Ghazal Alagh , co-founder of Honasa Consumer Ltd., has publicly accused Hindustan Unilever ’s Lakmé of blatantly copying product names and packaging from her company’s brands, including Mamaearth and The Derma Co. . In a viral LinkedIn post, Alagh criticised Lakmé for allegedly imitating formulations and marketing strategies, reigniting tensions between legacy FMCG brands and new-age direct-to-consumer (D2C) players.
Alagh’s post featured side-by-side comparisons of Honasa’s products and Lakmé’s newly launched items, including sunscreen s, face washes, and shampoos. She claimed that Lakmé’s 9to5 Sun Expert SPF 50 sunscreen closely resembled The Derma Co.’s offering, while Lakmé’s Vitamin C face wash and Sunsilk’s onion shampoo mirrored Mamaearth’s versions.
In her statement, Alagh wrote, "We Honasa Consumer Ltd. put a lot of love, effort, and hard work into bringing true innovation to our consumers. Humble request to respect innovation and not plagiarise it." She further emphasised that Honasa has consistently challenged industry norms, pushing traditional brands to adopt clean-label ingredients and science-backed disclosures.
The dispute escalated after Honasa placed a billboard next to a Lakmé advertisement, calling out Lakmé’s recent in-vivo testing of its SPF 50 sunscreen. The billboard read, "Hey Lakmé, congratulations on finally getting SPF 50 in-vivo tested. Welcome to The Derma Co. standard." This was a direct response to Lakmé’s campaign, which questioned the efficacy of digital-first sunscreen brands.
Read Ghazal Alagh LinkedIn post here Good competition is always great for any market. It keeps brands from becoming sleepy, lethargic & brings more innovation for the consumers.
Lakmé, welcome to the in-vivo tested SPF 50 club, finally!
I’m so glad to see more awareness building around this because sunscreen is one of the most important steps in skincare.
Indian FMCG has lacked good competition for a long time leading to large traditional brands becoming complacent. We take pride in the fact that we have been challenging these norms and waking up these brands time and again. We did it with Mamaearth in making brands move towards clean label ingredients . And now again with The Derma Co. which is showing the way around honest active disclosures & claims based on science. This has led to immense love from consumers which is an envy of many competitors.
Happy to see traditional brands follow again & even blatantly copy products from name to packaging. We will keep innovating and showing the way.
Just a gentle reminder:
• Use sunscreen every single day (yes, even indoors)
• Reapply every 2–3 hours
• And choose products that are tested clinically, not just claimed
Your future skin will thank you.
Alagh’s post featured side-by-side comparisons of Honasa’s products and Lakmé’s newly launched items, including sunscreen s, face washes, and shampoos. She claimed that Lakmé’s 9to5 Sun Expert SPF 50 sunscreen closely resembled The Derma Co.’s offering, while Lakmé’s Vitamin C face wash and Sunsilk’s onion shampoo mirrored Mamaearth’s versions.
In her statement, Alagh wrote, "We Honasa Consumer Ltd. put a lot of love, effort, and hard work into bringing true innovation to our consumers. Humble request to respect innovation and not plagiarise it." She further emphasised that Honasa has consistently challenged industry norms, pushing traditional brands to adopt clean-label ingredients and science-backed disclosures.
The dispute escalated after Honasa placed a billboard next to a Lakmé advertisement, calling out Lakmé’s recent in-vivo testing of its SPF 50 sunscreen. The billboard read, "Hey Lakmé, congratulations on finally getting SPF 50 in-vivo tested. Welcome to The Derma Co. standard." This was a direct response to Lakmé’s campaign, which questioned the efficacy of digital-first sunscreen brands.
Read Ghazal Alagh LinkedIn post here Good competition is always great for any market. It keeps brands from becoming sleepy, lethargic & brings more innovation for the consumers.
Lakmé, welcome to the in-vivo tested SPF 50 club, finally!
I’m so glad to see more awareness building around this because sunscreen is one of the most important steps in skincare.
Indian FMCG has lacked good competition for a long time leading to large traditional brands becoming complacent. We take pride in the fact that we have been challenging these norms and waking up these brands time and again. We did it with Mamaearth in making brands move towards clean label ingredients . And now again with The Derma Co. which is showing the way around honest active disclosures & claims based on science. This has led to immense love from consumers which is an envy of many competitors.
Happy to see traditional brands follow again & even blatantly copy products from name to packaging. We will keep innovating and showing the way.
Just a gentle reminder:
• Use sunscreen every single day (yes, even indoors)
• Reapply every 2–3 hours
• And choose products that are tested clinically, not just claimed
Your future skin will thank you.
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