Honasa Consumer on Wednesday took Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) to the Delhi High Court over an allegedly disparaging Lakme ad campaign against its sunscreen Derma Co..Justice Amit Bansal, who heard the case, told HUL's advocate, “This advertisement on the face of it is disparaging. What I am conveying to you should be conveyed to your client.”.The advertisement in question alleges an "online bestseller" of sunscreen is lying about its Sun Protection Factor (SPF) and the product could cause skin pigmentation.The “SPF Lie Detector Test” ad first aired on April 12, 2025. It asks “Kya online bestseller pass hoga?” and states “Says SPF 50 but gives SPF 20” and “SPF 50, Truth 100”, while showing bottles resembling Derma Co's packaging..Appearing for Honasa, Senior Advocate Amit Sibal told the Court that HUL’s campaign was a “classic hit and run,” falsely implying that Honasa’s sunscreen is ineffective and makes misleading claims. “They are alleging that if someone uses my product, there will be pigmentation...They cannot come and do this; they have to show some proof.”.Sibal argued that the Derma Co sunscreen has been independently tested using in-vivo methods and has been certified with a Sun Protection Factor (SPF) of 50.169. “We launched the product in 2021. It has remained the No.1 bestseller on Amazon in its category, a position confirmed by Amazon itself,” he argued, adding that it has a 30% market share across sunscreen products and generates ₹300-400 crore in turnover from the category alone.He also argued that the ad strikes at the heart of its brand identity and commercial standing as a listed company. “My packaging is distinctive. People associate me with it. They are clearly targeting me.".HUL told the Court that it too has filed a suit against Honasa. The company is expected to argue that the advertisement falls within the bounds of comparative advertising..The dispute first gained public traction when Honasa co-founder Ghazal Alagh took to social media to call out HUL. In a now-deleted post on X (formerly Twitter), she wrote: “Oops, someone was caught copying. And when that didn’t work, we caught them backbiting.”She also posted on LinkedIn:“Happy to see traditional brands follow again & even blatantly copy products from name to packaging. We will keep innovating and showing the way.”Following the release of the HUL ad, Derma Co responded with a billboard ad placed directly next to a Lakmé hoarding, which read: “Hey Lakmé, congratulations on finally getting SPF 50 in-vivo tested. Welcome to The Derma Co. standard.”Honasa argued that the HUL campaign is not merely comparative advertising, but calculated disparagement based on vague or self-funded studies..The case is now expected to come up for hearing tomorrow, when HUL is expected to respond..Sibal was briefed by Advocates Mohit Goel, Sidhant Goel, Deepankar Mishra, Karmanya Dev sharma from Sim & San.Senior Advocate Ankit Jain also represented Honasa. HUL was represented by Khaitan & Co.
