Nestle’s instant noodles brand, Maggi continues to face a tough time since June last year when it was banned to have more than the permissible level of lead content. For this reason, the brand was banned from June to November last year. The FSSAI (Food Safety & Standards Authority of India) recalled Maggi from the stores due to allegations over high lead content as well as mislabeling of the flavor enhancer MSG (Monosodium Glutamate).
Though the noodles brand has re-entered the market after clearing the tests as mandated by the Bombay High Court, the market share of the brand has come down drastically. After the ban, the market share of Maggi dropped by almost half, claim the industry executives as per the Nielson data.
In India, the share of the Maggi noodles brand of Nestle has dropped to 42 percent as per the data of January 2016. The same was 77 percent in the same time period last year. Last month, Maggi regained the position of the No 1 slot in the segment of instant noodles. But, ITC Foods’ Sunfeast Yippee managed to cover much ground and it has come close to Maggi with a market share of 33 percent in the last month.
This category was led by Maggi till the month of May 2015 before it faced a ban. Now, the market share is fragmented between Nissin’s Top Ramen, Ching’s Secret, HUL’s Knorr, Nissin’s Cup Noodles, and Wai Wai.
Now, a Nestle spokesperson stated that they have relaunched Maggi noodles all over India except Tripura and Nagaland where they are engaging with the concerned authorities for commerce sale. It was noted that the customer response to Maggi is overwhelming across the nation after the five month ban.
Nestle is also pushing the brand by launching several ad campaigns that will bring nostalgic memories to those who like the taste of Maggi.
