The Nestle Maggi Noodle Crisis: A Brief Overview
In 2015, Nestle faced a significant food safety controversy involving its popular instant noodle brand, Maggi, in India. The crisis began in May when the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) ordered a nationwide recall of nine Maggi noodle variants due to higher-than-permissible levels of lead and MSG (monosodium glutamate). The FSSAI also accused Nestle of misleading advertising and labeling practices.
The news of the recall spread rapidly, leading to a severe impact on Nestle's business. The company had to recall and destroy over 30,000 tons of Maggi noodles, costing over $50 million. Sales of the product plummeted, and Nestle's share price fell, tarnishing its reputation as a trusted and reliable brand.
Nestle responded to the crisis by cooperating with regulatory agencies, addressing their concerns, and launching a public relations campaign to restore consumer confidence. In August 2015, Nestle announced that lead levels in Maggi noodles were within permissible limits and that the product was safe to eat. New packaging was introduced, emphasizing the product's safety and lack of MSG.
In November 2015, the Bombay High Court lifted the ban on Maggi noodles, criticizing the FSSAI's "arbitrary and irrational" actions and unprofessional testing procedures. Nestle worked hard to regain consumer trust and rebuild its brand, investing in marketing campaigns and making significant changes to its supply chain and quality assurance processes.
The company's efforts paid off, and Maggi noodles gradually regained their popularity in India. By 2016, the product had recaptured a significant market share, and Nestle's sales and profits returned to pre-crisis levels. The Maggi crisis served as a wake-up call for Nestle and the food industry, highlighting the importance of food safety standards, corporate responsibility, and the power of social media in shaping public opinion and driving corporate accountability.
3. Introduction to
Nestle & Maggi
• Founder - Henri nestlé
• Year - 1886
• P l a c e - Velvy, Switzerland
Maggi Noodle
• Founder - Julius Maggi
• Year - 1884
• Acquired by nestle - 1947
• Introduced In India - 1983
4. Benefits Of Maggi
Noodles
• Can be cooked in a short span of
Time.
• Can be afforded by Layman.
• Contains six Major Nutrients.
• Fortified with Vitamin “A” and
Iodine.
• It Branched out to multiple
flavours.
5. Maggi In India
• Maggi noodles are popular in India,
Bangladesh, Pakistan, Singapore,
Malaysia, Australia, New Zealand.
• Entered India in 1982 with it’s
instant noodles formula(2-minute
noodles).
• With the launch of Maggi Noodles in
India it created an entirely new
category “Instant Noodles”.
• Maggi noodles earn 29.23% of
nestle India’s total sales in 2014-15.
6. Strategies To
Enter In Indian
Market
• Maggi-2minute noodles entered into
Indian market with price of 2.10
Rupees with a close of 100% margin.
• Nestle positioned Maggi noodles as
a convenience product for mothers
and as a fun product for children.
• Their tagline was “Fast to cook good
to eat” was also suitable for
establishing their market
positioning.
9. Introduction
• In April 2015, a government referral laboratory in
Kolkata, following up on an initial report from
Barabanki in Uttar Pradesh, reported excess lead in
samples of Maggi.
• Nestle lost more than Rs 500 crore (US$77 million) over
the ban, which forced it to destroy more than 37,000
tonnes of Maggi noodles.
• What they have a clear philosophy: think global and act
local.
• The company had faced in the 32 year-long standing
history in the subcontinent.
10. FACTS:-
• Maggi lead content found 17.2 ppm.
• Trust level dropped to 2% from 91%.
• Analyst from Italy was called to handle the situation.
• Avoiding Media was their biggest mistake.
• New campaign strategy were delayed.
• Maggi did not apologize for a long time, and took the fight with government.
14. TIMELINE
FIR against Brand ambassadors
2 June 2015
The sales of Maggi Banned in Delhi
3 June 2015
The Gujrat FDA banned noodles for 30 days.
Government of Tamil Nadu also banned
Maggi.
4 June 2015
FFSSAI came up with the conclusion and FSA
of UK also joined hand with their
connclusion.
5 June 2015
15. Nestle
under crises
• The Maggi fiasco had repercussions
on the company as whole, and
nestle sustained its quarterly loss
in 17 years, according to its
quarterly reports for the period
ending June 2015.
• The corporate affairs Ministry of
India Imposed 640 crores fine on
nestle
16. Testing
Controversies
• Testing found MSG (Monosodium
glutamate) in Maggi noodles. When
packet stated "No added of MSG“
• Maggi offered to removed "No added
of MSG" to overcome objection.
• Maggi flavouring packets includes
named "Tastemaker".
• Out of 30 products tested by Delhi
authorities, 10 of them had lead
content exceeding limit. (2.5 parts per
million)
17. Nestlé's Reaction
• The company rejected the accusation that the
noodles were unsafe.
• Nestle continued to keep its customers up to
date on the investigation into the safety of Maggi
noodles in India.
• Nestle launches a FAQ page on the official
website.
• Issued a press statement on 21st May, which
reassures consumers the brands commitment to
quality.
• The Brand has a page “Meri Maggi” on Facebook
and issued a similar statement through a post.
18. Comeback
• The comeback of Maggi takes place on
auspicious eve of Diwali and on the day
of Dhanteras.
• Nestle Maggi tied up with E-commerce
giant Snapdeal and launched an
exclusive "Maggi Welcome Kit".
• Announced
#SNAPDEALWELCOMEMAGGI.
• Snapdeal sold Maggi via unique "Flash
Sale Model“ for its comeback after a
gap of five months.
19. Bounce Back In Market
• In India, Maggi products were returned to shelves in November 2015,
Accompanied by Nestleadvertising of the Indian community.
• Maggi anthem by Vir Das and alien chutney became popular.
20. CRISIS
MANAGEMENT
TO IMAGE
BUILDING:
• The sales were up, the campaigns were successful, all laboratory tests were
cleared.
• The absence of the product gave space for competitor products to flourish.
Patanjali Noodles, Wai Wai and Ching’s Noodles now became key players in this
market. To reassert the product’s dominance over others from the same
category
• PR team decided to again hit back with another campaign titled
#NothingLikeMaggi, asking customers to share their ‘Nothing Like Maggi
moments’.
21. Loss To Nestle Due To
Maggi
From commanding 80%
share of India’s
noodles market, (as
estimated by Nomura
Securities in May 2015)
Maggi went down to
zero in just a month.
50% of decline in the
volume growth of the
Nestle India ready to
eat food products in
2015.
Nestlé's share went
down by up to 17%.
Net profit for the year
fell to Rs. 563 crore,
from Rs. 1185 crore.
Nestle took a hit of Rs
450 crore as it
destroyed more than
30,000 tonnes of
Maggi.
During the ban, ITC
Ltd.'s Yippee noodles
and Wai Wai noodles
from Nepal’s CG Foods
gained market share,
filling a gap in a
Rs3,182-crore noodles
market.
22.
23. • Nestle India had in 2017 crossed the Rs 10,000-crore sales mark.
• Maggi has attained over 60% market share.
• Nestle India launched up to 25 products across various categories in a day to
fend off competition.
Oct 2015 Nov 2015 Dec 2015 Jan 2016 Feb 2016
Market Share
(by volume
Nil 10% 33.3% 42% 48%
No. of
outlets(in
millions)
Nil 0.5 1 1.4 1.8
24. Results Achieved By
Nestle
• There was so much anticipation for the return
of one of the India's favourite brand that the
company witnessed a phenomenal response.
• It took nearly 5 minutes for 60,000 Maggi
welcome to be sold on Snapdeal website.
• The marketing partnership between Nestle
India and snapdeal bore fruit for both.
• Maggi is currently available in over 700 towns
and sold by 3 lakhs shopkeepers.
25. Conclusion
• Nestle recalled it’s Maggi inventory, so that this issue doesn’t hamper the
sales of other Nestle products.
• Nestle was not sure about Maggi’s meeting standards, that’s why they took
abrupt decisions.
• Ban on Maggi incurred standalone loss of 64.40 crore rupees.
• Nestle managed to claw its way back by extensive marketing campaigns
and over two dozen product launches.
• Maggi was once again India’s top noodles brand with a 60% market share.
• Nestle and FSSAI even joined hands to set up a food safety institute at the
former’s research and development centre in Manesar, Haryana.