MAS Holdings has always been rooted in innovation and partnerships as its driver for building businesses; it’s also taking on the challenge to imbue businesses that challenge traditional models and the status quo – not just in its approach and strategy but also in its diversification and purpose.

Femography and Softmatter were born with this challenge in mind. The conglomerate is building products differently under the brands Femography and Softmatter. Key priorities include driving the transition from disposable to reusable products, a focus on impact and accessibility, re-thinking manufacturing through automation & precision textiles, disruptive innovation and deploying new to-industry business models.

Both brands share a vision to create a positive impact on the world and act as catalysts to change and influence markets by aligning business and impact.

Transforming the future of wearable technology through textile integration

Softmatter is a wearable technology company that operates at the intersect of smart (hardware & software) and soft (textiles). Softmatters’ key value proposition revolves around their ability to integrate textile technology to create new functionality and transform device interface design whilst enabling digital products through data capture to create solutions that transform everyday life.

We are on a journey to enable positive change, driving progress through smart engineering solutions and wearable technology to elevate and empower the human experience” –  Ulysses Wong CEO, Softmatter.

We create products to fit your body and your mind from Menarche to Menopause and everything in-between

Elevating feminine wear that boldly addresses topics generally considered unconventional, Femography hopes to strengthen its efforts by providing innovative, superior life-style clothing that meets the needs of all feminine beings during different stages of their biological journey.

Women’s health and hygiene needs have been long-neglected and surrounded by taboos. We are committed to improving women’s well-being by providing innovative solutions that fit into everyday life” – Pilar Diaz, CEO, Femograph.

Made to fit everything you are – Weaving technology into the fabric of everyday

Pilar Diaz, CEO of MAS’ Femtech vertical Femography and Tehani Renganathan, Chief of Strategy, Marketing & New Ventures discuss Femography’s journey, and mission to address the needs of the feminine being, enabling women to live with greater health, confidence, and vitality.

For those out there who are not in the know, what is Femography?

Pilar Diaz: Femography is a team of courageous people disrupting the feminine health and hygiene industry, a long-neglected space that impacts half the world’s population, and where taboos have been a barrier to progress.

Women’s health is finally in the global spotlight, and at Femography, we are committed to delivering life-style apparel solutions that are better for women and the planet. Our vision is to bring greater health, dignity and confidence to feminine lives through what they wear, supporting them through a lifetime. As a B2B brand, we do that in partnership with global brands, including fortune 500 companies.

Tehani Renganathan: Inspired by the feminine being, Femography, is a brand that champions the needs of women across all life stages – From a woman’s first period to menopause and everything in between. We leverage our innovation prowess to craft solutions that meet the unmet needs of women, venturing into spaces often considered taboo by others (i.e. Periods and Hot flushes). We take on taboos at a global scale, our latest effort being around the Menopause. We are positioning both MAS and Sri Lanka as a leader in the transition of the apparel industry into the Health and Hygiene space.

You obviously believe in the power of building impact through brands, how is Femography impacting change both globally and locally?

Tehani Renganathan: Whilst addressing taboos, we also champion the transition from disposables to reusables with the launch of our reusable period panties. This will impact the environment on a global scale. Expanding this to the developing world, with a more affordable range, will help us reduce the adverse health risks of the many underprivileged women who use traditional scrap cloth as an alternative to disposable sanitary pads. This year we donated approx. 100,000 reusable period panties and napkins across Sri Lanka and we will continue to expand our efforts with a focus on improving menstrual health and equity in the developing world.

Given the disruption we have experienced both on a global and local scale, why is it so important to innovate and continue to disrupt markets?

Pilar Diaz: Gender inequalities, social impact and environmental protection require a universal urgent call to action. Progress is made in many places by many people and organizations, but more is required for a faster transition. Disruptive technologies and solutions are a catalyst for sustainable development as a society. With our work, we want to contribute towards a brighter future for all.

Reusable Period & Incontinence Underwear

On average a woman will have about 450 periods in her lifetime with about 1 in 4 women affected by Pelvic floor disorders such as urinary incontinence. The most common products today tend to be disposable sanitary napkins, incontinence pads, or tampons which add a huge burden to the environment globally. Our patented apparel technology can be incorporated into regular panties and performance wear, to create a reusable, absorbent, leak-proof and anti-microbial garment that keeps consumers dry, odor free and confident. Our advanced range of reusable absorbent underwear are better for women and the planet.

Femography is also focused on Diversity & Inclusivity, and you have made a big push to attract and engage with diverse talent and consumers, can you tell us about that and why that’s important to Femography?

Tehani Renganathan: Diversity and Inclusivity are central themes that run across our business and are reflected in our brand, the markets we serve, the bodies we clothe and most importantly the talent we employ. Whilst we are a Feminine focused brand we boast a strong team of Men who design into some of the biggest taboos in Women’s Health. For us diversity inspires a more balanced conversation pushing us to think differently and keeping us honest and open-minded to take on what is an ever-evolving industry.

…and the other missions?

Tehani Renganathan: This year we launched our ‘Impact Strategy’ which focuses on the impact we have on the global community and environment – This resonates with our purpose in creating a more equitable world for feminine beings, with the central theme of unlocking ‘Access and Affordability’ so that our solutions can elevate lives on every continent.

We have talked a lot about Femography’s purpose and mission. How have you both put your personal mark on this heritage and this company?

Pilar Diaz: I am proud of building a team of women and men who have embraced our purpose and become our best brand ambassadors. I put special emphasis on demonstrating Commitment to our vision, Creativity to innovate better solutions, and Courage to challenge the status quo.

Tehani Renganathan: Having launched both our new brand and impact strategy, I’ve strived to elevate our brand to one that extends ‘Beyond Business’ actively creating more access to meaningful solutions in developing communities as we strive for greater Equity in the Feminine World.

What does the future hold for Femography?

Pilar Diaz: Our goal will always be to improve women’s lives through better, more sustainable, life-style solutions that meet their health and hygiene needs. It’s time to shed light on Women’s Health. Femography will continue being a Lighthouse in FemTech globally, as the brand behind our Brand partners. The opportunity to disrupt this space for fast growth is significant.

Transforming apparel technology to empower females around the world

Driving impact at scale is an integral part of our work to further our vision to bring greater health, dignity and confidence to feminine lives globally. When we entered the FemTech industry, we saw the need to also cater to brands in the Health & Hygiene space, which has required us to re-design our business and operating models to support customers across both our heritage Fashion, and new Healthcare brands.

Darshika Karunanayake, Chief of Customer Development and Operations at Femography, discusses how despite the transition the fundamentals that drive Femography continue to be anchored on trust, innovation and excellence, which closely echo the values of parent company MAS Holdings.

What are some of the recent innovations you’ve introduced?

Darshika Karunanayake: Our flagship product was the Reusable Period Panty we developed, which received great commercial traction. In many ways we disrupted the traditional disposable sanitary pad market. More recently we launched a product that helps manage Hotflushes for women experiencing menopause – again a phase of life that has existed since the beginning of time with few non-medical alternatives.

Your team has worked with Hohenstein Institute on setting Global testing standards for Reusables. Why is this important to Femography?

Whilst we saw great success in the Reusable Absorbent Underwear market, we were surprised that there were no global standards for reusable products – whilst this gives manufacturers greater freedom to navigate, it is not always in the best interest of the consumer as it then operates on an ‘any claim’ works premise. So we, together with the Hohenstein Institute, launched a Global Test Protocol for Reusable Absorbent Underwear – As pioneers in Femtech it is our role to lead by example, protecting the integrity of the industry.

Any advice for a budding engineer who would like to work in this space?

If you seek a real challenge and are passionate to change the narrative on Women’s Health, then this is a space you should explore – I guarantee it will provide more Purpose in your work. Yes, it’s not a traditional established industry, but the dynamism it permits will more than compensate.

Integrating the Smart with the Soft

Ulysses Wong, CEO, and Tiasha Renganathan, Chief Customer Officer at Softmatter discuss their approach to business building, and the vision for impact in the next decade.

For those out there that are not in the know, what is Softmatter?

Ulysses Wong: Softmatter is a sketch-to-shelf product development and manufacturing company that integrates the smart with the soft. In collaboration with our partners, we strive to positively impact everyday lives – from the consumers that leverage our solutions to the communities within which they are built.

Tiasha Renganathan: At our core we aim to change the wearability and user experience of devices that we all interact with daily changing its very composition through the integration of textile technology. Catering to the needs within the Consumer Technology and Consumer Health industries we are focused on working with Fortune 500 partners in building businesses differently. Efforts include the development of a B2B brand, innovation in revenue and monetization models and embedding data analytics and AI in marketing efforts. In doing so we aim to create solutions that are accessible and affordable to communities across the world including right here in Sri Lanka.

What is the importance of building a brand in a b2b context and in this domain?

Tiasha Renganathan: There is often a mixed view on the importance of brand building in a B2B context. However, I feel companies such as Intel have proven the value creation and value capture that can be enabled.

Very specifically our aspiration is to build an ingredient brand – a brand that is not really consumer-facing but consumer-oriented in establishing itself as a best-in class provider of a specific component or capability. That capability for Softmatter is the excellence in integrating textile technology in smart/device-based applications.

Besides the more obvious benefits of competitor differentiation, over time strong ingredient brands are less susceptible to shifts in consumer preferences due to the strong affinity and credibility built in delivering a unique capability.

Given the disruption we have experienced both on a global and local scale, why is it so important to innovate and continue to disrupt markets?

Ulysses Wong: Innovation is at the heart of business growth and a failure to innovate will bring into question a company’s relevance and survival over time. We are experiencing rapid technological progress and by extension social change with the emergence of Web 3.0 – we have this opportunity to really understand and apply a consumer-centered innovation mindset and process to solve the challenges of today with a view to improving living standards in the future. Innovation is not only a business imperative it is a social imperative.

We have talked a lot about Softmatter’s purpose and mission. How have you both put your personal mark on this heritage and this company?

Ulysses Wong: The people of Softmatter are bold, caring, and energetic changemakers. My job is to enable and amplify their skillsets in delivering value to our global clients. I focus on building long-term, strategic, worldwide relationships with our customers and business partners.

Tiasha Renganathan: The heritage of a company, the culture of a team is all driven by the diversity and strength of its people. The purpose of Softmatter which brings emphasis to themes such as access or democratization, equity-driven leadership, and impact as a driver of business are increasingly relevant not only in our context as a team but in a global context. My aspiration is to strive to encourage and build a team and a culture that is focused on playing our part in being changemakers in a world that increasingly requires each of us to lend a voice and take action to create a world that is environmentally conscious and socially equitable and inclusive.

What does the future hold for Softmatter?

Ulysses Wong: Our customers range from start-ups disrupting markets through innovative technology development to some of the largest technology/health OEMs in the world today with access to a global consumer base. Therein lies this unique opportunity to facilitate access and scale solutions by connecting creators to consumers and facilitating the value chain as Softmatter.

Your end-to-end solutions provider

Softmatter’s proprietary product development process, comprehensive patent portfolio and vision in creating precision textile integrations at scale have the potential to revolutionize the future of wearables.

Vishwa Aluthge, Chief Product Officer at Softmatter talks of how Softmatter’s technology and product focus pave the way for a new approach to value creation and enabling product-market fit.

What differentiates Softmatter in this space?

Softmatter is one of the few companies to develop and deploy integrated textile technologies within the Consumer Technology and Consumer Health industries. A key differentiator of Softmatter is the configurable technology stacks we have developed to a high technology readiness level enabling a customer’s ability to create a multitude of applications. We have a hub-spoke approach to product development leveraging core MAS technologies such as engineered knit and narrow performance fabrics and complementing this with the development of platforms in the wearables domain ranging from sensor technologies to feedback platforms.

What are some of the recent innovations you’ve introduced?

Our head-worn wearables solutions, which vary from AR/VR products to sleep monitoring devices, are a great example of a product category we have deployed key innovations in. If we talk of AR/VR specifically the development of a stretchable conductor that transfers high speed data/power, implementation of a flexible battery powering mechanism and the integration of sensor and haptic technologies offers customers the ability to create multiple applications. The future of Consumer Technology is increasingly 3D, and these developments are a key part of our product strategy with more to come ….

If we consider sleep our sleep monitoring products were first designed for persons with chronic sleep and respiratory disorders, but they have since expanded to cater to more wellness applications as themes around the need to address stress and mental health have come to the forefront. We have hence developed sensor arrays that include the ability to monitor EEG or brain activity for example among much another biometrics key to leading a healthy active lifestyle.

Your team is working with IPC on setting global wearable standards. Why is this important to SM?

When we started creating smart apparel back in 2013, there were no standards at the time. However, we have always adhered to the principle that consumers should be able to use our smart devices in the same way that they would a non-smart product. We didn’t want our products to be used with hesitancy because they had textile circuitry & electronics in them. This led us to develop extremely robust and durable e-textile platforms and we developed our own standards to test them as there were none.

We are currently working with standard-creation organizations like IPC to embrace Softmatter standards globally in order to assist others in creating reliable products.

Any advice for a budding engineer who would like to work in this space?

Whether you’re an engineer, bio-medicine professional or a designer coming into wearables, you should not be afraid to push the envelope on what’s possible. However, you should also keep in mind that you are making products for humans and as such that comfort, wearability and aesthetics take precedence.

Head-worn Wearables

Sleep apnea impacts more than 936 million people worldwide. While traditional care models saw under-investment in this space the last five years have seen focused investment, innovation and a number of players entering this space with solutions to support treatment and management of conditions. Our solutions in this domain include the development of soft systems with integrated sensors and actuators to help analyze and enhance sleep. Our EEG head-worn wearable explores the use of electronics and textiles, for the monitoring of brain activity through a lightweight and portable device.