MUMBAI // The claim by the Bollywood heartthrob John Abraham inspires awe. Displaying a tube of fairness lotion in one hand and a gauge to measure skin colour in the other, he guarantees in a widely played television commercial that olive-toned skin can be lightened up by three shades.
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Abraham is the brand ambassador for Garnier's Power Light for Men, a range of skin care products from the French cosmetic giant L'Oreal. He is the latest among a slew of actors to endorse a dizzying array of such brands, which are the most advertised products in India.
India's rapidly expanding market for whitening creams exploits what marketing gurus call the country's "snow white syndrome" - the obsessive quest for fair skin that many believe can lead to quicker success, accolades and high self-esteem.
AC Nielsen, the market research company based in the Netherlands, says the industry is growing at 25 per cent annually and is worth US$466 million (Dh1.71 billion). France's Garnier, Germany's Beiersdorf, which owns Nivea, and India's Hindustan Lever, which owns Fair & Lovely, are some of the leading market players.
They are part of India's $13.1bn fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) business, the fourth-largest sector in the country's economy, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers. The worth of personal care products - such as soaps, cosmetics and deodorant - is estimated at $989m, hair care products at $831m and oral care products at $537m. The FMCG sector, which employs 3 million people, is expected to grow to $33.4bn by 2015.
India's burgeoning population - the 300 million-strong aspiring middle-class and 747 million people in rural India, where prosperity is growing - presents a vast untapped market for FMCG products. The middle-class - who have deeper pockets, with disposable incomes ranging from $4,400 to $21,900 a year - is expected to swell to 583 million people by 2025, according to the New York consultancy McKinsey and Company.
The country's per capita disposable income, currently at $556 per annum, is expected to rise to $1,150 by 2015. The consultancy firm Boston Consultancy Group says an average Indian spends about 40 per cent of his income on groceries and about 10 per cent on FMCG products.
The trend captures the zeitgeist of modern India dominated by young people - 45 per cent of the population is aged below 25 - where materialism has trumped the austere lifestyle of previous generations.
In India, skin tone makes a statement - it reflects aristocracy and superiority in the country's hierarchical social order. It is a deeply ingrained cultural neurosis that cuts across social classes. Newspaper matrimonial columns routinely and unabashedly carry advertisements by people looking for "fair" or "very fair" brides and grooms.
A market study by Hindustan Unilever, which dominates the market for fairness creams, last year revealed that men in southern Indian states such as Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka - where the majority is dark-skinned - are the most avid purchasers of whitening creams. Tamil Nadu accounted for the highest sales of Narayanan, a Hindustan Unilever skin lightening product.
"These products and their advertisements reinforce an old south Asian bias that you have to be fair to be beautiful," Prahlad Kakkar, a well-known advertising consultant, said in 2007. "Sunscreens, skin-whitening, fairness creams - they are all the same."
Television advertisements promote fairness products depicting lighter-skinned women as more desirable than those with dark-complexions. Fair-skinned males are depicted as more successful, walking down red carpets and facing the cameras.
Males are believed to account for one fifth of total sales of skin-whitening products. In 2005, Emami, based in Kolkata, signed up India's biggest Bollywood star Shahrukh Khan as brand ambassador for its fairness cream, after which sales jumped by a fifth. Shahid Kapoor, another actor, recently signed a deal to promote Vaseline men's face-whitening lotion.
But such advertisements have also stirred consternation across the country. In 2005, Brinda Karat, a member of the upper house of parliament and a women's rights activist, protested against Hindustan Unilever's advertisement for Fair & Lovely, which implied that women with lighter skin had access to more lucrative jobs than their dark-skinned counterparts. Hindustan Unilever eventually shelved the ad campaign, although it is not clear if it did so under pressure from Ms Karat.
In 2008, Aishwarya Rai, a leading Bollywood actress, declined a multimillion-rupee advertisement for a fairness product. Such ads, the actress said, encouraged "racism".
Bipasha Basu, a dusky-hued actress, declined similar offers. "You'll never find me endorsing fairness creams," Ms Basu said. "I was offered a product endorsement for a fairness cream ages ago, but I declined. In India, dark-skinned girls are still subjected to taunts and pity. In the matrimonial columns, people still advertise for a fair bride. I'm dark-skinned and very proud of that."
In 2009, Anbumani Ramadoss, India's health minister, asked companies marketing fairness creams to furnish "scientific evidence" of their claims. "This needs to stop. They cannot say within one week - you will be white and all this," he said. "They need to back their claims with scientific evidence."
However, Mr Ramadoss's efforts did not yield much cooperation from companies.
But beyond the obsession with fair skin, the commercial success of such products reflects the rising consumer confidence in India, analysts say. With 129 points, India topped Nielsen's global consumer confidence index in the October-December quarter, a strong 12 points ahead of Thailand, which came in second.
Globally, consumer confidence fell three points to 90 amid growing concerns in developed economies about poor economic recovery. Consumer confidence declined in 19 of the 53 countries surveyed by Nielsen, but the mood was strikingly different in the booming Asian markets. Nine out of the top 10 countries on the ranking are in the Asia-Pacific region.
According to Euromonitor International, a global business research company, consumer expenditure in emerging-market economies such as India, China and Brazil grew by 66 per cent to $7.5 trillion between 2000 and 2009.
"Indians appear to have loosened their purse strings compared to previous quarters," Justin Sargent, the managing director for consumer research at Nielsen India, said last year. "While some of this propensity to purchase can be attributed to the advent of the festive season, a combination of factors will lead to greater spending and more enthusiastic buying behaviour as marketers tap into the confidence that the Indian consumer seems to be exuding."
business@thenational.ae
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Name: Brendalle Belaza
From: Crossing Rubber, Philippines
Arrived in the UAE: 2007
Favourite place in Abu Dhabi: NYUAD campus
Favourite photography style: Street photography
Favourite book: Harry Potter
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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The Perfect Couple
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
Greatest of All Time
Starring: Vijay, Sneha, Prashanth, Prabhu Deva, Mohan
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Iftar programme at the Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding
Established in 1998, the Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding was created with a vision to teach residents about the traditions and customs of the UAE. Its motto is ‘open doors, open minds’. All year-round, visitors can sign up for a traditional Emirati breakfast, lunch or dinner meal, as well as a range of walking tours, including ones to sites such as the Jumeirah Mosque or Al Fahidi Historical Neighbourhood.
Every year during Ramadan, an iftar programme is rolled out. This allows guests to break their fast with the centre’s presenters, visit a nearby mosque and observe their guides while they pray. These events last for about two hours and are open to the public, or can be booked for a private event.
Until the end of Ramadan, the iftar events take place from 7pm until 9pm, from Saturday to Thursday. Advanced booking is required.
For more details, email openminds@cultures.ae or visit www.cultures.ae
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Tips for newlyweds to better manage finances
All couples are unique and have to create a financial blueprint that is most suitable for their relationship, says Vijay Valecha, chief investment officer at Century Financial. He offers his top five tips for couples to better manage their finances.
Discuss your assets and debts: When married, it’s important to understand each other’s personal financial situation. It’s necessary to know upfront what each party brings to the table, as debts and assets affect spending habits and joint loan qualifications. Discussing all aspects of their finances as a couple prevents anyone from being blindsided later.
Decide on the financial/saving goals: Spouses should independently list their top goals and share their lists with one another to shape a joint plan. Writing down clear goals will help them determine how much to save each month, how much to put aside for short-term goals, and how they will reach their long-term financial goals.
Set a budget: A budget can keep the couple be mindful of their income and expenses. With a monthly budget, couples will know exactly how much they can spend in a category each month, how much they have to work with and what spending areas need to be evaluated.
Decide who manages what: When it comes to handling finances, it’s a good idea to decide who manages what. For example, one person might take on the day-to-day bills, while the other tackles long-term investments and retirement plans.
Money date nights: Talking about money should be a healthy, ongoing conversation and couples should not wait for something to go wrong. They should set time aside every month to talk about future financial decisions and see the progress they’ve made together towards accomplishing their goals.
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Going grey? A stylist's advice
If you’re going to go grey, a great style, well-cared for hair (in a sleek, classy style, like a bob), and a young spirit and attitude go a long way, says Maria Dowling, founder of the Maria Dowling Salon in Dubai.
It’s easier to go grey from a lighter colour, so you may want to do that first. And this is the time to try a shorter style, she advises. Then a stylist can introduce highlights, start lightening up the roots, and let it fade out. Once it’s entirely grey, a purple shampoo will prevent yellowing.
“Get professional help – there’s no other way to go around it,” she says. “And don’t just let it grow out because that looks really bad. Put effort into it: properly condition, straighten, get regular trims, make sure it’s glossy.”
Sheikh Zayed's poem
When it is unveiled at Abu Dhabi Art, the Standing Tall exhibition will appear as an interplay of poetry and art. The 100 scarves are 100 fragments surrounding five, figurative, female sculptures, and both sculptures and scarves are hand-embroidered by a group of refugee women artisans, who used the Palestinian cross-stitch embroidery art of tatreez. Fragments of Sheikh Zayed’s poem Your Love is Ruling My Heart, written in Arabic as a love poem to his nation, are embroidered onto both the sculptures and the scarves. Here is the English translation.
Your love is ruling over my heart
Your love is ruling over my heart, even a mountain can’t bear all of it
Woe for my heart of such a love, if it befell it and made it its home
You came on me like a gleaming sun, you are the cure for my soul of its sickness
Be lenient on me, oh tender one, and have mercy on who because of you is in ruins
You are like the Ajeed Al-reem [leader of the gazelle herd] for my country, the source of all of its knowledge
You waddle even when you stand still, with feet white like the blooming of the dates of the palm
Oh, who wishes to deprive me of sleep, the night has ended and I still have not seen you
You are the cure for my sickness and my support, you dried my throat up let me go and damp it
Help me, oh children of mine, for in his love my life will pass me by.
Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
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BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE
Starring: Winona Ryder, Michael Keaton, Jenny Ortega
Director: Tim Burton
Rating: 3/5
Simran
Director Hansal Mehta
Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Soham Shah, Esha Tiwari Pandey
Three stars
If you go
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Funchal via Lisbon, with a connecting flight with Air Portugal. Economy class returns cost from Dh3,845 return including taxes.
The trip
The WalkMe app can be downloaded from the usual sources. If you don’t fancy doing the trip yourself, then Explore offers an eight-day levada trails tour from Dh3,050, not including flights.
The hotel
There isn’t another hotel anywhere in Madeira that matches the history and luxury of the Belmond Reid's Palace in Funchal. Doubles from Dh1,400 per night including taxes.
Results
2pm: Maiden (PA) Dh 40,000 (Dirt) 1,200m, Winner: AF Thayer, Tadhg O’Shea (jockey), Ernst Oertel (trainer).
2.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh 40,000 (D) 1,200m, Winner: AF Sahwa, Nathan Crosse, Mohamed Ramadan.
3pm: Handicap (PA) Dh 40,000 (D) 1,000m, Winner: AF Thobor, Szczepan Mazur, Ernst Oertel.
3.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh 40,000 (D) 2,000m, Winner: AF Mezmar, Szczepan Mazur, Ernst Oertel.
4pm: Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum Cup presented by Longines (TB) Dh 200,000 (D) 1,700m, Winner: Galvanize, Nathan Cross, Doug Watson.
4.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh 40,000 (D) 1,700m, Winner: Ajaj, Bernardo Pinheiro, Mohamed Daggash.
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
India team for Sri Lanka series
Test squad: Rohit Sharma (captain), Priyank Panchal, Mayank Agarwal, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Hanuma Vihari, Shubhman Gill, Rishabh Pant (wk), KS Bharath (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Jayant Yadav, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Sourabh Kumar, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah.
T20 squad: Rohit Sharma (captain), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shreyas Iyer, Surya Kumar Yadav, Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan (wk), Venkatesh Iyer, Deepak Chahar, Deepak Hooda, Ravindra Jadeja, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravi Bishnoi, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Avesh Khan
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The specs
Engine: Long-range single or dual motor with 200kW or 400kW battery
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Max touring range: 620km / 590km
Price: From Dh250,000 (estimated)