Will be available online from 12 November exclusively in Snapdeal as a part of Nestle's relaunch strategy
Five months after it was pulled back from markets across India, Nestle’s Maggi noodles returns to retail outlets in 100 towns in the country today. While, on its first phase of the relaunch, the food major has come up with its “most preferred” Masala variant. Maggi noodles could not make entry in eight states where local bans on sale is still on. Maggi noodles will be available online from 12 November exclusively in Snapdeal as a part of Nestle’s relaunch strategy.
Nestle India withdrew Maggi noodles from India on 5 June after several state authorities banned its sales in their territories after reports showed that the noodles are hazardous for human consumption. Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) issued an ‘order of recall’ hours after the company’s withdrawal and imposed a ban on the noodles’ production, promotion, distribution, sell and export in India.
As a part of its phased roll out strategy for Maggi noodles, Nestle India will be reintroducing the noodle in phased manner in different markets. “We expect to reach all the markets by the end of this month”, Suresh Narayanan, chairman and managing director, Nestle India said. According to him, the company is currently focusing on crucial markets since the ban and controversy that followed have hampered the brand’s reputation. “Being a big brand, Maggi has an ecosystem at work including farmers, suppliers, transporters, distributers, salesmen and employees working for the brand. The entire episode has disrupted that ecosystem. It will take some time to reestablish that as well”, Narayanan said. The selection of the variant, markets and timing are a part of the effort he says.
Currently, the food major is constantly discussing with authorities in Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Bihar, Orissa, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura, where sale of Maggi noodles is till banned. The lifting of ban in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh are particularly important for the company as two of the five manufacturing units are located in these two states. “Our factories in Pantnagar and Tahliwal major producers of Maggi noodles and getting the ban lifted in these two states (Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, respectively) are thus important which I hope to see happening in few weeks”, he said.
While, making Maggi noodle available to more areas is an important task for Nestle, customer awareness and promotion are no less significant given the loss it has suffered due to the controversy in the past months. “Seeds of doubt has been planted in consumers’ minds. We have to ensure the people that Maggi noodles are completely safe and consumable”, he added. And Nestle has come up with a “three platform promotional strategy” comprised of traditional media, digital campaigns and ground-level consumer awareness activities, to achieve that. While, the traditional media channels like the television and print ads will be used to convey the safe-ness of the noodles, Nestle will woo younger consumers through ‘digital connection’ programme.
Although, the noodle has hit the retail shelves now, to get back to the sales level that Maggi noodles used to generate before the controversy started is still far away. Maggi noodles used to be sold through some 4 million outlets in the country. For that, the bans have to be lifted, consumer trust has to be reestablished and all the players of the ecosystem has to be in synch. And Nestle is on track to reach its goal as soon as possible, Narayanan says.
Five months after it was pulled back from markets across India, Nestle’s Maggi noodles returns to retail outlets in 100 towns in the country today. While, on its first phase of the relaunch, the food major has come up with its “most preferred” Masala variant. Maggi noodles could not make entry in eight states where local bans on sale is still on. Maggi noodles will be available online from 12 November exclusively in Snapdeal as a part of Nestle’s relaunch strategy.
Nestle India withdrew Maggi noodles from India on 5 June after several state authorities banned its sales in their territories after reports showed that the noodles are hazardous for human consumption. Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) issued an ‘order of recall’ hours after the company’s withdrawal and imposed a ban on the noodles’ production, promotion, distribution, sell and export in India.
As a part of its phased roll out strategy for Maggi noodles, Nestle India will be reintroducing the noodle in phased manner in different markets. “We expect to reach all the markets by the end of this month”, Suresh Narayanan, chairman and managing director, Nestle India said. According to him, the company is currently focusing on crucial markets since the ban and controversy that followed have hampered the brand’s reputation. “Being a big brand, Maggi has an ecosystem at work including farmers, suppliers, transporters, distributers, salesmen and employees working for the brand. The entire episode has disrupted that ecosystem. It will take some time to reestablish that as well”, Narayanan said. The selection of the variant, markets and timing are a part of the effort he says.
Currently, the food major is constantly discussing with authorities in Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Bihar, Orissa, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura, where sale of Maggi noodles is till banned. The lifting of ban in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh are particularly important for the company as two of the five manufacturing units are located in these two states. “Our factories in Pantnagar and Tahliwal major producers of Maggi noodles and getting the ban lifted in these two states (Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, respectively) are thus important which I hope to see happening in few weeks”, he said.
While, making Maggi noodle available to more areas is an important task for Nestle, customer awareness and promotion are no less significant given the loss it has suffered due to the controversy in the past months. “Seeds of doubt has been planted in consumers’ minds. We have to ensure the people that Maggi noodles are completely safe and consumable”, he added. And Nestle has come up with a “three platform promotional strategy” comprised of traditional media, digital campaigns and ground-level consumer awareness activities, to achieve that. While, the traditional media channels like the television and print ads will be used to convey the safe-ness of the noodles, Nestle will woo younger consumers through ‘digital connection’ programme.
Although, the noodle has hit the retail shelves now, to get back to the sales level that Maggi noodles used to generate before the controversy started is still far away. Maggi noodles used to be sold through some 4 million outlets in the country. For that, the bans have to be lifted, consumer trust has to be reestablished and all the players of the ecosystem has to be in synch. And Nestle is on track to reach its goal as soon as possible, Narayanan says.
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