Hemas Consumer Brands (HCB) reaffirmed its leadership in Sri Lanka’s Personal Care and FMCG sectors by emerging as one of the most awarded organisations at the recently-concluded ‘SLIM Digis 2.5 Awards’. Known for redefining how brands engage and perform in the digital space, the company continues to break new ground with bold strategies, cutting-edge technology and purpose-led campaigns. HCB received multiple accolades at SLIM Digis 2.5 for the Fems Forward & Fearless campaign (Silver – Best Use of AI Technologies and Bronze for CSR Purpose Driven Technologies); ‘A Big Day at the ලැජ්ජ singhes & The ලැජ්ජාව’ shorts series (2 Bronze awards – Best use of Digital in a Marketing Campaign for FMCG – Personal Care Brands and Best use of creator/influencer content); UP campaign for the Gold men’s range (Merit – Digital Creative Content and 2 Bronze awards – Best Use of Digital Creative Content and Digital Bravery respectively); while ‘The Velvet RE-CONNECT’ campaign won Best Use of Digital in Marketing Campaign in Personal Care Brands. HCB has built one of Sri Lanka’s most trusted personal care portfolios with household names such as Fems, Velvet and Gold amongst others.
“These wins reflect our passion for pushing boundaries and creating campaigns that are authentic, inclusive and tech-enabled. At Hemas Consumer Brands, we believe in leading the digital space with innovation that is engaging and consumer-friendly through campaigns that reach people and create lasting impact. These awards are a testament to our teams, our partners and the consumers who inspire us to keep elevating the our digital approach and setting the standard in industry,” commented Shiyan Jayaweera, Director – Marketing of Hemas Consumer Brands.
Fems, a pioneering feminine hygiene brand, has earned recognition through its award-winning campaigns that continue to revolutionise the menstrual health and hygiene category, turning what was once a taboo topic into a conversation about education and empowerment. The brand’s ‘Forward and Fearless’ campaign received a Silver for ‘Best use of AI Technologies’ and Bronze for ‘CSR/Purpose Driven Technologies’, highlighting its innovative approach to purpose-led communication. In Sri Lanka, 60% of schoolgirls miss school during their periods due to period poverty, lack of facilities, and cultural taboos. To address this, Fems launched the ‘Forward & Fearless’ campaign on International Women’s Day 2024 – the country’s first initiative to integrate AI with CSR in the Feminine Hygiene category. The campaign invited people to generate and share personalised videos via the herfoundation.lk website, and for every video shared, Fems donated sanitary napkins to three schoolgirls. The movement not only created awareness but also impact:17,902 students across 20 schools in Sabaragamuwa Province were reached with menstrual health and hygiene sessions and free sanitary napkins were distributed. The campaign further inspired like-minded organisations to join hands and carry this cause forward.
In addition, Fems’ ‘A Big Day at the ලැජ්ජ singhes & The ලැජ්ජාව’ shorts series initiative was awarded Bronze for ‘Best use of Creator Content/Influencer’ and ‘Best use of Digital in a Marketing Campaign for FMCG-Personal Care brands’, underscoring the brand’s strategic use of digital innovation. In Sri Lanka, menstruation is still clouded by harmful cultural beliefs, causing 30–60% of girls to miss school each month. With limited access to pads, reliance on cloth and misinformation even among educators, the stigma continues to disrupt education and health. To challenge these myths in an entertaining way, Fems launched ‘A Big Day at the ලැජ්ජ singhes & The ලැජ්ජාව’ shorts series’, a humorous digital campaign featuring the popular male comedy duo Blok & Dino. Their lighthearted storytelling helped break taboos and spark open conversations around periods. The campaign went viral, gaining 1.2M organic views on YouTube for the main film, with the short assets further reaching 471K views on YouTube, 702K on Instagram, 3.79M on Facebook, and 3.97M on TikTok.
Operating in a sector traditionally seen as non-essential, Fems has taken the lead in educating women across Sri Lanka on the significance of menstrual health and hygiene. Taking the lead in the digital space, Fems launched Fio, Sri Lanka’s first trilingual period tracker app and 100% free resource, designed to empower women by providing credible menstrual health and hygiene education, cycle tracking and a safe space for personalised health advice from medical professionals. The groundbreaking app drives Fems’ mission to enable women to be independent and rise to break the taboo surrounding menstruation, thus promoting period support for women across the nation.
Earning the Merit award for ‘Best Use of Digital in a Marketing Campaign for FMCG–Personal Care brands’, the skincare brand Velvet’s relaunch, ‘The Velvet RE-CONNECT’, was all about rekindling the bond with Sri Lankan women; a move from being just a trusted skincare brand to becoming a deeply meaningful part of her self-care ritual. With ‘Pure Skin Love’ at its heart, the campaign sought to reignite loyalty, rebuild emotional affinity and make Velvet feel like her brand again. It reminded her that Velvet has always been more than just a soap: it’s a symbol of how she nurtures, cherishes and expresses love for herself, feeling beautiful, confident and cared for in her own skin.
Bestowed with a Bronze for ‘Digital Bravery’ and ‘Best use of Digital in a Marketing Campaign for FMCG-Personal Care Brands’; and a Merit award for ‘Best Use of Digital Creative Content’, Gold, one of Sri Lanka’s leading male grooming brands is known to be a specialised grooming partner for the confident man. This recognition follows a campaign deeply rooted in consumer insight – understanding the aspirations, attitudes and identities of today’s young men. While many brands play it safe, Gold chose to challenge conventions, boldly stepping away from the stereotypical portrayal of masculinity to craft a narrative that truly resonates with its audience. By staying closely aligned with its target group and daring to break category norms, Gold has proved that relevance and bravery go hand in hand.
HCB’s leading products and platforms embody its commitment to improving everyday lives, while setting trends in digital engagement and brand experience. The company’s continued success at the SLIM Digis underscores its role as a trendsetter, influencing the broader marketing ecosystem and inspiring bold, technology-driven and purpose-led communication across categories. The SLIM Digis Awards remain Sri Lanka’s most prestigious platform for recognising excellence and innovation in digital marketing.
