HUL to tweak Lakmé campaign, Honasa pulls down counter-ads

New Delhi: The sun seems to be setting on the sunscreen skirmish that led to Honasa Consumer Ltd. filing a lawsuit against Hindustan Unilever Ltd. (HUL). The Lakme parent informed the Delhi High Court that the brand campaign will move forward with necessary tweaks that will eliminate the alleged references to The Derma Co., a subsidiary of Honasa Consumer Ltd.

In a statement issued by HUL, the company highlighted the barter established between the FMCG major and Honasa. The company wrote, “The Hon’ble Delhi High Court has permitted to continue the campaign with some modifications. There is no injunction against the Lakme campaign.  In return, Honasa has also agreed to take down their social media posts on all platforms.” 

HUL, on April 17, told the Delhi HC that it will remove the online posts in 24 hours and the hoardings, which became the epicentre of the tussle, in 48 hours. In barter to this, HUL asked Honasa to remove its counter-advertisements, including social media posts. Honasa, however, submitted to the court that it had already taken that step. 

The case under discussion centered on a Lakmé advertising campaign that Honasa alleges disparages its Derma Co. sunscreen products. Justice Amit Bansal, presiding over the initial hearing, remarked, “This advertisement, on the face of it, is disparaging.”

Honasa, in its submission to the court, alleged that the campaign was a classic ‘hit and run’ defaming Honasa’s products and tagging them ineffective. The campaign also accused these products of piggybacking on misleading advertisements. 

Honasa challenged HUL to submit reports in the court to support their claims. HUL contended having clinical proof and submitted a report. Honasa’s counsel contended the report saying, “They haven’t submitted the full report—we don’t even know what product was tested. What stopped them from submitting the complete report?”

Honasa noted that HUL based its assertions on a two-page executive summary extracted from a test report dated February 27, 2025. In contrast to this, Honasa submitted full test reports from two laboratories, including Clinical Research Private Limited, both of which certified The Derma Co. 's sunscreen meeting SPF 50 standards. 

HUL, in its statement, mentioned that the company will abide by the court order and continue the campaign with “some modifications.” “We respect the outcome to continue with our Sun Superiority Campaign with some modifications,” the FMCG giant said. 

The company further said, “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.”