'Made in India, not reselling low-cost Chinese pillows': Frido CEO defends brand amid allegations

The CEO of popular ergonomic wellness brand, Frido, responded after the brand was accused of reselling low-cost Chinese pillows at a premium price. 

Frido CEO defends brand's manufacturing claims

Ganesh Sonawane, Founder and CEO of Frido, shared the 'challenging yet rewarding journey' of domestic manufacturing, detailing the creation of their flagship 'Cuddle Pillow' amid strict regulatory hurdles.

The CEO responded to a post on X that shared an image of a Chinese neck pillow priced at 166 CNY (about Rs 2,100) and Frido's similar "Cuddle Sleep Pillow" priced at Rs 2,999, pointing out that both images have near-identical oval designs. Sonawane admitted that he got inspiration for the high-density cooling pillow during an overseas trip.

"When I first tried these smooth cooling high density pillows in China, I fell in love instantly," he remarked.

His initial plan was to import the product, but 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 shared.

However, the plan hit a massive roadblock when the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) regulations were modified, 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," the CEO noted.

To maintain the product's quality and "delight," the R&D team innovated and developed the specialised fabric entirely in India.

"The covers of the cuddle pillow cost more than the cushion inside,” Sonawane revealed.

The Frido CEO concluded the elaborate post with his 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 signed off. 

when i first tried these smooth cooling high density pillows in china, i fell in love instantly. got the sample, negotiated the price, asked the manufacturer to make a sample batch and told my team back home that we had found something truly unique. they loved the samples too,… https://t.co/fX9ABOGbiBpic.twitter.com/Nzy4fOjfCa

— Ganesh Sonawane (@ganeshunwired) December 11, 2025

Also read: “Stories like this...”: Deepinder Goyal lauds student who worked as Blinkit picker now set to join Zomato as designer (startuppedia.in)