Ghazal Alagh is the owner of Honasa Consumer, which is an umbrella organisation for brands like Mamaearth, The Dermaco, Dr. Sheths, and Aqualogica. She slammed the FMCG giant, HUL, on a sunscreen ad campaign and said that bigger players in the market are faking their products due to less compliance.
While it is obvious that new players are moving at a striking speed in the FMCG sector, whether or not this debate has any point is of concern. In a post shared by Alagh on LinkedIn, she wrote, “Good competition is always great for any market. It keeps brands from becoming sleepy, lethargic and brings more innovation for the consumers. Lakme, welcome to the in-vivo tested SPF 50 club, finally.”
The post was in response to an earlier claim by HUL, where it was seen questioning the truth and efficacy of sunscreens sold in the digital sphere, a place Honasa’s products are undoubtedly leading. The campaign claims that many sunscreens claim to provide SPF 50 protection, but in reality give only SPF 20 protection. Allegedly, the packaging of the sunscreen shown in this campaign resembles that of Dermaco, which led to this war of words.
In her LinkedIn post, Alagh further wrote that like Mamaearth, which made itself a transparent and clean brand, The Dermaco is also following the same path and is getting love and support from the consumers, which is making the competitors jealous.
With sunscreens becoming all the rage, the Indian market is expected to be at a 2000 crore valuation, and HUL, whose major revenue comes from this sector, has a one-fourth share in the sunscreen market. However, it is facing competition from Mamearth, The dermaco, and Aqualogica, which are trending in digital spaces.
The matter escalated as Lakme issued a notice saying that the best-selling sunscreens on the digital platforms are not in-vivo tested, while it has been testing the currently launched sunscreen for over 10 years. The matter has been addressed by the Delhi High Court on 16 April, where it had cleared that the ad campaign by Lakme is ‘disparaging’ and it has asked the umbrella organisation, HUL, for a statement. The next hearing for the case will be held on 17th April.
While the debate goes on, it has highlighted the growing cosmetics market and the role of new brands in the sector.
