News Briefs | Dictum

The Sunscreen Wars

A full-fledged dispute between two sunscreen giants has moved from our television screens to our courtrooms

Lhendup G Bhutia | 25 Apr, 2025

(Illustration: Saurabh Singh)

We are nearing the peak of what many meteorologists believe will be an unforgiving summer, and a full-fledged dispute between two sunscreen giants has moved from our television screens to our courtrooms.

It began with Lakmé issuing advertisements that made thinly-veiled

references to The Derma Co’s sunscreen products, claiming it did not offer protection of SPF 50, but closer to SPF 20. All hell broke loose with Honasa Consumer Ltd, which owns The Derma Co, filing a lawsuit, and Lakmé’s owner Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL) hitting back with a counter lawsuit. A truce seemed to have been called when HUL agreed to modify their ads and Honasa agreed to take down social media posts referencing Lakmé’s ads, but the two were back in the court just days later, this time over The Derma Co’s owner liking a post online which claimed the company had been victorious.

It is a nasty fight, involving the science and SPFs of sunscreen products. But it is understandable why brands are so zealously protective of their products’ reputation. The Indian sunscreen market today is expected to be worth around `2,000 crore, and it is said to be growing rapidly. One can gauge the potential of this market by just looking at the sheer number of products that get launched every few months. According to Mintel’s Global New Product Database, sunscreen product launches in India grew by more than 20 percentage points between 2019 and 2024.

Our summers are growing hotter and with it has come the desire to protect our skin from it. The Lakmé and Derma Co spat isn’t exactly over. The Delhi High Court has for now issued a gag order prohibiting the two from making any media statements about the case or from putting up anything online. “No liking, no loving posts that say ‘big win’ for anyone,” the court declared.

The rancour between the two firms over this case will probably settle at some point. What is not going to cool anytime soon is our summers, and with it will come more sunscreen wars.