X user accuses Frido of copying Chinese design, CEO Ganesh Sonawane responds: ‘These are made in India and…’

Frido CEO Ganesh Sonawane shared that he first saw the cuddle pillows in China, adding that the company manufactures its products in Maharashtra.

Frido CEO Ganesh Sonawane has responded to an X user who accused his company of copying the design of its cuddle pillows from China. In a lengthy tweet, Sonawane explained how he initially wanted to import the materials for the cuddle pillow from the neighbouring nation, but after encountering certain business restrictions, Frido’s research and development team devised a way to manufacture the product in Maharashtra. He further said that at an expo in Delhi, he also saw vendors presenting copies of Frido’s design as their own.

Frido CEO shared a post in response to an allegation of copying, in a lengthy tweet. (X/@ganeshunwired)

How did it all start?

An X user wrote, “The Frido PR team will not respond to this.” The user shared two pictures. One of the pictures is from a Chinese website, and the other shows Frido’s cuddle pillow.

What did Ganesh Sonawane say?

“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, 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. We could import the fabric because no one in India had anything like it,” the CEO wrote.

He added that while the company was preparing, it was hit by business regulations between the two countries, which made it difficult to obtain the fabric. The restrictions were later lifted, but with astronomical tariffs.

“But then bis regulations hit. even fabric imports were almost banned. now it has restarted but with massive tariffs. The team was ready with the cushion made in Maharashtra but we had no fabric cover that could deliver the delight the cuddle pillow was supposed to have. Our R&D stepped up again and developed this fabric in India but the cost shot up so much that at one point, and maybe even today, the covers of the cuddle pillow cost more than the cushion inside.”

In his post, Sonawane recalled seeing “Frido copies” at an expo in Delhi. “A few of them were selling a very poor cuddle pillow replica with neither the cushion nor the fabric anywhere close to ours. so copying and improving a product also needs a lot of know how.”

Talking about Frido’s products, he shared, “These are made in India and we clearly declare the country of origin of products by law, you can check on our website, we do import some products for saving capex and 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 wrote and concluded the tweet.

Social media has mixed reactions:

An individual posted, “Reverse engineering products from outside is completely okay as a way of tech transferring. But you can’t label it R&D and accuse others of copying your product when you yourself have developed it through the same methodology.” Another added, “Sir, your brand is miles ahead of those companies that simply import generic ‘smart’ watches and audio products from China and push them with celebrity marketing. At least you put genuine effort into customising products for India.”

A third posted, “I have bought a cuddle pillow from Frido, and it is of amazing quality and finish. Hats off to the R&D team.” A fourth wrote, “Wonderful response, Ganesh. Humble, prove your muscle and willingness to innovate.”