lot of measures in offering free sanitary napkins in rural areas. Even in Kerala, many schools and villages have been fitted with sanitary napkin vending machines for easy access of napkins for students and rural women at all times. Sanitary napkins are quite accessible and there has not been much of an issue with availability. However the awareness on menstrual hygiene has not reached everywhere. We conduct regular awareness programs on menstrual hygiene and usage of sanitary napkins at schools, colleges, corporate offices and rural areas through our NGO – CHRD, (Centre for Hygiene Research and Development). We along with many other NGOs celebrate Menstrual Hygiene Day every year on 28th of May conducting various events and campaigns. CHRD is committed to creating proper awareness on overall personal and menstrual hygiene among men and women
There are so many organic pads flooding the market. Are your products environment-friendly? If not, do you plan to venture into this sector?
We do make organic and environment-friendly pads. We have products made of Pure Cotton, herbs and bamboo fiber too. As per the requirement of the customer we manufacture products for them. Having said that let me remind you that a used pad with menstrual blood must be incinerated. Biodegradable sanitary napkins are good for nature but following wrong disposal methods make it harmful to humans. Blood is an easy culture medium for hundreds of types of germs, virus and bacteria. Burying it in the soil, flushing it in the toilet, throwing it into water-bodies are wrong methods of disposal. Such disposal allows germs to catch on the blood particles and grow vigorously. Hence even a 100% biodegradable sanitary napkin is still harmful to humans if they are not disposed properly. A truly environment friendly way of using a napkin is in the right method of disposal which is incineration.
Tell us about your core team and their expertise?
We started somewhere in the year 2008 when we were all amateurs to the industry. We had no financial or educational back ground to support our efforts. But, our vision and our purpose were quite clear to all of us from the beginning. The team’s energy, enthusiasm, positivity, persistence and the never give up attitude even during the darkest hours kept us together and progressing. From nowhere, today we are a leading manufacturer in the country. As a team we consistently and zealously study market needs and changing trends. We talk openly about errors and failures which help us progress both individually and as a company
About our Founder
Jinoj K, our Founder and Managing Director,is the brain behind Wager. He leads the company with a rare-to-find leadership style of using the head, heart and spine. Jinoj started off at a very young age of 13, as a newspaper boy and pursued other part time jobs alongside his schooling. His corporate career commenced from Malayala Manorama as Circulation Promoter at the age of 17 and was a top performer all through his tenure there and other jobs that followed.
At the age of 23, He happened to witness the poor status of menstrual hygiene at schools and started exploring options to make sanitary napkins accessible to all. At the age of 24, he left his high paying corporate career to start his entrepreneurial journey in the field of feminine hygiene. He now has over 12 years of experience in the Sanitary napkin field.
The core team members include Reni Auxiliya PW, our General Manager, Jomin Jacob, our Plant Manager, Retheesh, our Technical head and Manoj our facilities Manager.
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