Lakmé Cosmetics

Lakmé is an Indian cosmetics brand which is owned by Hindustan Unilever. Having Kareena Kapoor and Chamma as the ambassador, it ranked at number 1 among the cosmetics brands in India. Lakme started as a 100% subsidiary of Tata Oil Mills (Tomco). It was named after the French opera Lakmé, which itself is the French form of devi Lakshmi (the Hindu goddess of wealth) who is renowned for her beauty. It was started in 1952 famously, because then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru was concerned that Indian women were spending precious foreign exchange on beauty products and personally requested JRD Tata to manufacture them in India. Simone Tata joined the company as director and went on to become the chairperson. In 1996, Tata sold off their stakes in Lakmé Lever to HUL, for Rs 200 Crore (45 million US$).

In the Brand Trust Report 2012, Lakme was ranked 104th among India's most trusted brands and following year it was ranked 71st on the list. In 2014, Lakme was ranked 36th among India's most trusted brands according to the Brand Trust Report 2014. The company is the title sponsor for Lakme Fashion Week (LFW) a bi-annual fashion event which takes place in Mumbai.