HUL to drop 'Fair' from product name - Fair & Lovely; new named awaited

The company says this is an attempt at a more "inclusive and diverse" approach to beauty. "Brand committed to celebrating all skin tones" says HUL

HUL announced today the next step in the evolution of its skin care portfolio, with the rebranding of its flagship brand Fair & Lovely. The company claims that its objective is to take the brand’s journey towards a more inclusive vision of beauty, the company will stop using the word ‘Fair’ in the brand name ‘Fair & Lovely’. The new name is awaiting regulatory approvals and the change in name is expected in the next few months.

In a press note, HUL claims that over the last decade, Fair & Lovely’s advertising has evolved to communicate a message of women’s empowerment. The brand’s vision is to adopt a holistic approach to beauty that cares for people, that must be inclusive and diverse - for everyone, everywhere. HUL also claims that the brand is committed to celebrating all skin tones.

The same note informs readers that in early 2019, the brand’s communication moved away from the benefits of fairness, whitening and skin lightening, towards glow, even tone, skin clarity and radiance, which are holistic measures of healthy skin. Although, fairness has been heavily referenced in the product's past ads.

HUL has also removed from Fair & Lovely’s packaging, words such as ‘fair/fairness’, ‘white/whitening’, and ‘light/lightening’ that could indicate a fairness-led transformation. The cameo with two faces showing shade transformation, as well as the shade guides were removed from the packs. The note claims that HUL will continue to evolve its advertising, to feature women of different skin tones, representative of the variety of beauty across India. In all past advertising, dark-skinned women have been depicted as unsuccessful and fairness as a deciding factor for success.

Sanjiv Mehta, chairman and managing director, HUL said, “We are making our skin care portfolio more inclusive and want to lead the celebration of a more diverse portrayal of beauty. In 2019, we removed the cameo 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. These changes were very well received by our consumers. We now announce that we will remove the word ‘Fair’ from our brand name Fair & Lovely. The new name is awaiting regulatory approvals, and the pack with the revised name will be available in the market in the next few months.”

Fair & Lovely claims to have multiple skin health benefits at an affordable price. The brand has been progressively changing its formulation, and includes other vitamins like B6, C & E, allantoin, known to improve skin health and protect the skin from external aggressors, UV rays and environmental pollution. The product messaging is veering away from fairness, emphasising on the fact that it is designed to improve skin barrier function, improve skin firmness and smoothen skin texture - all of which help enhance radiance and glow holistically. The brand alleges that it has never been and is not a bleaching product.

In addition to the changes to Fair & Lovely, the rest of HUL's skin care portfolio will also reflect this change in stance. As with the rebrand of Fair & Lovely, we will be also announcing the new name for the Fair & Lovely Foundation - a foundation set up in 2003 to offer women scholarships so they may have the opportunity to pursue their education.