Simple is a British brand. It was born in the UK in 1960, sold on having no perfume, no colour and no harsh chemicals, and Unilever has owned it since the Alberto Culver deal announced in 2010. The bottle on an Indian shelf, though, is made in India. The pack we read for the brand’s best-known product names a contract manufacturer in Silvassa — a firm the brand’s own Indian website never mentions.
Simple is not imported into India; it is made here, so no customs duty sits in the price. The pack for the 200 ml Micellar Cleansing Water declares Aero Pharma of Silvassa as manufacturer and Hindustan Unilever only as packer, while two face washes on Tata 1mg declare a Haridwar site and four pages on Simple’s own website name a Hindustan Unilever office in Mumbai with no plant and no licence number. MRPs run ₹185 to ₹675, checked 4 September 2026, and the cleansers work out at ₹3.27 a millilitre.
Snapshot
- Founded
- 1960, in the United Kingdom
- Owner
- Unilever, sold in India by Hindustan Unilever Limited (CIN L15140MH1933PLC002030)
- Acquired
- With Alberto Culver, announced 27 September 2010, US$3.7 billion
- In India since
- Announced January 2019 with Nykaa; on Amazon India from 26 June 2015
- Made in
- India — Aero Pharma, Silvassa on the micellar water pack; L.B.C.P., Haridwar on two face washes
- Indian price band
- ₹185 to ₹675 MRP, checked 4 September 2026
- Cheapest per millilitre
- ₹1.85, the 100 ml micellar water
- Animal testing
- Listed in PETA’s directory as Simple (Unilever), cruelty-free
How it started
Unilever’s own account is short: the Simple brand was born in the UK in 1960 and was the first to make a cleansing product with no perfume and no colour. The brand’s Indian website tells it slightly differently — a journey beginning in the 1960s “in the hands of a British doctor”, with 1978 given as the launch of its first no-colour, no-perfume, no-harsh-chemicals soap. Two pages, both Unilever’s, two versions. The 1960 date is the one with the corporate source behind it.
Ownership is easier to pin down. Unilever’s filing with the US securities regulator on 27 September 2010 announced the acquisition of Alberto Culver for US$3.7 billion and named the brands it was buying — TRESemmé, Nexxus, VO5, St Ives and Simple among them. It is why Simple sits today inside a company that turned over ₹63,763 crore in India in the year to March 2026.
- 1960Born in the UK, the first cleanser with no perfume and no colour
- 1978The brand’s own page dates its first no-colour, no-perfume soap here
- 27 September 2010Unilever announces the US$3.7 billion Alberto Culver deal, Simple among the named brands
- 26 June 2015First listed on Amazon India
- January 2019Announced as an India launch, with Nykaa as partner, at ₹325 to ₹385
- 14 August 2026The UK regulator publishes a micellar water recall for the UK and Ireland
Two arrival dates for India, nearly four years apart, both on the record.
Neither Indian date is wrong. A brand can be on sale for years before it is launched properly, and this one was.
What they actually make
Thirty-one listings sit on Simple’s Indian store, and the range is wider than the gentle-face-wash reputation suggests. Alongside the Kind to Skin cleansers and moisturisers there are actives-led serums — 10% niacinamide, hyaluronic acid with vitamin B5, a polyglutamic acid booster — and one product with sun protection, the Protecting Light Moisturiser with SPF 15.
Who makes them is the interesting part, and three different answers were read on 4 September 2026.
| Where the declaration was read | Named as manufacturer | Named as packer or marketer |
|---|---|---|
| Amazon India pack block, Micellar Cleansing Water 200 ml | Aero Pharma (Silvassa), Preeti Indl. Estate, Amli, Silvassa 396 230 | Hindustan Unilever Ltd, Unilever House, Mumbai |
| Tata 1mg, Kind to Skin Facial Wash, two variants | L.B.C.P., Unit II, Haridwar 249 403, Uttarakhand | Hindustan Unilever Ltd |
| simpleskincare.in, four product pages | Hindustan Unilever Ltd, Unilever House, Andheri East, Mumbai | None given |
Seven declarations across three sources, for different products. Together they show a range made at more than one site, and an address on the brand’s own pages — given as “manufacturer information” — that the register records as Hindustan Unilever’s registered office, not a factory. No manufacturing licence number appears on any of the seven. Three of the four brand pages also print that office’s PIN as 400100; the register has it as 400099.
Aero Pharma (Silvassa) is worth knowing about. It is a partnership firm rather than a company, so it has no corporate identity number, and it trades on GSTIN 26AAEFA5906D1ZV. It describes itself as an independent contract manufacturer making more than a thousand cosmetic products a year across 75,000 square feet, and it names Avon, Oriflame, Revlon, Gillette, Marico and Hindustan Lever among its clients. There is nothing irregular about any of that — contract manufacture is how most of this shelf is made. A separately registered company called Aero Pharma Private Limited also exists in Mumbai; this piece does not treat the two as one, because nothing read establishes that they are.
Simple’s Indian product pages give a Mumbai office as the manufacturer, with no plant and no licence number. The pack carries the real declaration, so turn the bottle over before you decide who made it.
This split between the name on the front and the maker on the back is ordinary in Indian retail. Campus makes its own shoes; Bata India is a separate listed company from the brand whose name it carries. The point is not that a third party makes Simple. It is that the brand’s own website is the one place a buyer would look, and it names none of the sites its packs name.
The British bottle is made in Poland; the Indian bottle names a partnership firm in Silvassa.
On the formulations, Simple comes out ahead in one place and thin in others. Its 10% Niacinamide Booster Serum lists niacinamide as the second of eighteen ingredients, immediately after water. Ingredient lists run in descending order of quantity above one per cent, so that position is consistent with the 10% on the front of the bottle — consistent with, not a measurement, and no assay or certificate is published. It is a better showing than most percentages printed on this shelf.
The micellar water reads differently. The list on Simple’s Indian page for it begins “Pro-Vitamin B3, Vitamin C, Aqua…”. Those first two are marketing names for niacinamide and sodium ascorbyl phosphate, which appear again lower down under their proper names, fourteenth and fifteenth of seventeen. Read the list from “Aqua” onwards and the descending order holds. The Moisturising Facial Wash page prints “Aqua” and “Glycerin” twice each.
Then the proposition itself. Simple’s Indian About-us page says its free-from list runs to “more than 2000 harsh chemicals that are harmful to your skin”, and defines the offenders as “perfume/fragrance, colours, etc known to upset your skin”. Three words and an “etc.” on one side, a claim of 2,000 on the other, and no published list anywhere on the brand’s Indian site, its UK site or Unilever’s US brand page. The fourth ingredient in the Moisturising Facial Wash is sodium laureth sulfate, a permitted and very widely used cleansing agent. That is not a safety point. It is a definition point: nowhere does the brand say what a harsh chemical is.
The SPF product carries the same gap the whole category has. The Protecting Light Moisturiser claims “Broad-Spectrum SPF 15” and protection against UVA and UVB. The page gives no PA rating, no test method, no laboratory and no report. Simple publishes no SPF study — a statement about the documents, not about the product.
What Simple costs in India
The Indian range runs from ₹185 for the 100 ml micellar water to ₹675 for the 30 ml niacinamide serum, all MRP inclusive of taxes, on the brand’s own store on 4 September 2026. Per millilitre the ladder is wide: cleansers at ₹3.27, the 125 ml moisturisers at ₹3.99, the 200 ml micellar water at ₹2.03, and the serum at ₹22.50. Compare that top figure with The Ordinary’s Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1% at ₹20 a millilitre the same day, and Simple is charging more for the headline active than the brand that made percentage labelling famous.
- Niacinamide serum, 15 ml at ₹399
- ₹26.60 per ml
- Niacinamide serum, 30 ml at ₹675
- ₹22.50 per ml
- Small-pack premium
- +18%
- Checked on
- 4 September 2026
Against the UK there is no single number to compare with, because Simple has no published British RRP and its retail prices swing hard by channel. The same 150 ml Refreshing Facial Wash was £4.99 at Superdrug, £3.00 at Ocado and £2.75 at Tesco on 4 September 2026. At ₹129.29 to the pound, from the US Federal Reserve’s H.10 release of 31 August 2026, the Indian MRP sits inside that British range rather than clearly above or below it.
| Product | India MRP | Superdrug list price |
|---|---|---|
| Kind to Skin Refreshing Facial Wash 150 ml | ₹490 | £4.99 (₹645) |
| Kind to Skin Moisturising Facial Wash 150 ml | ₹490 | £4.60 (₹595) |
| 10% Niacinamide Booster Serum 30 ml | ₹675 | £9.99 (₹1,292) |
Both sides read 4 September 2026; converted at ₹129.29 per pound, US Federal Reserve H.10, released 31 August 2026.
Against the chain price, India is 52% to 82% of Britain; against the supermarket price, 126% to 138% of it. Pick whichever anchor you like and the summary is the same: Simple costs roughly what it costs at home, which is what happens when there is no importer, no customs duty and no import margin in the number.
The Indian price has moved, though. At the January 2019 launch the Refreshing Facial Wash was ₹325 and the micellar water ₹375; today they are ₹490 and ₹405, up 50.8% and 8.0% in seven and a half years. And a marked price and a paid price remain different numbers in Indian retail, on a shelf of Liberty shoes as much as on a shelf of face wash: Tata 1mg carried both face washes at ₹450 MRP with selling prices of ₹334 to ₹365 on the same day.
Who Simple is actually for
Simple is for a buyer who wants a fragrance-free cleanser at a sensible price and does not need a dossier behind it. At ₹3.27 a millilitre the face washes are among the cheaper fragrance-free options on an Indian shelf, and the packs are widely stocked in pharmacies as well as online.
It is a weaker fit for anyone buying on the numbers. If the reason you are picking a serum is a published study, a panel size or a measured SPF, Simple does not give you one — the 10% on the front is supported by ingredient order and nothing further, and the SPF 15 moisturiser carries no test at all. Buyers who want documentation are better served elsewhere, including by cheaper brands.
One claim does hold up, and it is worth crediting. Simple says it is PETA-Approved Vegan and does not test on animals anywhere in the world. PETA’s own directory carries a company entry for Simple (Unilever) describing exactly that standard, read 4 September 2026. That certification belongs to the brand and says nothing about its parent — do not extend it to Unilever or to Hindustan Unilever’s other brands.
Reputation and controversies
Start with what the record holds against Simple in India, which is nothing under the terms tried. The advertising council’s published complaint outcomes carry no adjudication concerning this brand under the terms “Simple” or “Simple Kind to Skin”, read on 4 September 2026. The bare word brings back 47 results and every one is a different advertiser. The council is a self-regulatory industry body rather than a statutory regulator, its file is indexed by advertiser, and Hindustan Unilever’s own entry is a separate one those two terms do not reach. Read that as nothing found under those terms, not as a clean bill.
Indian Kanoon, the public judgment database, is the same. Searches on 4 September 2026 for “Simple Skincare” and “Simple Kind to Skin” found no matter. Consumer commissions are not fully indexed there, so again it is nothing found rather than nothing there.
The owner’s record is a different matter, and it belongs to Hindustan Unilever rather than to Simple. Hindustan Unilever took USV Private Limited, which distributes Sebamed in India, to the Bombay High Court over a comparative campaign built on skin pH. The court restrained the hoardings from referencing Rin on 19 January 2021 (Colabawalla J), restrained the campaigns on 16 June 2022 (Menon J), and dismissed USV’s appeals on 13 July 2022 (Patel and Ahuja JJ).
Those limits matter as much as the outcomes. Each order was about particular advertisements as they then stood. None is a standing ban on a form of words, none is a finding about what either company’s products contain or how they perform, and nobody has ruled on the advertising either brand runs today.
Comparative advertising disputes of this kind run between large advertisers in both directions. Each is decided on the particular campaign in front of the court, not on the products themselves.
The one dated product-safety action on Simple’s record anywhere is British. On 14 August 2026 the UK Office for Product Safety and Standards published a recall, case 2608-0103, of Simple Kind to Skin Micellar Cleansing Water in 200 ml, 400 ml and 730 ml — scoped to the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland only, on stock the notice records as made in Poland. Unilever withdrew the named batch codes and recalled them from users as a precaution over the possible presence of bacteria that could cause eye inflammation, and its own notice says other Simple products are not affected.
Indian stock of that product is a different make: the pack read here declares Silvassa. No Indian recall, alert or withdrawal notice for Simple was found on 4 September 2026, which is not the same thing as a clearance for Indian stock. A regulator publishing a recall and a company running it is a system doing its job.
One claim on the Indian shelf has nothing published behind it. The Amazon India listing describes Simple as “UK’s No.1 facial skincare brand”. The listing gives no measurement, no market definition, no period and no data source, and the line does not appear on the brand’s own Indian site, its UK site or Unilever’s US brand page, all read on 4 September 2026. That is a statement about the documents, not about the brand’s standing.
Buying it in India
Simple sells through its own Indian store, through pharmacy platforms and through marketplaces, and the prices on those three are not the same. Five checks are worth a minute before you pay.
Turn the bottle over
The pack carries the declaration the website does not: who manufactured it and who packed it. On the micellar water we read, those were two different companies in two different states.
Look for a licence number
A cosmetic made in India is made under a state manufacturing licence, and many brands print the number beside the maker’s name. None of the seven Simple declarations read on 4 September 2026 carried one. Ask the seller for it if it matters to you.
Do the millilitre sum
Divide MRP by net quantity before you compare packs. Simple’s 15 ml serum costs 18% more per millilitre than its 30 ml, and its 200 ml micellar water costs more per millilitre than the 100 ml.
Compare the ask with the MRP
A marketplace seller was asking ₹749 for the 200 ml micellar water on 4 September 2026, against ₹405 on the brand’s own store. A third-party ask is not an MRP, and the printed MRP is the ceiling.
Read the list from “Aqua” onwards
Where a list opens with marketing names, the ordered part starts at water. On Simple’s micellar water the two headline vitamins reappear fourteenth and fifteenth of seventeen under their proper names.
Common questions
Is Simple made in India?
Yes. Every declaration read on 4 September 2026 gives India as the country of origin, and no importer is named on any of them. The micellar water pack names Aero Pharma of Silvassa as manufacturer; two face washes on Tata 1mg name L.B.C.P., Haridwar. The brand’s own website names neither.
Who owns Simple?
Unilever, since the Alberto Culver acquisition announced on 27 September 2010 for US$3.7 billion. In India it is sold by Hindustan Unilever Limited, which Unilever entities held 61.9% of as at 31 March 2025.
Was Simple’s micellar water recalled in India?
No Indian recall was found. The recall published on 14 August 2026 by the UK Office for Product Safety and Standards, case 2608-0103, applies to the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland only, on stock the notice records as made in Poland. Indian packs of the same product declare a different manufacturer.
What does Simple mean by “no harsh chemicals”?
Its Indian About-us page claims a free-from list of “more than 2000 harsh chemicals that are harmful to your skin” and defines them as “perfume/fragrance, colours, etc known to upset your skin”. The list itself is not published on the brand’s Indian or UK sites or on Unilever’s US brand page.
Is Simple cruelty-free?
PETA’s Beauty Without Bunnies directory carries a company entry for Simple (Unilever) as cruelty-free, read 4 September 2026. That entry covers the brand only. Cosmetic testing on animals has been prohibited in India for over a decade, so this is the legal floor here rather than a premium.
Is Simple cheaper in India than in the UK?
It depends which British shop you use. The Indian MRP is 52% to 82% of Superdrug’s list prices and 126% to 138% of supermarket prices, at ₹129.29 per pound on 4 September 2026. Simple publishes no UK recommended price, so there is no single figure to compare against.
How we research and verify brand audits: our methodology.
References
- Unilever USA, Simple brand page, read 4 September 2026 — the 1960 UK founding and the first no-perfume, no-colour cleanser
- Simple India, About us, read 4 September 2026 — the 1960s and 1978 dates, and the “2000 harsh chemicals” wording and its definition
- Unilever PLC, Form 6-K, 27 September 2010 — the US$3.7 billion Alberto Culver acquisition naming Simple
- Hindustan Unilever, results release, 30 April 2026 — Indian turnover of ₹63,763 crore for the year to March 2026
- FashionNetwork India, 10 January 2019 — the India launch with Nykaa and the ₹325 to ₹385 launch band
- Amazon India, Simple Kind To Skin Micellar Cleansing Water 200 ml — the Aero Pharma manufacturer declaration, the 26 June 2015 first-available date, the ₹749 seller ask and the “UK’s No.1” wording
- Tata 1mg, Kind to Skin Facial Wash Refreshing 150 ml, read 4 September 2026 — the L.B.C.P. Haridwar declaration and the ₹450 MRP against a lower selling price
- Tata 1mg, Kind to Skin Facial Wash Moisturising 150 ml, read 4 September 2026 — the second Haridwar declaration
- Simple India, 10% Niacinamide Booster Serum 30 ml, read 4 September 2026 — the ingredient list, the manufacturer block and the 400099 PIN
- Simple India, Micellar Cleansing Water 200 ml, read 4 September 2026 — the ingredient list opening with marketing names, and the 400100 PIN
- Simple India, Protecting Light Moisturiser SPF 15 125 ml, read 4 September 2026 — the broad-spectrum claim with no test, laboratory or report
- Aero Pharma (Silvassa) company profile, read 4 September 2026 — the partnership status, GSTIN 26AAEFA5906D1ZV, the 75,000 sq ft and the client list
- Register record for Hindustan Unilever Limited, read 4 September 2026 — the CIN, the registered office and its 400099 PIN
- Simple India, full catalogue with prices, read 4 September 2026 — every Indian MRP and net quantity quoted above
- Superdrug, Kind to Skin Refreshing Facial Wash, read 4 September 2026 — the £4.99 chain price and the PETA-Approved Vegan claim wording
- Ocado, Kind to Skin Refreshing Facial Gel Wash, read 4 September 2026 — the £3.00 supermarket price
- US Federal Reserve, H.10 foreign exchange rates, released 31 August 2026 — ₹129.29 per pound, the rate used throughout
- UK Office for Product Safety and Standards, product recall 2608-0103, 14 August 2026 — the UK and Ireland scope, the Polish country of origin and the listed batch codes
- Simple UK, product recall notice, read 4 September 2026 — Unilever’s own wording on the precautionary recall and the products not affected
- PETA Beauty Without Bunnies, Simple (Unilever), read 4 September 2026 — the cruelty-free company entry
- Advertising Standards Council of India, complaint outcomes, searched 4 September 2026 — the terms “Simple” and “Simple Kind to Skin”, and the 47 unrelated results
- Indian Kanoon, “Simple Skincare”, searched 4 September 2026 — no matter found under the brand’s names
On price, Simple is honest work. Cleansers at ₹3.27 a millilitre and moisturisers at ₹3.99 are among the cheapest fragrance-free options an Indian pharmacy carries, and because nothing is imported there is no duty and no importer’s margin buried in the number. The 10% niacinamide claim is the rare percentage on this shelf whose ingredient position actually supports it, and the PETA entry is a real third-party record rather than a badge.
What it will not tell you is where your bottle was made. The brand’s own pages give a Mumbai office and no licence number, while the packs give Silvassa and Haridwar. A free-from list of 2,000 is claimed and never published, the definition supplied runs to three words and an “etc.”, and the one SPF product carries no test at all. For a brand whose entire proposition is what it leaves out, the documentation is thin.
Buy the ₹490 face wash without worrying; skip the ₹675 serum, which costs more per millilitre than The Ordinary’s and tells you less.
