Honasa and Hindustan Unilever settle sunscreen ad dispute before Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court on Friday formally recorded a settlement between Honasa Consumer Limited (parent company of Mamaearth) and Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) in a dispute concerning disparagement through advertising campaigns and social media posts..Justice Amit Bansal disposed of Honasa's commercial suit after both parties filed affidavits confirming compliance with undertakings made during hearings on April 17 and 21.“In view of the fact that the matter has been settled at an initial stage, the Registry is directed to issue a certificate of refund of 50% of the Court Fees in favour of the plaintiff, in terms of Section 16A of the Court Fees Act, 1870,” the Court ordered..The Lakme advertisement in question alleges that an "online bestseller" of sunscreen is lying about its Sun Protection Factor (SPF) and that 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.Honasa alleged that HUL’s campaign was a “classic hit and run,” falsely implying that Honasa’s sunscreen is ineffective and makes misleading claims. Their counsel argued,“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.”Honasa claimed that it ran advertisements to counter HUL's claims. HUL filed a suit in Bombay High Court against Honasa's advertisements. .However, eventually, the parties agreed to take down the allegedly disparaging advertisements after the Delhi High Court urged them to settle rather than to litigate..During the hearings, both Honasa and HUL agreed to withdraw the contested content.HUL confirmed it had taken down the advertisements challenged by Honasa and modified its YouTube, online, outdoor and Instagram (@lakmeindia) campaigns. Specifically:The color of generic, unlabelled product packaging was changed to light yellow.The phrase "Online Bestsellers" was replaced with "Some Sellers."HUL undertook not to launch any future advertising campaign similar to the one contested.Honasa similarly agreed to withdraw social media posts challenged by HUL in a related suit pending before the Bombay High Court. It assured the Court that neither it nor its representatives would publish similar posts in the future.Both companies also instructed their online influencers and brand partners to remove related posts..Following the Delhi High Court settlement, HUL has agreed to request the Bombay High Court to dispose of its pending suit on identical terms, relying on the undertakings and compliance affidavits filed before Justice Bansal.The Court further recorded that neither party would make any media statements regarding the legal proceedings. Liberty was granted to approach appropriate forums in case of non-compliance..Senior Advocate Amit Sibal led the team for Honasa Consumer Limited, along with Advocates Mohit Goel, Sidhant Goel, Deepankar Mishra, Karmanya Dev Sharma, Saksham Dhingra, Vivek Pratap Singh and Smriti Nayar from Sim & San..Senior Advocate Sandeep Sethi appeared for Hindustan Unilever Limited, instructed by a team of Advocates Ajay Bhargava, Nirupam Lodha, Nishad Nadkarni, Aasif Narodia, Kshitij Parashar, Gautam Wadhawa, Phalguni Nigam, K Jhunjhunwala and Rakshita Singh from Khaitan & Co. .[Read Order]