From compact to lip gloss and kohl, Lakme is a way-to-go brand for most Indians. It is a household name.
Do you know that Lakme is an Indian brand?
Yes, it was Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru who initiated the project.
To know the story better, you will have to travel back to the early 1950s, a time when India was a young country with a fragile economy. Prime Minister Nehru was concerned to see the Indian middle class and upper-class women splurging on cosmetics from the West and it adversely affected the foreign reserve. It was not their fault. They had no trusted cosmetic brand in India. Moreover, the European rule had given the idea that ‘make-up from the West is the best.’ It was at this juncture Nehru asked JRD Tata to step in and find a solution.
Tata studied the situation carefully and came up with the idea of an affordable yet skillfully-crafted cosmetic brand that suits Indian skin tones. Thus was born Lakme in 1952 as the subsidiary of Tata Oil Mills that functioned from Kochi. The brand is named after a famous French Opera by Leo Delibes. In French, Lakme means Goddess Lakshmi. Since Lakme sounded more appealing, they chose the name. It was suggested by the brand’s French collaborators Robert Piguet and Renoir.
But, that was not enough. The brand required a sharp strategy to break the stereotypes and taboos around cosmetics and make-up prevalent in India. Remember, it was a time when villains in television shows were shown sporting kajal-lined eyes and brightly painted lips. Simone Tata, the Swiss wife of Naval H. Tata stepped in to solve this dilemma. A European lady, she knew the way to tackle this situation. She became the brand’s managing director in 1961 and became its chairperson in 1982.
To find a foothold, Tata pumped large amounts into press advertisements and magazines. It chose celebrities to endorse the product. Supermodel Shyamoli Varma became the brand’s first face. She would go on to become the ‘Lakme Girl.’ Over the years, the brand roped in other Bollywood celebrities such as Rekha, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Deepika Padukone to stay abreast in India.
Later, Tata sold the business to Hindustan Unilever, an experienced brand in the global FMCG World, for Rs 200 crore. Lakme has also launched the bi-annual fashion show ‘Lakme Fashion Week.’ The first edition was in 1999. Lakme is the title sponsor of the event.
Lakme continues its legacy. According to the Brand Trust Report 2014, Lakme was ranked 36th among India’s most trusted brand.
