India, May 30 -- The spat last month between India's largest FMCG company Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) and online-first beauty and personal care firm Honasa Consumer (parent company of The Derma Co. and Mamaearth) over an advertisement for Lakme sunscreen, brought to light the absence of standardized, mandatory testing methods for a prominent category growing at scorching pace.

In April, HUL's Lakme resorted to comparative advertising with Honasa's Derma Co. sunscreen - although an 'implied' comparison since it did not directly name the competitor brand. The ad showed Lakme sunscreen alongside an unnamed sunscreen identified as "online best seller" which it said claims to be SPF 50 while delivering SPF 20. Since the packaging resembl...