Lakmé fires back at Honasa: “This is not about competition or social media marketing”

New Delhi: The battle for dominance in India’s Rs 2,000 crore sunscreen market has turned into a public face-off between legacy beauty brand Lakmé, owned by Hindustan Unilever (HUL), and Honasa Consumer, parent company of Mamaearth and The Derma Co., co-founded by Ghazal Alagh.

At the heart of the row—dubbed the “Sunscreen Skirmish” on social media—are competing SPF 50 sunscreen claims, with Lakmé accusing Honasa of unethical marketing and Honasa firing back with bold, public challenges.

Lakmé, which has been pushing a campaign to promote its Sun Expert SPF 50 sunscreen, stressed the issue goes beyond marketing. “For Lakmé, this is not about competition or social media marketing,” the company said in a statement. “As a brand that has stood for scientific excellence and quality for over 70 years, it is a matter of business ethics, where consumer interest and safety should take precedence. Lakmé will continue to champion the highest standards of SPF testing to educate consumers on picking the right sunscreen that delivers on what it promises.”

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The company highlighted its use of in-vivo testing—a rigorous method to verify SPF efficacy on human skin—and asserted that it has followed this standard since 2015, refuting suggestions that it adopted it only recently.

Lakmé also raised concerns over misleading SPF claims in the market, stating that several bestselling products labelled SPF 50 have tested as low as SPF 20, potentially putting consumers at risk. It framed its campaign as an educational initiative amid inconsistent regulatory oversight.

The clash escalated on April 14, when Ghazal Alagh shared an image of side-by-side billboards from The Derma Co. and Lakmé. The Derma Co.’s billboard read: “Hey Lakmé, Congratulations on finally getting SPF 50 in-vivo tested. Welcome to the Derma Co. standard.” The message was a direct response to Lakmé’s earlier ads that questioned the efficacy of digital-first sunscreen brands.

Alagh, in her post, positioned the move as healthy competition: “Good competition is always great for any market. It keeps brands from becoming sleepy and brings more innovation for the consumers.” She further claimed that traditional FMCG companies had grown complacent, and credited Honasa with raising the bar for cleaner formulations and science-led claims.

The argument took another turn when Alagh, in a now-deleted social media post, accused HUL’s Lakmé and Sunsilk of copying Honasa’s products—from formulations to packaging. “Oops, someone was caught copying,” she wrote, calling for greater respect for innovation.

In response, Lakmé returned the focus to ethical concerns and consumer trust, criticizing what it sees as Honasa’s provocative tactics.

The backdrop to this dispute is a rapidly evolving sunscreen segment where HUL commands a 25% market share, and Lakmé leads in offline retail with nearly 30%. But in the online space, aggressive direct-to-consumer (D2C) players like Mamaearth and The Derma Co. are gaining ground by leveraging e-commerce, influencer marketing, and targeted consumer engagement.

A joint report by Redseer Strategy Consultants and Peak XV forecasts that focused beauty brands—including Mamaearth, L’Oréal, and Nykaa—will expand their collective share from 33% to 42% by 2027. Meanwhile, traditional heavyweights like HUL and Procter & Gamble could see a relative decline.

As awareness around skincare and UV protection grows, sunscreen has emerged as a key battleground. Brands are striving to stand out with science-backed formulations and transparency, but weak regulation leaves room for exaggerated or unverified SPF claims—fueling controversies like the current Lakmé–Honasa showdown.