Brands

Will fairness brands bid adieu?

Published

6 years ago

June 26, 2020

NEW DELHI: After beauty standards and the flawed idea of "fair is beautiful" caught the limelight amid the #BlackLivesMatter protests in the US, brands have taken a much-needed step across countries. Just yesterday, Hindustan Unilever (HUL) announced that it will be dropping the word 'fair' from its infamous skin whitening product Fair & Lovely and soon announce a new name.

Supporting the #BlackLivesMatter cause, American multinational giant Johnson & Johnson also decided to stop selling its skin lightening products range globally. Clear & Clear will no longer be sold in India and Neutrogena will not be available in the Asian and Middle Eastern markets.

The fairness cream market in India is dominated by HUL, P&G, Garnier, L’Oreal and many others. Brands over the years have played on and perpetuated the idea that fair skin is everything and have been criticised for provoking thoughts which encourage discrimination on the basis of colour.

Fair & Lovely, endorsed by actress Yami Gautam, is considered to be one of HUL's best-selling products, unhampered by criticism.

According to a recently published report, "India Fairness Cream & Bleach Market Overview, 2018-2023", the women's fairness cream category is anticipated to achieve market revenues of more than Rs 5000 crore by the year 2023.

While Johnson&Johnson recently called it quits from the fairness cream market, could we see other brands, especially Indian ones, taking the same route or revise their way of communicating to viewers?

Dentsu Impact VP planning Krittika Chakraborty shares, “The Indian fairness cream market is dominated by HUL whose Fair & Lovely has an 80 per cent share. It is, of course, very much possible that brands like Fair & Lovely may stop advertising during this time as this debate boils over in the international arena. Ad spends might be affected in the short to medium term in India but it is doubtful whether it would directly impact demand for these products.”

Commwiser Consultants co-founder Aman Abbas says that the fetish for fair skin in India is deep-rooted and centuries old. Therefore, it will take many decades of active campaigns and a lot of education for this to start fading off.

There has been a heated debate against such advertisements, as a result, the ministry of health and family welfare finalised drugs and magic remedies (objectionable advertisements) (amendment) Bill, 2020 under which the proposed draft amendment bans advertisements of products that promote fairness creams, enhance sexual performance, cure premature aging and greying of hair, improvement in height of children or adults, among others. The violators will face a penalty up to Rs 50 lakh and can be served prison time for five years.

"Interestingly, the laws are more focused on the ‘misleading claims’, which means whether the creams are actually making one fair or not and whether the ingredients are safe. There is little focus on the very concept of it," Abbas points out.

He also adds, “Global brands like J&J have taken the right step and it must be lauded. But there may be many local players who would view J&J’s exit as an opportunity and move in to fill the gap."

Over the years brands have diversified their business to the male fairness segment as well with leading actors as brand ambassadors including Shah Rukh Khan, Hrithik Roshan, Varun Dhawan and Kartik Aaryan. Indian cricket team captain Virat Kohli was also a former brand ambassador but from 2017, he has refused to endorse fairness brands and others that he doesn't personally use.

Chakraborty says that even if the marketing angle changes, the promise of the product stays the same and that needs to be addressed.

“An answer might lie in ranges and narratives that talk about healthy skin with an equal celebration of all skin tones and face types, not just the ones that fit our prevailing notions of beauty,” she says.

Echoing the same perspective Abbas shares, “The reality is that the society would still ‘need’ fairness creams for the age-old ‘approval’ to look beautiful. So, the products will exist and sold in the market. The brands have an image to keep, appear sensitive to the environment and say the right things. In the days of social media activism that impact the brand image and even sales directly, brands may ‘respond’ to the environment and change the communication to something subtle.”

Chakraborty strongly opines that such products should not exist as they reinforce a dangerous and regressive stereotype.While it's desirable to believe that a change in marketing tactics may cut down demand, she says it's wishful thinking.

“While multinationals might take global calls to end the glorification of light skin or certain beauty standards through their products and advertising, the majority of Indians will still continue to hold light skin in high regard," she says.

Experts believe that the recent backlash will not negatively impact any Indian brand and they will not stop selling such products as they clock huge revenue.

Related Topics:Fairness market Garnier HUL Johnson & Johnson L'Oreal P&G

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Brands

Netflix India names Rekha Rane director of films and series marketing

Streaming giant bets on a seasoned marketer who helped build Amazon and Netflix into household names

Published

3 hours ago

February 9, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

MUMBAI: Netflix has put a proven brand builder at the helm of its films and series marketing in India, naming Rekha Rane as director in a move that signals sharper focus on audience growth and cultural cut-through in one of its most hotly contested markets.

Rane steps into the role after seven years at Netflix, where she has quietly shaped how the platform sells stories to India. Her latest promotion, effective February 2026, crowns a run that spans brand, slate and product marketing across originals, licensed content and new verticals such as games.

A strategic marketing and communications professional with roughly 15 years’ experience, Rane has spent much of her career building technology-led consumer businesses and new categories, notably e-commerce and subscription video on demand. She was part of the early push that introduced Amazon.in, Prime Video and Netflix to Indian homes, then helped turn them into everyday brands.

At Netflix, she most recently served as head of brand and slate marketing for India from March 2024 to February 2026, leading teams across media and marketing for global and local content portfolios. Before that, as manager for original films and series marketing, she led IP creation and go-to-market strategy for titles including Guns and Gulaabs, Kaala Paani, The Railway Men* and The Great Indian Kapil Show, spanning both binge and weekly-release formats.

Her earlier Netflix roles covered product discovery and promotion in India and integrated campaign strategy to drive conversations around the content slate, product awareness and brand-equity metrics.

Before Netflix, Rane logged more than three years at Amazon in brand marketing roles in Bengaluru. There she handled national and regional campaigns for Amazon.in, worked on customer assistance programmes in growth geographies and contributed to the go-to-market strategy for the launch of Prime Video India.

Her career began well away from streaming. At Reliance Brands in Mumbai, she worked on retail marketing for Diesel and Superdry. A stint at Leo Burnett saw her work on primary research for P&G Tide, mapping Indian shoppers’ paths to purchase. Earlier still, at Orange in the United Kingdom, she rose from sales assistant to store manager, running a team and owning monthly P&L for a retail outlet.

The arc is telling. As global streamers fight for attention in a crowded Indian market, executives who understand both mass retail behaviour and digital habit-building are prized. Rane’s career sits at that intersection.

For Netflix, the bet is simple: in a market spoilt for choice, sharp marketing can still tilt the screen. And with Rane now leading the charge, the streamer is signalling it wants not just viewers, but fandom.

Brands

Orient Beverages pops the fizz with steady Q3 gains and rising profits

Kolkata-based beverage maker reports stronger revenues and profits for December quarter.

Published

3 hours ago

February 9, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

MUMBAI: A fizzy quarter with a steady aftertaste that’s how Orient Beverages Limited, the company that manufactures and distributes packaged drinking water under the brand name Bisleri closed the December 2025 period, as the Kolkata-based drinks maker reported improved revenues and a healthy rise in profits, signalling operational stability in a competitive beverage market.

For the quarter ended December 31, 2025, Orient Beverages posted standalone revenue from operations of Rs 39.98 crore, up from Rs 36.42 crore in the previous quarter and Rs 33.53 crore in the same quarter last year. Total income for the quarter stood at Rs 42.24 crore, reflecting consistent demand and stable pricing across its beverage portfolio.

Profit before tax for the quarter came in at Rs 3.47 crore, a sharp improvement from Rs 1.31 crore in the September quarter and Rs 0.39 crore a year ago. After accounting for tax expenses of Rs 0.79 crore, the company reported a net profit of Rs 2.68 crore, nearly three times the Rs 0.99 crore recorded in the preceding quarter.

On a nine-month basis, the momentum remained intact. Revenue from operations for the period ended December 31, 2025 rose to Rs 117.66 crore, compared with Rs 106.95 crore in the corresponding period last year. Net profit for the nine months climbed to Rs 5.51 crore, more than double the Rs 2.18 crore reported in the same period of the previous financial year.

The consolidated numbers told a similar story. For the December quarter, consolidated revenue from operations stood at Rs 45.06 crore, while profit after tax came in at Rs 2.06 crore. For the nine-month period, consolidated revenue touched Rs 133.57 crore, with net profit of Rs 4.49 crore, underscoring the group’s improving profitability trajectory.

Operating expenses remained largely controlled, with cost of materials, employee benefits and other expenses broadly aligned with revenue growth. The company continued to operate within a single reportable segment beverages simplifying its cost structure and reporting framework.

The unaudited financial results were reviewed by the Audit Committee and approved by the Board of Directors at its meeting held on 7 February 2026. Statutory auditors carried out a limited review and reported no material misstatements in the results.

In a market where margins are often squeezed by input costs and competition, Orient Beverages’ latest numbers suggest the company has found a reliable rhythm not explosive, but steady enough to keep the fizz alive.

Brands

BCCL profit jumps 53 per cent in FY25 as tax bill shrinks

Revenue rises 4.3 per cent to Rs 10,209.33 crore while deferred tax gain lifts bottom line sharply

Published

3 hours ago

February 9, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

NEW DELHI: Bennett, Coleman and Company (BCCL) has posted a sparkling set of financial results for the year ended 31 March 2025, proving that there is still plenty of ink and gold left in the ledger.

Revenue from operations climbed a steady 4.3 per cent, reaching Rs 10,209.33 crore compared to Rs 9,786.44 crore the previous year. When you sprinkle in other income, which rose 8.9 per cent to Rs 949.36 crore, the total income for the media behemoth hit a healthy Rs 11,158.69 crore.

While the income grew at a modest pace, the bottom line tells a far more dramatic story. The real headline is the 53 per cent surge in annual profit. How did they pull off such a feat? While Profit Before Tax (PBT) saw a gentle nudge upward of 2.7 per cent to Rs 1,610.00 crore, it was a vanishing act by the taxman that really did the trick.

Total tax expenses plummeted by 32.4 per cent, dropping from Rs 468.76 crore down to Rs 316.97 crore. This was largely thanks to a swing in deferred tax, moving from an expense of Rs 156.02 crore in FY24 to a benefit of Rs 39.44 crore this year.

Total income rose from Rs 10,658.55 crore in FY24 to Rs 11,158.69 crore in FY25, marking a 4.7 per cent increase. Total expenses grew at a slower pace, up 3.0 per cent from Rs 9,306.06 crore to Rs 9,581.45 crore. Profit before tax inched up 2.7 per cent, moving from Rs 1,567.02 crore to Rs 1,610.00 crore. However, the standout figure was net profit, which jumped sharply by 53.0 per cent, climbing from Rs 1,042.03 crore in FY24 to Rs 1,594.73 crore in FY25.

Despite the rising costs of doing business across the globe, BCCL kept a tight grip on the purse strings. Total expenses rose by just 3.0 per cent to Rs 9,581.45 crore. By keeping costs lower than the rate of income growth, the company ensured that the final figure, a net profit of Rs 1,594.73 crore, was nothing short of a front-page sensation.

In a world of shifting digital tides, it seems the BCCL ship is not just steady, but sailing into significantly wealthier waters.