Meril

Meril is a Bangladeshi personal-care brand operated by Square Toiletries Limited, a consumer-products company within the Square Group conglomerate. Its portfolio covers everyday hygiene and skin-care products, including soap bars, petroleum jelly, lip balm, lip gel, glycerin, rosewater glycerin, olive oil, shampoos, conditioners, bath and shower products, and a broad range of baby-care goods. The brand is positioned as an accessible mass-market personal-care name with a particularly strong connection to Bangladeshi households and popular culture. The wider corporate history behind Meril reaches back to Samson H. Chowdhury, who established a pharmacy in 1952 in Ataikula village in Pabna District. In 1958, Chowdhury and three associates founded Square Pharmaceuticals, the starting point of what later became the Square Group. Square Toiletries was established as a division of Square Group in 1988 and became a separate private limited company in 1994. Meril is one of the best-known consumer brands associated with that toiletries business. Meril has developed beyond a basic soap label through successive product introductions and extensions. Meril Splash soaps were introduced in 2007 with marketing aimed at Bangladeshi women, although that range was later discontinued. In 2009, Square Toiletries introduced Meril Revive, initially aimed at professional and working women. Revive subsequently became an independent brand within Square Toiletries, expanding into products such as body lotions, sunscreens, micellar water, shampoos and talcum powders. In the early 2020s, Meril added Tangerine Orange shampoo and conditioner and Rain Shower Refreshing Bath & Shower Gel to its branded portfolio. The current Meril range includes the Meril Soap Bar, Milk Soap Bar variants, Vitamin C Care variants, Tangerine Orange shampoo and conditioner, Rain Shower bath and shower gel, petroleum jelly, lip-care products, glycerin, rosewater glycerin and olive oil. Meril Baby extends the brand into infant and child care with products such as shampoo, toothpaste, olive oil, soap, powder, milk cream, toothbrushes and shower gel. Product availability and exact variants may change over time. Meril has also maintained a substantial role in cultural and social marketing. Since 1998, it has co-hosted the Meril-Prothom Alo Awards with Prothom Alo, an event that developed from the earlier Jai Jai Din-Meril Award Ceremony held in the 1990s. Since 2004, Meril Baby has hosted the Adore Gora Bhobissot, or “a future built with love,” initiative, which has provided education insurance to children. In 2014, the Meril Splash Beauty Soap campaign challenged the conventional advertising association between lighter skin and beauty, using the message that freshness rather than fairness defines beauty. In 2025, Meril sponsored Prothom Alo’s Borno Mala cultural festival, held around Language Movement Day and focused on promoting the Bengali language among children. Meril remains an active Bangladesh-focused brand under Square Toiletries. Publicly available reference material identifies its ownership and product categories but does not establish a separate listed-company status, independent corporate headquarters, or a definitive founding year for the brand itself.

Meril is a personal-care brand from Bangladesh and is owned by Square Toiletries Limited, which belongs to the Square Group. The brand's corporate background is connected to the business founded by Samson H. Chowdhury. Chowdhury established a pharmacy in 1952 in Ataikula village in Pabna District. In 1958, he and three associates founded Square Pharmaceuticals in Pabna, creating the foundation of the wider Square Group. Square Toiletries began in 1988 as a division of Square Group. It was converted into a separate private limited company in 1994. Meril subsequently became one of the company's principal consumer brands, serving the everyday personal-care market in Bangladesh. Unlike a narrowly specialized cosmetics label, Meril developed a broad portfolio encompassing bathing, skin care, hair care, lip care, moisturizing and baby-care products. During the 1990s, Meril and the Bangladeshi newspaper and magazine publisher Jai Jai Din organized the Jai Jai Din-Meril Award Ceremony. The event later evolved into the Meril-Prothom Alo Awards, which Meril has co-hosted with Prothom Alo since 1998. This association helped connect the brand with Bangladesh's entertainment and cultural life. Product development continued in the 2000s. Meril launched the Splash soap lineup in 2007, targeting Bangladeshi women. The Splash range was later discontinued, while the company's soap portfolio continued with products such as Meril Milk Soap Bar and Meril Vitamin C Care. In 2009, Meril Revive was launched for professional and working women. Revive later became an independent Square Toiletries brand, expanding into categories including body lotion, sunscreen, micellar water, shampoo and talcum powder. Meril also developed a significant baby-care platform. Since 2004, Meril Baby has hosted the Adore Gora Bhobissot initiative, a name translated as “a future built with love.” The program has provided education insurance to children and extended the brand's family-oriented identity beyond ordinary retail products. In August 2014, Meril used its Splash Beauty Soap advertising to address colorism in beauty marketing. The campaign argued that freshness, rather than fairness, should define beauty. It was framed as a response to advertising practices associated with Western brands that had promoted lighter skin as a preferred beauty ideal for women. The campaign therefore represented a notable shift from conventional fairness-oriented positioning in the category. In the early 2020s, Meril expanded its shampoo and conditioner selection with Tangerine Orange products and introduced Rain Shower Refreshing Bath & Shower Gel. Reference material listing the portfolio also identifies petroleum jelly in several variants, lip balms, lip gel, glycerin, rosewater glycerin, olive oil, soap bars and a substantial Meril Baby range. The baby selection includes shampoo, toothpaste, olive oil, soap, powder, toothbrushes, milk cream and orange shower gel. In 2025, Meril sponsored the Borno Mala cultural festival organized by Prothom Alo for Language Movement Day. The activity continued the brand's use of cultural sponsorship to associate itself with Bengali language, children and national cultural identity. Meril is currently active, although public reference material does not provide a separate founding year for the brand, a named brand founder, or evidence that it is independently listed.

• 2025

  Borno Mala cultural festival sponsorship

  [1]Merilen.wikipedia.org

  Meril sponsored Prothom Alo's Borno Mala festival associated with Language Movement Day.

• 2014

  Splash Beauty Soap freshness campaign launched

  [1]Merilen.wikipedia.org

  Meril promoted freshness rather than fairness in a campaign addressing colorist beauty standards.

• 2009

  Meril Revive introduced

  [1]Merilen.wikipedia.org

  Meril Revive launched for professional and working women and later became an independent brand under Square Toiletries.

• 2007

  Meril Splash soap launched

  [1]Merilen.wikipedia.org

  Meril introduced the Splash soap lineup for Bangladeshi women; the range was later discontinued.

• 2004

  Meril Baby Adore Gora Bhobissot initiative began

  [1]Merilen.wikipedia.org

  Meril Baby began hosting an initiative providing education insurance to children.

• 1998

  Meril-Prothom Alo Awards co-hosting began

  [1]Merilen.wikipedia.org

  Meril began co-hosting the Meril-Prothom Alo Awards with Prothom Alo; the event developed from the earlier Jai Jai Din-Meril awards.

• 1994

  Square Toiletries became a separate private limited company

  [1]Merilen.wikipedia.org

  The toiletries operation was separated from the division structure and incorporated as a private limited company.

• 1988

  Square Toiletries established as a division

  [1]Merilen.wikipedia.org

  Square Toiletries began as a division of Square Group.

• 1958

  Square Pharmaceuticals founded

  [1]Merilen.wikipedia.org

  Samson H. Chowdhury and three associates founded Square Pharmaceuticals in Pabna, establishing the foundation of the later Square Group.

• 1952

  Samson H. Chowdhury established a pharmacy

  [1]Merilen.wikipedia.org

  The pharmacy founded by Samson H. Chowdhury in Ataikula, Pabna District, preceded the formation of the Square Group businesses associated with Meril.

An accessible, mass-market Bangladeshi personal-care brand spanning everyday hygiene, skin care, hair care, lip care and baby care, with strong associations with local family consumption and Bengali cultural events.

• Bath and body care

  Meril Soap Bar

  The core soap range includes the Meril Soap Bar and Milk Soap Bar variants such as Pure Milk, Rose, Kiwi and Beli. The portfolio also includes Vitamin C Care variants in Tangerine Orange and Lemon & Lime, giving the brand a combination of moisturizing, fragrance-led and vitamin-themed everyday cleansing options.

• Hair care · 2020

  Meril Tangerine Orange Shampoo and Conditioner

  The Tangerine Orange line extends Meril into routine hair cleansing and conditioning. It was introduced in the early 2020s and is presented as a coordinated shampoo-and-conditioner range within the Meril brand.

• Bath and shower care · 2020

  Meril Rain Shower Refreshing Bath & Shower Gel

  Rain Shower is Meril's bath and shower gel offering. It represents the brand's expansion beyond traditional soap bars into liquid cleansing products for shower use.

• Skin care

  Meril Petroleum Jelly

  Meril Petroleum Jelly is offered in Pure & Cure, Lemon Fresh, Aloe Fresh and Cocoa Fresh variants. The products occupy the everyday moisturizing and protective-care segment associated with petroleum jelly.

• Lip care

  Meril Lip Balm and Lip Gel

  The lip-care portfolio includes lip balm or chapstick in Lemon, Strawberry and Pomegranate variants, as well as lip gel. These products extend Meril's personal-care offering into targeted moisturizing and protective care for the lips.

• Skin care

  Meril Glycerin and Rosewater Glycerin

  Meril sells glycerin products, including Rosewater Glycerin, for humectant-oriented skin care. The range reflects the brand's emphasis on familiar, multipurpose personal-care staples.

• Personal care

  Meril Olive Oil

  Olive oil is included in the Meril portfolio as a general personal-care product and also appears within the Meril Baby range. The available reference material does not specify the full range of uses or formulations.

• Baby care

  Meril Baby

  Meril Baby is the brand's infant and child-care platform. Listed products include shampoo, orange- and strawberry-flavored toothpaste, olive oil, soap bar, powder, toothbrush, milk cream and orange shower gel. The platform is also associated with Meril's education-insurance initiative for children.

• Bath and body care · 2007

  Meril Splash Beauty Soap

  Meril Splash Beauty Soap was a soap product used in the brand's 2014 campaign challenging the idea that lighter skin should be treated as the preferred beauty standard. The Splash lineup itself was later discontinued.

• 2025Borno Mala cultural festival

  Bangladesh

  Meril sponsored the Borno Mala cultural festival organized by Prothom Alo for Language Movement Day, with activities intended to promote Bengali language among children.

  Outcome. The sponsorship reinforced Meril's association with Bengali language and local cultural identity.

  Source
• 2014Meril Splash Beauty Soap freshness campaign

  Bangladesh

  The campaign used the message that fairness is not beauty and freshness is, challenging colorist advertising conventions and the association of lighter skin with female beauty.

  Outcome. The campaign was positioned as a direct counterpoint to fairness-oriented category advertising.

  Source
• 2004Meril Baby Adore Gora Bhobissot

  Bangladesh

  Meril Baby began hosting the Adore Gora Bhobissot initiative, translated as “a future built with love,” with a focus on children and education insurance.

  Outcome. The initiative broadened Meril Baby's role from product marketing to a child-focused social program.

  Source
• 1998Meril-Prothom Alo Awards

  Bangladesh

  Meril has co-hosted the Meril-Prothom Alo Awards with Prothom Alo since 1998. The event developed from the Jai Jai Din-Meril Award Ceremony held during the 1990s and connects the brand with Bangladesh's entertainment culture.

  Outcome. The awards became an established Meril-linked cultural property.

  Source

• 2020

  Meril expanded into new hair-care and shower productsProduct launch

  Background

  Meril's established portfolio centered on soaps, skin care, lip care and baby products.

  Action taken

  The brand introduced Tangerine Orange shampoo and conditioner and Rain Shower Refreshing Bath & Shower Gel.

  Aftermath

  The launches broadened Meril's presence in hair cleansing, conditioning and liquid bath products.

  Source

• 2014

  Meril adopted an anti-fairness advertising messageStrategy

  Background

  Beauty-product advertising in the category commonly associated lighter skin with attractiveness, particularly for women.

  Action taken

  The Meril Splash campaign emphasized freshness rather than fairness as the basis of beauty.

  Aftermath

  The campaign distinguished Meril from fairness-oriented positioning used by some international competitors.

  Source

• 2009

  Meril Revive was developed into an independent brandStrategy

  Background

  Meril Revive was initially introduced for professional and working women.

  Action taken

  Square Toiletries subsequently operated Revive as an independent brand rather than keeping it solely as a Meril lineup.

  Aftermath

  Revive expanded into body lotions, sunscreens, micellar water, shampoos and talcum powders.

  Source

• 1994

  Square Toiletries separated from the division structureStrategy

  Background

  Square Toiletries had operated as a Square Group division since 1988.

  Action taken

  The toiletries operation was made a separate private limited company.

  Aftermath

  Meril operated within the dedicated toiletries business that became responsible for the brand's consumer-products portfolio.

  Source

1. 1Merilen.wikipedia.org