Winners Napkin Unit, a joint venture by Ernakulam District Panchayat and Edakkattuvayal Kudumbasree Unit, prefers to stay unique before entering the open market. What makes them stand apart is their novel attempt at offering high quality sanitary napkins to the financially deprived by means of sponsorship.
Their sanitary napkin brand titled ‘Q Days’ is hoping to spread its goodwill among women with their two newly-designed schemes.
‘Buy two and then one for charity’ and ‘Rs 380 gift voucher’ are the two schemes presently under discussion. The former states that if a customer buys two packets of Q Days, the unit will sponsor one for the needy. The latter is a sponsorship scheme where a customer can sponsor menstrual hygiene of a financially backward girl child or woman for an entire year by taking the gift voucher worth Rs 380.
Once a customer opts to sponsor a woman, the unit will promptly supply 12-13 packets of sanitary napkins to her. Aimed as a massive project, the unit has initiated the process of finding women to be sponsored from orphanages and tribal areas.
Another interesting scheme also in consideration benefits both the sponsor and the one being sponsored. If a customer goes for a voucher of Rs 760, which is twice the amount mentioned in the Rs 380 scheme, the unit will take care of an year-long supply of sanitary napkins to the customer as well. Other brands of sanitary pads available in the market cost the same or more for an year and the unit is all set to address the needs of two women at that cost.
The initiative will see Kudumbasree members doing a door-to-door distribution of the product in Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Ernakulam, Thrissur, Malappuram, Kannur and Kasargod.
A regular packet of Q Days comprising eight pads is worth Rs 34 whereas 6 pads of a larger size will cost Rs 36. These individually packed ultra thin napkins with wings and the gel technology offers high absorption capacity up to 80 ml. Nearly 30000-50000 packets are being sold every month by this direct marketing according to the members.
The unit has been functioning since 2011 and the name of their initial brand was Komfort. It produced natural sanitary pads modelled on Arunachalam Muruganantham’s product. However, unable to withstand the competition offered by the thin new generation pads with most convenient features led them to close down the business. Later in 2016, the product was revamped and titled ‘Q Days’ with all the new features with minimal use of chemicals.
“Our aim is to assure high quality sanitary napkins for the middle class at lowest price. We would like to implement both these schemes across Kerala with the support of campuses,” says the Kudumbasree unit. Kudumbasree members will be appointed to recognize orphanages and financially backward women for this.
“The initiative will be transparent” said Afsal K A, Marketing wing head of Winners Napkin Unit. “This venture was started as means of livelihood for 10 families in 2011 and now, our aim is to let it flourish and make for the livelihood of at least 150 people,” he added.
The pads are manufactured by U-Toll Corporation Ltd, a Delhi-based company. Further processes like sorting, packing, marketing are done at the napkin unit functioning near Aarakkunnam, Piravom. The design and quality of the napkins are verified by Jinoj K, the product consultant of the unit. The product will hit the market within three months. It is eventually hoping to start a manufacturing unit in Kerala as it would aid in spreading their services to all districts.