Sunscreen war heats up after Delhi HC calls out Lakmé ad in Mamaearth dispute

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday observed that a recent sunscreen advertisement by Hindustan Unilever Limited’s (HUL) Lakmé brand appears to be prima facie disparaging towards competing products, following a lawsuit filed by Honasa Consumer Limited — the parent company of Mamaearth.

Presiding over the case, Justice Amit Bansal allowed HUL one day to file its formal response, while noting the court’s initial view of the ad being disparaging in nature. Senior advocate Amit Sibal, representing Honasa, urged the court to direct the immediate removal of the ad from all platforms, including print, digital, social media, and out-of-home (OOH) channels.

The dispute stems from a Lakmé campaign promoting its SPF 50 sunscreen, Lakmé Sun Expert, which featured a dramatized “SPF Lie Detector Test.” The ad implied that several “online bestsellers” in the sunscreen category were overstating their SPF protection. While the campaign didn’t name any competitors directly, the visual representation of two unbranded bottles bore a close resemblance to products from Mamaearth’s The Derma Co. and Nykaa-owned Dot & Key.

Lakmé defended its campaign by stating that its claims were backed by in vivo testing — considered the gold standard for sunscreen efficacy — carried out by an independent and accredited laboratory. The brand asserted that its sunscreen met the SPF 50 benchmark, whereas competing products tested showed SPF levels as low as 20.

In response, Mamaearth co-founder Ghazal Alagh took to social media, accusing HUL of copying several of their formulations — from sunscreens to Mamaearth’s flagship Vitamin C face wash and onion shampoo. In a now-deleted post, Alagh had shared a carousel titled “OG vs Copy,” showing side-by-side product comparisons and launch timelines.

In a separate post still available online, she wrote, “Indian FMCG has lacked strong competition for a long time. We take pride in challenging these norms and repeatedly waking up legacy brands.”

Interestingly, HUL has also filed a similar lawsuit against Honasa, which was briefly mentioned during the hearing. The court has asked for more details regarding the counter-case and stated it would be addressed separately.

An HUL spokesperson told e4m, "Consumer safety is paramount for us. When it comes to protection for your skin, the quality standard of sunscreen is critical as it has a direct correlation to serious sun damage. 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 best 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. This would amount to misleading consumers on sunscreen, which has skin implications like pigmentation, skin ageing and spots. Indian consumers must have access to sunscreens they can trust, and that’s what our Lakme sun superiority campaign aims for."

The legal battle signals rising tensions between legacy FMCG giants and new-age D2C disruptors as competition intensifies in India’s booming skincare and personal care market.