By a woman for the women

Safe, innovative, refreshing, and handcrafted – these are the terms that Wiz, a brand for personal care and hygiene products, represents. Incepted in 2001, Wiz is a subsidiary of Cosmic Products, a brand that is renowned for its extensive experience, focus and expertise in high-quality, affordable personal care and hygiene products since 1978.

Founded by Manisha and her husband, Wiz's 'Be Clean, Be Happy' vision lays the foundation for its customer-centric approach and its attitude towards colleagues, and stakeholders. The brand's vast product range includes Hand Wash, Hand Sanitizers, Disinfectant Wipes and Sprays, Vegetable and Fruit Wash, Body Wash, Wet Wipes, and Shampoos.

Manisha shares, "Coming from a family of entrepreneurs that has keen interests in real estate, hospital, and manufacturing businesses, entrepreneurship has always been my preferred choice of career. In 2004, I married into a business family with a four-generation history in manufacturing FMCG products; that's where I found my true calling creating a brand of personal care products that are high quality yet affordable. Having begun with sales and operations, I have been dedicated to nurturing WIZ into the brand it is today. It has been a roller-coaster journey as brand creation and brand acceptability are the biggest challenges for growth. Still, I have enjoyed every minute of it and it has been a journey filled with learning. It has been my father-in-law's continuous support that has made me the entrepreneur I am today. I had to tell myself at every step if it was easy, everyone would do it. I think the motivating factor was my passion for bringing happiness to our customers through good hygiene."

They are currently a team of 170 employees who have stuck with us through thick and thin. Every challenge has brought in a new opportunity for growth, and Manisha shares that this is what keeps them growing.

Wiz being an FMCG personal care brand in categories like hand wash, hand sanitizer, wet wipes, has gained favorable attraction by the COVID ordeal. Since personal hygiene became the center stage of preventing the spread and hand hygiene becoming a priority, they have seen a demand surge in both waves. However, they are yet to see it translating into habit formation.

During the first wave, hand sanitizer, a product Wiz has been offering since 2008, was put into the essential product category by the government. Catering to the needs of fellow citizens became more like a responsibility, and thus they continued to operate even during the nationwide lockdown. Operations were challenging initially as they prioritized their employees, out of which the maximum were women, safety and provided to the growing consumer demand.

"When we say that we believe in women empowerment, it is not just mere words, but we believe in the spirit of it. This is the reason that more than 90% of our workforce is women, not only for white-collared employees but also for the blue-collared employees. Out of 170 employees in our manufacturing facilities and offices, over 150 are women. Every other person we hire for administrative duties or manufacturing staff is a conscious and deliberate move to hire a woman. We believe that if we want to empower a woman, the simplest way is to make her financially independent. The care factor has to reflect in our lifestyle for it to continue as a mission statement for our customers, and we remain committed to this," ends Manisha on empowering women and safety during these tough times.