Mamaearth Heats Up Sunscreen War, Takes HUL to Court Over Lakme Ad

Shark Tank fame Ghazal Alagh-led Honasa Consumer has taken FMCG giant Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL) to the Delhi High Court over a Lakme advertisement concerning its sunscreen product.

Mamaearth's parent company claims the ad, titled “SPF Lie Detector Test,” is disparaging, misleading, and unfairly undermines competing products, according to a report by CNBC-TV18.

The lawsuit also points out that the sunscreen shown in the ad closely resembles a product from The Derma Co., another brand under the Honasa umbrella.

The controversial advertisement features a dramatic “hit and run” metaphor, suggesting that rival sunscreens fail to provide sufficient SPF protection. Honasa accuses the ad of misleading consumers and subtly disparaging its products through false implications and lookalike packaging.

Honasa is demanding the immediate removal of the advertisement, arguing that it damages the reputation of its brands.

Following a preliminary hearing, the Delhi High Court observed that the Lakme ad appears to be “prima facie disparaging” and has sought a response from HUL.

The case is scheduled for its next hearing on April 17, when both parties will present their arguments.

Sunscreen War On Social Media

On April 14, Mamaearth co-founder Ghazal Alagh took to X (formerly Twitter) to "welcome" Lakme to the “in-vivo tested SPF 50 club — finally.”

In her post, Alagh remarked that the Indian FMCG sector has long “lacked strong competition,” allowing traditional brands to become complacent.

“We take pride in challenging those norms and consistently pushing legacy brands to evolve,” she wrote. “With Mamaearth, we led the shift toward clean-label ingredients. And now, The Derma Co. is setting new standards for transparency around actives and science-backed claims.”

She also alleged that some legacy brands are now copying Mamaearth in “everything from product names to packaging.”

In a statement, as per CNBC-TV18, HUL said, “The gold standard and globally recognised method to test the efficacy of sunscreen is SPF in-vivo testing, something that Lakme has been doing since 2015 across its sun portfolio. Unfortunately, there are several brands in the market, some of them online bestsellers, who have been falsely claiming SPF 50.”

The company added that such false claims could mislead consumers and have skin-related consequences, including pigmentation, premature ageing, and dark spots.

“Indian consumers must have access to sunscreens they can trust, and that’s what our Lakme Sun Superiority campaign aims to deliver,” the FMCG major stated.