3. Maggi Noodles is a brand of instant noodles manufactured by Nestlé. The brand is popular
in Australia, India, South Africa, Brazil, Nepal, New Zealand, Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore, Sri
Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and the Philippines. In several countries, it is also known as "Maggi
mee" (mee is Indonesian/Malay/Hokkien for noodles).
Nestle India LTD. (NIL), the Indian subsidiary of global FMGC major, Nestle SA, introduced Maggi
brand in India in 1983. Maggi Noodles was launched in Indiain Jan’ 83. With the launch of
Maggi Noodles,Nestle India Limited (NIL) created entirely new food category- instant noodles in
Indian packaged food market. It was an instant hit thanks to ever overworked mothers and ever
hungry kids. Maggi became phenomena. Because of its first mover advantage, NIL successfully
managed to retain leadership in the instant noodles category until early 2000’s. In Malaysia,
there are fried noodles made from Maggi noodles known as Maggi goreng. Over the years
Nestle extended the Maggi brand to variety of culinary products like soups, sauces and
ketchups, seasonings, etc.
4. Ever since its launch in India, this brand has become synonymous with noodles. Thebright red
and yellow colors of the packet with the brilliant blue “2-minute Noodles”printed on it has
found a place on every kitchen. Over the years, Maggi has grown as a brandand positioned
itself as a “Fast to cook! Good to Eat! “Food product".The history of this brand traces back to
the 19th century when industrial revolution inSwitzerland created factory jobs for women, who
were therefore left with very little time to prepare meals. Due to this growing problem Swiss
Public Welfare Society asked a miller named Julius Maggi to create a vegetable food product
that would be quick to prepare and easy to digest. Julius, the son of an Italian immigrant came
up with a formula to bring added taste to meals in 1863. Soon after he was commissioned by
the Swiss Public Welfare Society, he came up with two instant pea soups & a bean soup- the
first launch of Maggi brand of instant foods in 1882-83.Towards the end of the century, Maggi
company was producing not just powdered soups, but bouillon cubes, sauces and other
flavorings. However in India (the largest consumer of Maggi noodles in the world!) it was
launched in1980 by Nestle group of companies. Maggie had merged with Nestle family in
1947.When launched it had to face a stiff competition from the ready to eat snack segments
likebiscuits, wafers etc. Also it had other competitor the so called home made snacks which
aretill today considered healthy and hygienic. Hence to capture the market it was positioned as
ahygienichomemade snack, a smart move. But still this didn’t work, as it was targetedtowards
the wrong target group, the working women.After conducting an extensive research, the firm
found that the children were the biggestconsumers of Maggi noodles. Quickly a strategy was
developed to capture the kids segmentwith various tools of sales promotion like pencils, fun
books, Maggi clubs which workedwonders for it. No doubt the ads of Maggi have shown a
hungry kid saying “Mummy bhookhlagihai” to which his mom replies “Bas do minute!” and
soon he is happily eating Maggie Noodles. Further the MAGGI 2-MINUTE Noodles has been
renovated to provide 20% of theRDA 1 of Calcium and Protein for the core target group building
on the nutrition proposition“Taste bhi health bhi”. The company could have easily positioned
the product as a meal, butdid not, as a study had shown that Indian mentality did not accept
anything other than rice orroti as meal. They made it easy to cook snack that could be prepared
in just two minutes. The formula clicked well and Maggi became a brand name.1
Recommended Dietary Allowances for children of 7–9 years as per “Nutritive Value of Indian
Foods”, published by IndianCouncil of Medical Research, Reprinted ‘04.
Maggi noodles recently introduced a new variety of its noodles, to cater for the health
conscious like 'No MSG', 'Less Salt', and 'No Trans fat'. Wholewheat flour based noodle
variation marketed by the name "Vegetable Atta Noodles" has been introduced in India (Atta
flour is used in preparing most forms of wheat based breads in India) and caters to health
conscious buyers wary of the refined flour used in the regular Maggi noodles. This move helps
the brand in India as suburban mothers, who feed the noodles to children as an afterschool
5. snack, are the primary customers of the brand. Recently, a line of rice noodles and whole
wheat with pulses, carrots, beans, and onions has also been introduced in India. In fact,
"Maggi" has become a well-known brand for instant noodles in India and Malaysia.
NIL changed the formulation of Maggi Noodles in 1997. However this proved to be a mistake, as
customers did not like the taste of new noodles.
NIL also adopted the same strategy for Maggi brand with the launch Maggi Atta Noodles in
2005.
In March 1999, NIL reintroduced the old formulation of noodles, after which the sales revived.
Flavors
Maggi Noodles are available in a large assortment of different flavors. They are:
OriginalFlavor
Chicken
Curry (a healthier alternative is also sold in supermarkets)
Kari Letup ("Explosive" Curry) in Malaysia
LaksaLemak (discontinued)
Tom yam
Chicken & Corn
Beef
Oriental
Masala
Prawn
Dal Sambar (whole wheat noodles)
Dal Atta noodles
AsamLaksa
Cheese
Pizza (only in Saudi Arabia and South Africa, was available for a period of time in Australia
and New Zealand)
Sup Tulang (bone soup) (in Malaysia)
Chatpata
Tomato
6. Ruhi
Dashi
Koki
Kapi
Stronger Chicken
Crispy Chicken
Vegetable Atta Noodles (whole wheat noodles)
ShahiPulao (rice noodles)
Chilly Chow (rice noodles)
Lemon Masala (rice noodles)
MiGoreng Char Mee
MiGorengKicapBawang
MiGorengPluzAsli
Capsica
Itik (duck)
MiUdangPulau Pinang' (was available in Malaysia)
Maggi gorengsedap
Boerewors (in South Africa)
PRODUCT OFFERING:
Maggi Noodles comes in 4 variants:
1. MASALA: This is the original and most widely liked flavour of Maggi and hence has been
brought out in 6 different packaging sizes; the maximum in any variant
2. CHICKEN
3. CURRY
4. TOMATO
7. 5. VEGETABLE ATTA NOODLES: Launched in April 2005, this variant had contributed to 11
per cent in value to the instant noodle category within 7 months of its launch; this was
the beginning of the “Taste bhi Health bhi” focus 6. VEGETABLE DAL ATTA NOODLES:
Continuing the healthy snacks trend, this variant was launched in May 2006.
Maggi 2-minute Noodles Pack Size Price
(gm) (Rs.)
Masala 50 5
100 10
200 20
400 38
600 54
800 72
Chicken 100 10
Curry 100 10
Tomato 100 10
Vegetable Atta Noodles 100 13
400 50
Vegetable Dal Noodles 100 13
400 50
Product Life Cycle:
8. Currently Maggi is growing above maturity stage
Introductory Stage:
High failure rates
High production and marketing costs
No competition
Frequent medications
Promotion focus on awareness and information
Growth Stage:
Increasing sales and profits
Entrance of Competitors (Top Ramen)
Initial healthy profits
Change in the formulation in 1997 and reintroduction of old product in 1999
Maturity Stage:
Extending and introducing new product lines
Repositioning itself as a healthy product
Moving into new markets
9. 4 P’s of MARKETING MIX:
A. Product:
Ready to cook meal
Variants for different segments
B. Price:
Differentiated packaging
Lower price point strategy
C. Place:
Target rural markets
Target hawkers/eating joints
Kiryana stores
D. Promotion:
Prime time electronic media advertisements
Awareness campaigns
Sponsor school quiz
10. Distribution:
1) Nestle
Decentralized Manufacturing
2 Types Distribution – Traditional ( Kirana Stores) , Institutional (Food outlets)
2) Distributor
6% Margin from Nestle
Has to pay in advance to Nestle but has to give on credit to Retailers
Target small & big shops both
3) Retailer
10% Margin from Distributor and goes to 15% for new and promotional products.
Area space brought by Nestle for promotional purposes
Sampling (Wet and Dry ) done here for promotional purpose
11. Competition:
The territory where Maggi has lorded over all these years, instant noodles, is being breached by
big players. Fast moving consumer goods giants GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare (GSKCH)
and Hindustan Unilever (HUL) have entered the Rs 1,000-crore instant noodles market with
their respective brands, Foodles and Knorr. ITC Foods is reported to be waiting in the wings to
enter the instant noodles market with its Sunfeast brand. In addition, there are the private label
brands of large retailers which are increasing finding a way into the consumer's shopping
trolley. Sauces too are a highly competitive space, with Maggi claiming to be the market leader
but not with a huge margin. And the soup category is even tougher.
It is not the first time Maggi has faced competition in the noodles category. In 1997-98, Indo
Nissin came with its noodles brand Top Ramen. Nestle changed the formulation of Maggi 2-
minute noodles around the same time which was rejected by the consumers. As a result, sales
of Maggi noodles declined with the company finally bringing back the old formulation in 1999
to arrest drop in sales. Meanwhile, Indo Nissin had also become complacent, and Maggi was
able to quickly consolidate its position as the leader. Though it will not be easy to dislodge
Maggi from its perch today, given the huge brand equity it enjoys among consumers, experts
say some loss of market share cannot be ruled out, given the deep pockets and vast distribution
network of its new rivals.
For starters, the company is building on the brand lineage to take it forward. Maggi noodles and
sauces have become household names over the years. The company is strengthening its
emotional connect with the consumers. Last year saw Nestle launch its ‘Meaurmeri Maggi’
campaign that revolved around consumers sharing their experiences. The selected ones were
published on the product packaging.
1. TOP RAMEN Don’t be a noodle, be a Smoodle, was the ad that brought the Top Ramen
brand into limelight when it was launched in 1991.Market share FY 2005-2006: 14%
Variety:
12. Packet Noodles: Macho Masala, Funky Chicken, Oye Tomato, Curry
Smoodles.
Cup Noodles: Spicy Vegetable, Tangy Chicken
Packaging and Pricing: Pack Size Price Top Ramen (gm) (Rs) Packet
Noodles 50 5 100 10 400 34 Cup Noodles 80 20
Distributor: Marico Industries
Distributor strength: About 130000
USP: Don’t be a noodle, be a Smoodle, innovative flavors and its cup
noodles.
2. FOODLES: The health drink brand from GSKCH – Horlicks – which has been traditionally
targeted as a ‘great family nourisher,’ has entered into the highly competitive segment
of instant noodles through its newly introduced Horlicks Foodles, aimed to explore the
category of salty snack food market.
In order to breach the numerouno position of the Maggi’s stronghold in the market of
usual processed flour noodles; Horlicks Foodles seems to have, rightly, attempted to
grab a share of this larger pie by sticking to its ever-green mantra of providing ‘health
and nutritious’ food products.
Thus, Horlicks kick-off the Foodles offerings in two healthy variants: Regular and 4
Grain. Both variants come with a trademarked Healthmaker sachet which has 9 Power
Vitamins. Besides, the 4 Grain variant is made with nutritious grains like Rice, Ragi,
Wheat and Corn. As a sub-variant, each of the two varieties comes in three different
flavors.
13. 3. SunfeastYipee Noodles:
ITC launches its new food product Sunfeast Yippee instant noodles into the market with
two variants,
1.Magic Masala,
2.Classic Masala.
The company is also planned to introduce more flavors in their noodles category within
next 10 months.
Sunfeast Yippee is supposed to have a big growth in market as it is having a limited
competition at the present moment.
Sunfeast Yippee needs to compete with GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), HorlicsFoodles,
Hindustan Unilever,Tasty Treat, Top Ramen and other small brands to achieve great
Position.
Has Maggi finally got competition?
All it took was two minutes to woo the hungry souls. The country had just been introduced to a
revolutionary product, which took over hundreds of households by their hunger pangs, offering
them an instant solution. Maggi Instant Noodles had entered the kitchens of India, the first one
of its kind to do so. It was not only a new brand, but also a new food product for many Indians.
It's been 28 years since then, and Indian consumers have continued to be loyal to the brand.
14. The reason is because Maggi has not had much competition. Even though it has been nearly
three decades, the brand did not face any serious competition. Instead, in all these years,
Maggi has grown exponentially to become a generic brand, and has single-handedly taken the
instant noodles category from being almost non-existent, to anRs 1,200 crore one, of which it
currently has, as per industry estimates, a 70 per cent share, approximately.
The only competition Maggi had until now was from the Japan-based Nissin Group's Top
Ramen, and the Nepal based CG Foods' Wai-Wai Noodles.
Wai-Wai, till recently, was restricted to the eastern market of West Bengal and Sikkim, where it
controlled 70 per cent of the market. Its strategy was to first build-up the distribution network,
which it successfully did - the brand was available on the shelves of super stores, as much as in
the local Kirana stores. It was then that they started building the brand.
Top Ramen, on the other hand, was aggressive in its marketing - it even roped in Shah Rukh
Khan as the brand ambassador, but failed to get its distribution network in place. The brand
had entered into a distribution tie-up with Marico, the owners of Saffola and Parachute.
However, the year 2010 saw a sudden spurt in this category.
Wai-Wai is now working towards a national presence. The company, which had manufacturing
units in Assam and Sikkim, recently set up a new plant in Rudrapur, in Uttaranchal, and is also
looking at acquiring a FMCG company in the South/ West.
Top Ramen also has moved to set up its own distribution network, besides hiring a new agency
Dentsu, to give it a fresh marketing push. The brand plans to launch itself with a new look and a
new taste.
And...
Two major FMCG players, GSK and ITC, decided to venture into the market, almost 20 years
after Nissin Group's Top Ramen had decided to try its luck. GSK launched Foodles, while ITC
launched Sunfeast Yippee. Unilever, too, tried to create some competition with Knorr Soupy
Noodles.
Instant Gains
15. One reason why we see a spurt in this category is that it is still growing at the rate of 23 per
cent. PrashantPandey, general manager - marketing, GSK, says, "While it is true that consumers,
both in the urban and semi-urban markets are aware of instant noodles, the markets in the
hinterland and interiors are yet to be tapped. This provides a huge scope for growth. The
category is yet to penetrate deeper into the deepest regions of this country," he says.
The other reason that experts attribute to the growth is that the profit margins in the instant
noodles category are very high. This was a lucrative proposition for companies such as GSK and
ITC, which were looking to diversify into other categories.
It is because of Maggi that instant noodles have become a part of the food habit of Indian
homes. Maggi has moved from being a 7 pm-snack, to being a part of breakfast, lunch, and
dinner, of the average Indian household. Says Sunil Alagh, chairman, SKA Advisors, "It is all
thanks to Nestle, which has done the initial and crucial job of establishing the instant noodles
category in the consumer's mindset."
According to Alagh the market is ripe. "It's the perfect time for newer players to enter the
category. They just need to launch a good tasty product, and work on its distribution," says
Alagh.
Tasting Times
How well will the new brands be received? Brand consultant Ramanujam Sridhar, says, "The
new entrants will perform well in areas where the brand equity of the parent company, or the
brand itself is very high. For example, the Horlicks brand is very strong in the Tamil Nadu
market, and there are chances that Foodles will do well in this market where it was first
launched."
Industry observers like independent consultant CajetanVaz and PrateekSrivastava, president,
South, Ogilvy India (he was in-charge of Sunfeast Yippee campaign), feel that while there will be
a place for many players in a growing category, the new entrants will have to find a
differentiating factor, and build the concept through advertising and marketing.
However, the new players still have a long way to go, especially when MAGGI continues to
innovate itself with new product variations, be it Maggi Vegetable Atta Noodles, Maggi
Vegetable Multigrainz Noodles, or several other variants.
16. STPD:
SEGMENTATION TARGET POSITIONING DIFFERENTITATION
Fast to Cook Good
Age Kids Taste
to eat
Eating habits Youth 2-Minute Noodles Flavors
Lifestyle of Urban Taste bhi health
Office goers Packaging
families bhi
SWOT:
STRENGTHS WEAKNESS OPPORTUNITIES THREATS
Unexploited Rural Strong presence of
Market Leader Big product Line
Market regional competitor
17. Increasing number of
Brand Loyalty Health related issues Competitive pricing
working youth
Distribution Affinity of Indian to TOP RAMEN
Channels Chinese food Noodles
Innovative flavors of Leveraging Maggi
Indian taste buds kitchen
Advertising
Strategies
Market Penetration Strategies:
1)Promotional Campaigns in Schools
2) Dry Sampling – Distributing Maggi packets
3) Wet Sampling – Distributing cooked Maggi
4)Product Innovation – Atta Maggi, Rice Mania Maggi, Tomato Maggi, Chicken Maggi
5)Availability in different packages: 50gm,100gm,200gm,400gm
6)Advertising Campaigns- 25 Years Celeb:
Maggi Noodles completed 25 years in India last year, and the response to the 'Me and
MeriMaggi' campaign generated a whole new line of thought, and in turn, three
new flavors. ShivaniHegde, general manager-Foods, Nestle India, explained,
"Consumer feedback plays a critical role in our marketing strategy and we
continuously keep listening to the consumer and getting into their lives, to
identify the 'Moment of truth'. We had earlier launched an innovative
advertising campaign ‘Me and Meri Maggi’ to celebrate the emotional
relationship Maggi has with consumers where we allowed the consumer to own
the brand and talk about their unique experiences with Maggi. The inspiration
18. for the new 'Me and Meri Maggi' range came from the consumers, and from
their overwhelming response to this campaign."
To make consumers part of the brand’s journey, its latest communication talks
about various memories people associate with Maggi. The ad has been
conceptualized by public’s India.
The latest Maggi ad opens with a voiceover, which says that one has many
memories attached with Maggi over a period of 25 years. The ad is a collection
of short vignettes, showcasing consumers’ memories of Maggi. For instance, one
child remembers eating Maggi on a camping trip; while another person
remembers serving Maggi, when people were stuck in the Mumbai floods. The
ad concludes with consumers being invited to share their own Maggi story,
through which they can get a chance to feature on the Maggi packs or ads. The
film has been directed by ArunGopalan from Storytellers.IN. The team that has
worked on Maggi includes Anindya Banerjee, AshutoshSawhney, Vishal
Chemjong, Sudhir Das, NiloySom, LobsangWangchen, HozefaAlibhai, IstlingMirc
and SmritiChawla.
As a part of its promotional drive, Maggi has launched a website, meandmeri.in,
where consumers can upload their Maggi moments and submit their favorite
19. Maggi recipe. Consumers, whose stories or recipes are a hit with the company,
will get a chance to be featured on Maggi packs or ads.
Maggi has generally stayed away from taking the celebrity endorsement route.
The only exception was roping in actor, PreityZinta for a brief period, to promote
the Rs 5 Chotu Maggi and the Maggi family packs. All ads for the brand usually
focus on the mother-child relationship; therefore, the brand has deliberately
stayed away from celebrity endorsements.
Marketing Strategies:
TARGET CONSUMERS:
Maggi 2 Minute Instant Noodles is already associated with convenience and taste and
iscurrently accepted as a valid filling snack between meals. Maggi will continue to leverage
itsbrand equity and target the following segments for this product.
Children and Teenagers: This is a large segment and is Maggi’s stronghold. The age group
between 4 and 14 years has largely similar tastes and is traditionally targeted by Maggi. These
segments perceive Maggi instant noodles as a welcome change in taste from the regular Indian
fare and they are fascinated by the curly shaped noodles. For these segments innovative
products also have novelty value, however, certain dominant preferences emerge. Realizing
this early, Maggi shifted focus from the lady of the house to the end consumer i.e. children
themselves ending up as the market leader of the instant noodles segment. Early buy in of this
segment will help Maggi to sell in other segments in future.
MAGGI CUP O MANIA:
Maggi Cup O Mania is Maggi’s answer to Nissin’s Cup Noodles. With reduced cookingtime of
½ a minute, ease of preparation and no need of separate plates Maggi Cup O Noodlespromises
to appeal to anyone in need of a quick, convenient bite. Maggi Cup O Noodles beinga premium
20. priced product, the segment targeted should one which is ready to pay a premiumfor a quality
convenient food. The following segment promises to be the best bet. Young Adults: The
growing class of affluent young adults does not mind paying higher prices for quality products.
They are hard pressed for time and would pay a premium for convenience. This segment has a
good top of the mind recall of Maggi as a brand as the current members of this group were the
targets of Maggi in the 1980’s and they retain fond memories of Maggi, a emotional bond
which can be leveraged to win them over to Maggi Cup O Noodles. This segment is growing and
has the potential of accepting Maggi as a mainstream food item as they see instant noodles as a
natural part of Indian food culture.
POSITIONING OF MAGGI:
Maggi 2 Minute Noodles will continue with its current positioning of convenience and as a “fast
to cook, good to eat” snack as this seems to be working well. To prevent Top Ramen, the main
competitor, from eating into its market share some product innovation is required as otherwise
Maggi may get stereotyped as an unexciting product. Top Ramen is following a cost
differentiation technique. To deal with this Maggi has to position itself as a differentiated
product. The market is very sensitive to taste and rejects any flavor it dislikes with Maggi having
learnt it the hard way, thus the product cannot be greatly differentiated with on basis of taste.
On the other hand Maggi has to deal with the negative perception of Maggi has of being
unhealthy in an increasingly health conscious market, a major threat in the current scenario.
Both these problems can be tackled by positioning Maggi as a snack with nutritional value. The
recent launch of “Veg. Atta Noodles “and “Dal Atta Noodles” with the promise of good
nutritional value ventures in this area.Maggi, the pioneer and creator of “Taste bhi Health bhi”
has introduced another greasy tasting and healthy variant in its popular range of Maggi Noodle.
Maggi VegetableMultigrainzNoodles is made with Ragi, Corn, Jowar and Wheat. It offers the
consumer multi-gun as it is source of protein, calcium and fiber. Ad has added vegetables.
Maggi Vegetable MultigrainzNoodlesis available with a delicious “Spice Remix” Tastemaker.
The inspiration of product comes from growing consumer preference for a healthier lifestyle,
21. and the deep understanding that Maggi has developed about Indian food habits and culture-
the multiplicity of grains are used in everyday foods across country.
CUP O MANIA
The main USP of Cup O Maggi is convenience without compromising on taste. Nissin’s Cup
Noodles is a huge hit with the consumers liking the concept of noodles served in a cup and the
extra convenience of not dealing with cleaning/needing plates and the lesser time required for
preparation. Cup O Maggi is targeted towards a segment that values time and convenience as
well as is getting increasingly health conscious. So Cup O Maggi with added nutrition and
wholesome components will position itself as a healthy and convenient food option that can be
had anywhere, anytime. The crux of positioning will be “Healthy Snack Anywhere, Anytime”.
Maggi launched "Rasiley Chao" for Rural India, rural taste is taken in consideration for the
product, and promotional activity for the same is going on in the rural market through wet
sampling. Now Maggi is not the urban centric brand, they are penetrating it in rural with their
taste preference with convenient to cook in rural environment.
Brand Recall and Future Trends
Introducing a fictitious character who can connect with kids for better brand
recall
Organizing contests , games and industrial visits for school kids to further
strengthen the brand image
Invite Housewives to send new innovative recipes made from Maggi and
introduce rewards for the same
Foray into the Chinese food segment by introducing branded products for
chowmeen, schezwan and hakka noodles
