Lakmé is an Indian cosmetics brand which is owned by Hindustan Unilever. Having Kareena Kapoor and Ananya Pandey as the ambassador, it ranked 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 Lakshmi (the 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 a 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$).
