In a day of parallel courtroom developments, Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL) and Mamaearth-parent Honasa Consumer on April 17 reached a mutual agreement to withdraw their ad campaigns and social media posts amid an ongoing spat over their sunscreen products.
While the Delhi High Court recorded HUL’s commitment to pull down its ongoing Lakmé sunscreen ad campaign, a simultaneous hearing in the Bombay High Court saw both parties agree to remove their respective online posts—after the court observed that Honasa co-founder Ghazal Alagh’s remarks could also be considered disparaging.
Both parties agreed to take down the advertisements within 24 hours and hoardings within 48 hours. In addition, HUL has agreed to change the colour of the packaging shown in the ads from orange to light yellow, and replace the phrase “online bestseller” with “some sellers”.
"We respect the outcome to continue with our Sun Superiority Campaign with some modifications...This campaign is part of Lakme’s broader commitment to set a new benchmark for sun protection standards in India. Unfortunately, there are some sellers, who have been falsely claiming SPF 50. In the interest of consumers, upon independent testing by accredited labs, they fall far short of stated claims; misleading consumers on sunscreen, which has skin implications like pigmentation, skin ageing and spots," HUL said in a statement, following the agreement.
"At Lakme, we will continue to reaffirm our unflinching commitment to integrity, consumer safety, and scientific excellence, and be a leading voice to advocate for transparency and higher standards in skincare, by developing products backed by sound science, research and innovation," the statement further noted.
The legal tussle began after Honasa co-founder Ghazal Alagh, in a social media post on April 14, singled out a Lakme advertisement which suggested that rival sunscreen products fail to give the adequate SPF protection as claimed.
One of the rival products shown in the Lakme' advertisement allegedly resembled the orange-coloured packaging of a Honasa brand product by The Derma Co. with “online bestseller” written on it.
"Happy to see traditional brands following again and even blatantly copying products from name to packaging. We will keep innovating and showing the way," she wrote.
In response, HUL issued a public statement, saying that they have been in-vivo testing (ISO-validated testing method) their sunscreen for the past 10 years. "Some brands, currently on online bestseller lists, are claiming to be in-vivo tested; however, their in-market sunscreen product samples deliver SPF 20 against a claim of SPF 50," it said.
Subsequently, the matter escalated to court, with Honasa filing for legal relief on the grounds that the ad campaign created confusion and misled consumers.
To be sure, in a preliminary hearing on April 16, the Delhi High Court said that the Lakme ad appeared to be 'disparaging' and sought a response from HUL. The court further said that a trader is not entitled to defame his competitor's goods while comparing his goods with them.
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