HUL replaces word 'Fair' with 'Glow' in 'Fair & Lovely'; Emami "shocked"

HUL today announced that Glow & Lovely will be the new name for the Fair & Lovely brand. Over the next few months, Glow & Lovely will be on the shelves, and future innovations will deliver on this new proposition. The Men's range of Fair & Lovely will be called 'Glow & Handsome'.

On June 25 2020, Hindustan Unilever announced that it will be dropping the word 'Fair' from its product 'Fair & Lovely'. The product has been under scrutiny ever since the Black Lives Matter movement has gained global traction. There have also been digital petitions to change the name of the product - which is in its essence, a skin lightening cream.

Sanjiv Mehta, Chairman and Managing Director, HUL said in a previously released press note that, “In 2019, we removed the graphic with two faces as well as the shade guides from the packaging of Fair & Lovely and the brand communication progressed from fairness to glow which is a more holistic and inclusive measure of healthy skin. The pack with the revised name will be available in the market in the next few months.”

Meanwhile, Emami, which owns a fairness cream of its own called Fair and Handsome has released a statement regarding the new name of HUL's men's fairness product.

Emami's statement reads as follows:

"This has reference to the press release filed with stock exchange by HUL today and subsequently issued to the media, announcing that its Men’s range of Fair & Lovely will be renamed and known as ‘Glow & Handsome’ in the future.

We are shocked to learn of HUL’s decision to rename its Men’s range of Fair & Lovely as ‘Glow & Handsome. Emami Limited, maker of ‘Fair and Handsome’ brand of men’s grooming products is the market leader in the men’s fairness cream with legal ownership of the trademarks. We have already launched a week back our brand ‘Emami Glow & Handsome’ digitally and necessary application has already been made to the relevant authorities.

Although shocked, we are not surprised to note HUL’s unfair business practice, which has been prevalent time & again to damage our brand image. It goes to prove Fair and Handsome’s strong brand equity in the market that the competition is wary of.

We will be consulting our legal experts to address this further."