June 10, 2020
Maggie in demand as a bachelor from Ambala, Haryana, ran out of Maggie Noodles in lockdown period. Texted email in the initial days of lockdown to Suresh Narayanan, MD, Nestle India, desperately trying to procure the same, could not find it as his next meal depended on it. Narayanan requested his Delhi sales team to reach out to the young man and the very next morning the valued customer received few Maggie packets home delivered by the local agency.
Nestle roped in Narayanan, the first Indian MD in 17 years to head Nestle India, then a disturbed time for the company. His appointment was to regain consumer trust and market share after the “lead controversy” of 2015 whereby FSSAI had banned Maggi and the company was forced to withdraw product from the market shelves. For this typically Indian brand, it was a devastated stage as Maggi was one of the country’s most trusted and loved brands; but that year, Maggi had lost its magic having 70% of the market share before the ‘lead’ crisis. Consequently the brand faced a tarnished look that haunted the company for years. At first, Nestle’s handling of the crisis was criticized, but its comeback is one for the books. Slowly but surely, the company won back most of lost territory and trust.
Surfing with clean chit of allegations, by 2019, Maggi sales surpassed the pre-ban level, in terms of both volume and value. And to top the fame, this year, after Covid-19 hit, consumers who boycotted Maggi five years ago, stockpiled the instant noodle during the nation-wide lockdown in an apocalyptic manner creating a shortage nation-wide of noodles.
Demand for Maggi surged by at least 20-25% over the average ‘pre-Covid numbers’. Narayanan says, “We started to ramp up our manufacturing across the 8 factories including 5 factories that produce the Maggi range during Lockdown 1.0 and this involved reviving all the hundreds of suppliers, wheat flour millers, packaging suppliers and service providers we have in the ecosystem.”
For Narayanan, who leads the `12,000-crore-plus India unit, bringing the company’s products to people was nothing short of a “national cause”. He says, “Enormous efforts have been put in by teams across factories in the most arduous situation. The mission of my team was inspired to rise to a national cause and provide an essential brand at that time.”
Still, when supply chains cracked and stocks of Maggi ran out, there was no two-minute fixing action. To maintain visibility and reassurance to consumers, the company launched a campaign featuring Nestle employees promising to do ‘everything to bring Maggi to you’.
“As health becomes the new status symbol and as on-the-go lifestyle gives way to in-home consumption, people will listen even more to brands that they trust,” says Devndra Chawla, CEO of Spencer’s Retail and Nature’s Basket. “Maggi has earned consumers trust like very few brands have,” he says.
But, as Karmakar points out, “The important thing to remember is that a brand is way bigger than a product window or pack graphics and there is no denying the fact that Maggi is one of the most powerful food brands in modern India. The crucial thing is for the brand custodians to ensure that they use this responsibly and repay the loyalty and trust put in them by customers.”
Narayanan is banking on Maggi’s convenience and versatility, people lacking culinary skills and brand-love to keep it on the ‘essentials list’. “Brands that build ‘affection’ build it over years and consistently”, he added.
“Maggi is seen as a – Faithful friend. There is a mixture of love and adoration, giving Maggi a human form when it is actually a noodle. Well that’s the power of a brand and what it stands for in the consumers’ head and heart. And talking about the recipe’s success in tough times, then in times of crisis, you don’t run a company; you serve a family. This is my humble belief,” Narayan added ardently.