My first job out of school was at an American audio company. A famous one.
I didn’t know much back then. But that place taught me one thing: be picky about your product. If the sound was off by a tiny bit, you fixed it. If the casing had a small scratch, you sent it back. Those years showed me that good products don’t happen by accident. You have to fight for every detail.
Eventually I left electronics. Not because I didn’t enjoy making things. But because that industry felt like it always came down to cost and supply chains. It drifted further and further from what I really wanted — to do one small thing well, with care.
So I started looking at oral care. Toothpaste, mouthwash, tooth powder, etc. Things people use every single day. But honestly? Most of them are just okay. A lot of people think “good enough” is fine. I don’t think that’s right. If it goes in your mouth every day, you should care more.
So I decided to open a factory.
But once I got into this industry, I found a problem bigger than “how to make a good product.” No one wants to work in factories anymore.
In 2023, you go to any factory zone. Recruitment posters everywhere. But inside? Empty. People born after 1995 are almost impossible to find. Everyone would rather deliver food or drive for rideshare apps than step into a workshop.
Some people say young workers just can’t handle hard work. I don’t think that’s it.
Let me do the math. Assembly line, day and night shifts. Late nights wreck your body. Strict clock-in rules. After paying for insurance, food, and rent, you get a few thousand yuan a month. Young people do the math too — delivering food gives you flexible hours, maybe even more money. Why would you stay here?
And that’s not all. There’s this deep social bias — working in a factory means you’re low-end, you’re nobody. You can do it for ten years and still be on the same line, same position. No new skills. No growth. You get stuck. That’s not about toughness. That’s about having no hope.
I don’t think that’s the young workers’ fault. I think that’s on manufacturing itself.
If we’re still stuck in the old model — relying on crowded lines, endless overtime, low prices — if we refuse to upgrade our equipment, improve working conditions, give people room to grow — then young people will vote with their feet. They already are.
So when I started Cinoll, I didn’t ask myself “how do I cut costs the most.” I asked myself “how do I build a factory that young people actually want to work at?”
We use smart equipment. It’s not about physical strength. We train people. We give them room to move up. We let them really study the process and the formulas. I don’t want them to feel like a screw on a line. I want them to know — you’re making something people use every single day. That matters.
Cinoll doesn’t make our own brand. We manufacture for other brands — toothpaste, mouthwash, powder, sprays. They stand in the spotlight. We stay behind the scenes. That’s fine. The product speaks for itself. My name doesn’t have to be on the box.
But there’s one thought I’ve held onto, and I’ll write it here:
Young people don’t hate factories. They just haven’t found one that takes responsibility, that gives them hope, that offers a real future.
That’s why I started Cinoll. If that resonates with you, follow me. I’ll write more about what really happens in our factory — the good, the bad, the work in progress.
Thank you.
