NEW DELHI: India’s largest fast-moving consumer goods brand Hindustan Unilever (HUL) on Thursday announced that its iconic skincare brand Fair and Lovely has been rebranded as Glow and Lovely. On the other hand, the men's range of the product will be called Glow and Handsome.
“Over the next few months, Glow & Lovely will be on the shelves and future innovations will deliver on this new proposition,” the company said in a statement.
Last week, the company said it will no longer woo consumers by playing up its skin-lightening properties and is dropping the word 'fair' to make way for a new name for its Rs 3,000 crore brand, as it strives to be inclusive.
India is the largest market for fairness products and for HUL, too, the country contributes the most to its revenues even as the flagship product is sold in more than a dozen markets, primarily in Asian countries such as Sri Lanka, Indonesia and Pakistan.
The move comes in the wake of mounting global outrage worldwide after an African-American George Floyd was killed by police officers while unarmed.
HUL’s move to drop the word ‘fair’ from its popular product came after activists campaigning on Change.org called for the company to drop the brand or its name.
Nida Hasan, Country Director, Change.org India, said, "It is hard to ignore the role of Fair and Lovely advertisements in shaping colourism in India. The decision by HUL is a much needed acknowledgment of India’s diversity. Just recently, Johnson & Johnson announced a similar move based on a citizen driven petition."
Chairman Sanjiv Mehta, however, says, the timing of the rebranding was “purely coincidental”.
Earlier, Johnson & Johnson had decided to stop selling skin-whitening creams popular in Asia and the Middle East. Other brands operating in the segment include L’Oreal and Procter & Gamble Co, Dabur and Emami.
While L'Oreal, the world's largest cosmetic and beauty company, also said it will stop using words like "whitening" and "fair" in describing its products, domestic peers such as Dabur and Emami are yet to take a call on rebranding their respective products -- Fem Fairness bleach and Fair & Handsome cream.