Lakmé
India's first homegrown make-up brand exists because a prime minister worried about the foreign exchange women spent on lipstick.
Big name·From India·Founded 1952·Members
At a glance
- Founded
- 1952, as a subsidiary of Tata Oil Mills, after Jawaharlal Nehru asked JRD Tata to make cosmetics in India.23
- Founded by
- The Tata Group, on Nehru's prompting.3 Simone Tata, who took over as managing director in 1961 and became chairperson in 1982, is the person who made it a household name.2
- Home
- Mumbai, where Hindustan Unilever has its head office and where Lakmé Fashion Week is usually held.74
- Owned by
- Hindustan Unilever.1 The Economic Times dates the sale to 1996, while ThePrint says the 1996 deal was a 50:50 joint venture and Tata sold its remaining half two years later.32
- What it sells
- Colour cosmetics above all, with skincare and a chain of salons run by Lakmé Lever.1
How it got here
1952
1 of 3
Lakmé launches as a subsidiary of Tata Oil Mills, a company set up to crush copra for coconut oil exports, and takes its name from a French opera by Léo Delibes.2
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Sources for what is above
- 1Lakmé CosmeticsWikipedia · en.wikipedia.org
- 2From Lakshmi to Lakmé, story of India's first cosmetic brand, envisioned by PM NehruThePrint · 12 June 2022 · theprint.in
- 3Ratan Tata's step-mother Simone Tata, who built Lakmé and Westside, passes away at 95The Economic Times · 5 December 2025 · m.economictimes.com
- 4Lakmé Fashion Week x FDCI 2026 in Mumbai: What worked and what didn'tThe Hindu · 23 March 2026 · thehindu.com
- 7From Kan Khajura to corner office: Inside Priya Nair's high-stakes bet to reshape HULMint · 8 June 2026 · livemint.com
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