HUL agrees to modify 'disparaging' sunscreen advt on Honasa Consumer suit
This story was originally published at 15:58 IST on 17 April 2025
Register to read our real-time news.Informist, Thursday, Apr. 17, 2025
NEW DELHI – Hindustan Unilever Ltd. agreed Thursday to modify advertisements for Lakme sunscreen and replace the "online best-seller" claim with "some other seeker", after Honasa Consumer Ltd.'s suit alleging disparagement of its product came up for hearing in the Delhi High Court. Hindustan Unilever said it would also change the competitor product shown in its advertisement to a "light yellow" shade from orange.
The court noted HUL's assurance that the changes would be incorporated in advertisements on online platforms within 24 hours and hoardings would be changed within 48 hours. The court also asked Honasa Consumer to remove its own sunscreen advertisement, against which Hindustan Unilever has filed a suit in the Bombay High Court alleging disparagement, from all social media platforms.
On Wednesday, the Delhi High Court had issued summons to Hindustan Unilever on a permanent injunction suit filed by Honasa Consumer alleging that the former had put out a "disparaging" advertisement targeting the latter company's "The Derma Co 1% Hyaluronic Sunscreen Aqua Gel SPF 50". The high court had observed that Hindustan Unilever's advertisement "on the face of it, is disparaging", and listed the case for hearing Thursday.
In the advertisement for 'Lakme Sun Expert SPF 50', which appeared in newspapers and other media outlets, HUL said products of some brands, currently on online bestseller lists, are claiming to be "In-Vivo" tested, but their in-market sunscreen product samples deliver a sun protection factor of 20, or SPF 20, against a claim of SPF 50. Lakme has been "In-Vivo" testing its sunscreens since 2015 and adhering to high standards of not only testing but delivering SPF 50 across its products, HUL said in the advertisement.
Honasa Consumer said the advertisement had referred to it, given that its product is the "bestselling sunscreen" on Amazon.com. The petitioner company said the "In-Vivo" testing method also pointed to its products, which have been certified as containing SPF 50 by third-party laboratories through this method. Even the colour of the competitor product was similar to its product, Honasa Consumer had said.
On Thursday, shares of Honasa Consumer closed 1.6% higher at INR 233.69 on the National Stock Exchange, while those of HUL ended 0.4% higher at INR 2,375.00. End
Reported by Surya Tripathi
Edited by Rajeev Pai
For users of real-time market data terminals, Informist news is available exclusively on the NSE Cogencis WorkStation.
Cogencis news is now Informist news. This follows the acquisition of Cogencis Information Services Ltd by NSE Data & Analytics Ltd, a 100% subsidiary of the National Stock Exchange of India Ltd. As a part of the transaction, the news department of Cogencis has been sold to Informist Media Pvt Ltd.
Informist Media Tel +91 (11) 4220-1000
Send comments to feedback@informistmedia.com
© Informist Media Pvt. Ltd. 2025. All rights reserved.
To read more please subscribe
Share this Story:
