The Story of Maggie, Rise, Fall and Rise in India
Public Facts about Maggi
Maggi is international brand of seasonings, instant soups, and noodles that originated in Switzerland in the late 19th century. The Maggi company was acquired by Nestle in 1947. The company originated in Switzerland in 1884, when Julius Maggi (1846–1912) took over his father’s mill. He quickly became a pioneer of industrial food production, aiming to improve the nutritional intake of worker families.
Maggi was the first to bring protein-rich legume meals to the market, and followed up with a ready-made soup based on legume meals in 1886. After that Julius Maggi introduced bouillon concentrates, first in capsules, then in cubes. In 1897, Julius Maggi founded the company Maggi GmbH in Singen, Germany.
Maggi instant noodles are popular in Bangladesh, South Africa, Pakistan, Singapore, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Australia, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, Maldives and India and are synonymous with instant noodles in most of these countries. Nestle has 39% market share in Malaysia, and had 90% market share in India prior to a nationwide ban by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India. The ban was later lifted, but market share diminished to 53%. As per latest Statista Report – Nestle reclaimed part of its share and went past 60%.
In Malaysia and Singapore, fried noodles made from Maggi noodles are called Maggi goreng. Maggi Instant noodles are branded as “Maggi 2 Minute Noodles” in Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and India. In India, Maggi Masala noodles carry a green dot, meaning they are specifically formulated to serve vegetarians. However, Maggi chicken noodles carry a red dot, indicating that they are not vegetarian.
This special formulation is not available in other countries, unless imported from India. In Philippines, localised versions of Maggi instant noodles were sold until 2011 when the product group was recalled for suspected Salmonella contamination.It did not return to market, while Nestle continues to sell seasoning products including the popular Maggi Magic Sarap.
This Expert Video is all about MAGGI’s Ultimate Marketing Strategy that made it a Market Leader. Watch this video to learn a bit about how the brand Maggi was built and subsequently How Maggi is manufactured.
Lessons learnt from this video case study:
- Market Sizing and Segmentation – Clear Identification of Market which you want to penetrate.
- Customer Segmentation – You cannot sell to everyone. Clear Identification of Customer.
- Ultimate Customer Satisfaction – Identify the customer concerns, issues and address them. Honour always – Customer is the King.
- Build an Emotional Connection. Great Brands are good at doing that.
Maggi Noodles Controversy – Safety and Health Concerns in India
In May 2015, the FDA representatives from Barabanki, a district of Uttar Pradesh, India stated that samples of the product, Maggi 2 Minute Noodles had unusually excessive levels of monosodium glutamate (MSG). This finding led to multiple market withdrawals and investigations in India and beyond. Some of India’s biggest retailers (including Future Group’s Big Bazaar, Easyday, and Nilgiris) imposed a nationwide ban on Maggi.
In addition, multiple state authorities in India found an unacceptable amount of lead, leading to bans in more than 5 other states.Nepal indefinitely banned Maggi over concerns about the lead levels in the product.Maggi noodles were subsequently withdrawn from the market of five African nations: Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Zimbabwe and South Sudan.
Maggi had to recall stock worth nearly ₹320 crore (₹3.2 Billion) from the shelves and paid ₹20 crores (₹200 million) to a cement factory to burn the product. In addition, the Corporate Affairs Ministry of India imposed a ₹640 crore (₹6.4 Billion) fine on Nestle India for the presence of MSG and lead beyond the permissible limit.
How Maggi is Manufactured? Watch this Video
Return to Market
In India, Maggi products were returned to the shelves in November 2015, accompanied by a Nestlé advertising campaign to win back the trust of members of the Indian community.At this time, the “Maggi anthem” by Vir Das and Alien Chutney was released.Nestlé resumed production of Maggi at all five plants in India on 30 November 2015.
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