In conversation with Manveen Ssharma, CEO of Pinq Polka at Media Mohalla Empower Her Exclusives
Manveen Ssharma, CEO of Pinq Polka, is a dynamic entrepreneur redefining feminine hygiene, intimate wear, and lifestyle essentials through a comfort-first approach. With over 15 years of experience across aviation, hospitality, luxury automobiles, and legal services, she brings deep expertise in customer experience, sales, and consumer engagement.
Inspired by her own experiences and the everyday challenges women face with intimate wear, she launched Pinq Polka in 2017 with a vision to create products that combine functionality, comfort, confidence, and style. Today, the brand has emerged as a trusted name offering innovative solutions ranging from sanitary pads and breast tapes to modern shapewear designed for real-world wearability.
In this exclusive conversation with Media Mohalla, Manveen Ssharma shares her journey of challenging outdated industry narratives, building research-led products, and reshaping the future of shapewear with the philosophy of “UBU Everyday – You Be You.”
- Your journey into building Pinq Polka was inspired by personal challenges—how did those experiences influence your decision to rethink shapewear as a comfort-first everyday essential?
My journey with Pinq Polka started from a very personal place. Like many women, I experienced the discomfort, confusion, and compromise that often come with intimate wear and shapewear. Most products on the market focused heavily on appearance, while comfort and practicality were treated almost as secondary. I realized women were constantly adjusting, layering, hiding discomfort, or avoiding certain outfits altogether.
That experience made me question why shapewear couldn’t simply work with women’s lives instead of against them. I wanted to create products that women could wear for long hours, during work, travel, events, or everyday moments, without feeling restricted or uncomfortable. That’s what shaped our comfort-first philosophy. For us, shapewear isn’t about changing your body; it’s about supporting your confidence in a way that feels effortless and real.
2. Shapewear has traditionally been about “correction” rather than comfort-what made you challenge this long-standing industry narrative?
For a long time, the shapewear industry has been built around the idea that women need to be “fixed” or compressed to fit a certain standard. I felt that the narrative was outdated and disconnected from how modern women actually want to feel. Today’s consumer values comfort, mobility, confidence, and authenticity just as much as aesthetics.
At Pinq Polka, we wanted to move away from the idea of shapewear being something women “suffer through” for occasions. Instead, we approached it as an everyday support system lightweight, breathable, functional, and confidence-enhancing. The goal is not to erase individuality but to help women feel comfortable in their own skin.
3. Coming from industries like aviation and luxury automobiles, how did your understanding of customer experience shape the way you design intimate wear and shapewear products?
My experience in aviation and luxury automobiles taught me that customer experience is built on the smallest details. In both industries, comfort, functionality, reliability, and emotional experience play a huge role in building trust. Consumers may forget marketing campaigns, but they always remember how a product made them feel.
I brought the same mindset into Pinq Polka. We think deeply about real usage, how long someone wears the product, how it feels against the skin, how breathable it is, whether it moves naturally with the body, and how seamlessly it fits into everyday routines. Even packaging, communication, and education are designed to make women feel comfortable and informed rather than intimidated.
4. Pinq Polka focuses on real-world functionality-how do you translate everyday consumer struggles into practical shapewear solutions?
A large part of our product development begins with listening. We pay close attention to what women actually struggle with in daily life: visible lines, rolling waistbands, discomfort during long wear, overheating, outfit limitations, sizing confusion, or products that simply don’t stay in place.
Instead of designing products purely around trends, we focus on solving these everyday concerns in practical ways. That means using breathable fabrics, seamless construction, flexible shaping, skin-friendly materials, and fits that adapt to movement. We also focus on creating solutions that are wearable across different body types and lifestyles, because functionality only works when it feels effortless in real life.
5. What were the most overlooked gaps in the shapewear category when you entered the market, particularly in terms of fit, breathability, and long-hour wearability?
One of the biggest gaps was the assumption that discomfort is normal in shapewear. Many products prioritized extreme compression over actual wearability. Women were expected to tolerate tightness, heat, restricted movement, and poor breathability for the sake of appearance.
We saw a major opportunity to rethink fabrics, construction, and fit from the ground up. Breathability became extremely important for us, especially considering India’s climate and long-hour usage patterns. We also noticed that sizing was often inconsistent and not inclusive enough. So our approach focused on softer support, smoother fits, lightweight materials, and designs that women could realistically wear beyond just special occasions.
6. Your brand champions “UBU Everyday – You Be You.” How do you ensure your shapewear empowers individuality rather than conforming to unrealistic body standards?
“UBU Everyday – You Be You” is at the heart of everything we do because we genuinely believe confidence comes from comfort and self-acceptance, not from trying to fit into unrealistic ideals.
Our products are designed to enhance ease and support, not to completely alter or hide the body. We consciously avoid messaging that promotes body shaming or perfection-driven standards. Instead, we focus on helping women feel secure, comfortable, and confident in their own individuality. Whether someone wants light smoothing, layering support, or simply better outfit functionality, the choice should come from personal comfort, not societal pressure.
7. Research-led innovation is a key pillar for Pinq Polka-can you share how this approach specifically influences your shapewear design and material choices?
Research is central to how we innovate because intimate wear is deeply connected to daily comfort and body experience. We spend a lot of time understanding fabric behavior, climate suitability, fit issues, and real consumer feedback before developing products.
This directly influences our material choices, we prioritize softness, stretch recovery, breathability, durability, and skin-friendly construction. We also study how women wear these products in everyday situations, whether it’s at work, during travel, or under different outfit types. That insight helps us create shapewear that performs well without feeling heavy or restrictive. Innovation for us is not about adding complexity, it’s about making products feel simpler, lighter, and more intuitive for the consumer.
8. In a market where aesthetics often overpower usability, how do you strike the right balance between shaping performance, comfort, and style?
We believe the best products are the ones where functionality and aesthetics coexist naturally. A product may look visually appealing, but if it feels uncomfortable after a few hours, consumers eventually disconnect from it.
At Pinq Polka, we approach design with equal importance on performance and comfort. We focus on seamless silhouettes, flattering fits, lightweight shaping, and versatile styling while ensuring the product still feels breathable and easy to wear. The idea is to create shapewear that women don’t feel the need to “escape” from at the end of the day.
9. Cultural taboos still surround intimate wear-has shapewear faced similar perception challenges, and how are you working to shift that mindset?
Yes, absolutely. While shapewear has become more visible over the years, there’s still a perception that it’s either only for special occasions or tied to insecurity about body image. Conversations around intimate wear in general have historically lacked openness and education.
We’re trying to change that by making the conversation more honest, practical, and body-positive. Through our content, campaigns, and community engagement, we focus on comfort, functionality, styling education, and confidence rather than unrealistic transformation narratives. The goal is to normalize shapewear as a personal choice, not a secretive or uncomfortable one.
10. As consumer expectations evolve from “looking good” to “feeling good,” how do you see the future of shapewear, and what role will Pinq Polka play in leading that shift?
The future of shapewear is definitely moving toward comfort-driven innovation. Consumers today are far more conscious about how products feel, how long they can wear them, and whether they genuinely support their lifestyle. Functionality, inclusivity, softness, breathability, and versatility will become even more important moving forward.
At Pinq Polka, we want to continue leading this shift by building products that combine comfort, confidence, and practicality without compromising individuality. Our vision is to make shapewear feel less like a restrictive fashion product and more like an empowering everyday essential, designed for real women, real bodies, and real lives.