(Image source from: insidefmcg.com.au)

HUL’s most coveted skincare brand Fair and Lovely decides to remove words like “fair”, “lightening” and “whitening” from their products.

Just weeks after Johnson and Johnson stopped production of its fairness products; Hindustan Unilever joins next in the line. The company has decided to continue selling its famous “fair and lovely” cream in Asia but it will scrap the word “fair” from it.

Hindustan Unilever’s Fair and Lovely brings about 3,000 crore turn over the company every year. Fair and Lovely is mostly popular among India, Srilanka, Pakistan, and Indonesia but India seems to be the biggest revenue maker to the company.

“The name change has been in works since last year and the company has applied for a new trademark months ago”, said Chairman of HUL Sanjiv Mehta.

According to India’s trademark registry website, HUL has applied for a new brand name “Glow and Lovely” on June 17, 2020.

The Black Lives Matter movement has gained the attention of millions across the world since the first Police brutality against Black case has been registered in the US. Many businesses have started to change their brand strategies since then to stay away from criticism.

According to sources, Emami’s ‘Fair and handsome’ is also considering to alter the names of its products.

But surprisingly, Mr.Mehta, Chairman of Unilever said, “The rebranding is purely coincidental and has nothing to do with the movement”.

He mentioned that the company has changed the terms fairness to glow, radiance, and healthy skin in 2019 itself. He also asserted that changing brand names cannot be done immediately and need meticulous revisions.

Fairness or Whiteness has more prominence in Asia and is considered a factor of good health. Many companies and brands have been gaining their bread and butter by promoting their products as fairness enhancing ones or skin lightening ones though the real working of the product is merely to clear blemishes. We can only hope, this Black lives matter movement will bring a positive change for good.

By Gayatri Yellayi