Since its launch in 2005, the Emami men’s cream has been associated with the ‘Fair and Handsome’ trademark. So, what prompted this change of name now, after having gone to great lengths to preserve its ownership of the same, we asked Emami vice chairperson and wholetime director Mohan Goenka in an interaction last month.

The rebranding comes on the back of a longstanding legal dispute with Hindustan Unilever over the term ‘handsome,’ dating back to 2020. Emami had alleged trademark infringement, resulting in a Calcutta High Court injunction in 2024 restraining the FMCG major from using the name. Last year, also saw a ‘misleading ad’ complaint against Emami in the Delhi consumer forum , which resulted in the court directing the brand to withdraw all related ads, packaging, and labels promoting ‘fairness’ claims. 

Chatting with us for the February issue of Manifest, Goenka dismissed notions that the multiple litigations had anything to do with the rebranding. He also denied that the brand considered stepping away from the term ‘fairness’ only to be associated with a more ‘progressive and inclusive’ image. 

“To be honest, that is not the key reason. As marketers, we focus on evolving consumer needs. It is not about being politically correct or incorrect. Fairness remains a need, and, trust me, the category hasn’t changed—it’s just that terms like ‘glow’ or ‘brightening’ are now used instead of ‘fair.’ Our consumer research showed a demand for the brand to expand beyond face creams into other grooming categories like hair gels, deodorants, body washes, serums, and so on. Being a trusted name in male grooming, it was natural for us to broaden our offerings while retaining the essence of the brand,” stated Goenka.

He highlighted major shifts that occurred in the male grooming space over the last few years post-Covid, that drove this change. “With the entry and domination of new and existing players in the space, the broader categories in the male grooming space were growing faster. We were limited because of the word ‘fair’ and were unable to venture out into the male grooming space which is a much larger space in the men’s category,” said Goenka.

He further added, “We had already tested the waters in the international market two years back with the Smart and Handsome branding and received positive feedback. And now with a mere change of one word - from ‘fair’ to ‘smart’ - we are expanding from an INR 700 crore market to an 20,000 crore male grooming industry.”

Read the full chat with Goenka in our February issue. Get your copy here!