SPF Wars: Ghazal Alagh Throws Shade as Mamaearth Dares FMCG Giant HUL in Sunscreen Showdown

India's beauty market is on fire as Ghazal Alagh, co-founder of Mamaearth and The Derma Co., accused Hindustan Unilever's Lakmé of product name, pack, and formula copying—thus, adding SPF sunscreens and face washes. In a now-deleted LinkedIn post, Alagh showed side-by-side comparisons, cheekily invi...

India's beauty market is on fire as Ghazal Alagh, co-founder of Mamaearth and The Derma Co., accused Hindustan Unilever's Lakmé of product name, pack, and formula copying—thus, adding SPF sunscreens and face washes. In a now-deleted LinkedIn post, Alagh showed side-by-side comparisons, cheekily inviting Lakmé to the "in-vivo tested SPF 50 club" and demanding respect towards real innovation. The tiff highlights a broader trend: quick-moving, digital-native businesses such as Honasa Consumer are taking market share from traditional behemoths, especially online, and driving the entire sector towards higher transparency and innovation. HUL, which has slowing growth in its beauty division, has retaliated through new products launches and demergers of its personal care operation, but the arrival of over 3,500 e-commerce-native brands is intensifying competition. With consumers becoming increasingly label-aware, the battle for India's ₹2,000-crore sun care industry is going to heat up further. Source: Economic Times