Brand Dossier
On
MAGGINOODLES
-Alka Baid
-Arjun P.R
-Avishek Singal
-Ratnavel Subramanian
PHASE I
Contents
HISTORY
Initial positioning and subsequent repositioning of Maggi noodles
Maggi: Brand Positioning from 1982 through 2000s
Maggi: Brand Positioning from 2000 till 2012
Advertisement and sales promotion of Maggi noodles
Different communications media used by Maggi noodles
Sales Promotion:-
Analysis of the product
STPD Analysis:
SWOT Analysis:
4Ps Evaluation:
Competitors
Strategies followed to tackle competition:
Maggi’s competition vs TopRamen
Maggi’s competition vs Yippee Noodles
Distribution Strategy
Types of Distribution
Distributors
Retailers
Summary of the future plans of Maggi Noodles:
References:
PHASE II
Hypotheses
Justification:
Information to be collected:
Instrument of data collection
Questionnaire
Sampling plan and sample size:-
Data analysis methods:-
PHASE III
Q1 – Which of following would you prefer most for a snack?
Q2 – Which of the following do you thing qualifies as a “quick-meal”?
Q3 – What brand comes to your mind when asked about “instant-noodles”?
Q4 - Which of the following do you think are varieties of Maggi?
Q6 - Would you like to consume Maggi on a regular basis?
Q7 – If yes, at what situation would you like to have “Maggi” Noodles?
Q8 - If No, what are the possible reasons behind?
Net take Away
HISTORY
Creation of “MAGGI”
The“Maggi”brand originates from Switzerland where in 1863 Julius Michael Johannes Maggi created a recipe of flavors to bring added taste to meals. This marked the beginning of the Maggibrand and its convenient products. Known for his nutrition-oriented approach, the Swiss Government asked Julius Maggi to create a product that would be quick to prepare yet nutritious as more and more women were working outside the home. The results were a success — two instant pea soups and an instant bean soup.In 1947 Nestlé acquired theMaggibrand and started its production.
Introduction of MAGGI in India
Nestle India ltd (NIL) introduced Maggi to Indian consumers with the launch of Maggi 2 minute noodles, an instant food product in 1982. With the launch of Maggi noodles, Nestle India Ltd created an entirely new food category- Instant Noodles- in the Indian packaged food market. Maggi distributed free samples in the school to promote trial during the launch period. Their tagline “2 min noodles” attracted a large number of working mothers. This became a huge success in the Indian market. There were no worthy competitors for a very long time.
First real competition
In the year 1990, Maggi Noodles came face to face with a real competitor(apart from the existing generic competitors) which led to decline in sales of Maggi. “TOP RAMEN” was growing popular as an instant noodle among the children.
Getting house in order
To counter its competitor Maggi introduced a new formulation which turned to be a disaster for the company. The consumers did not like the taste. Things got out of control until 1999, when Maggi with proper surveys reintroduced a new formulation which helped it regain its consumers. In the year 2000, Maggi got his house in order and with proper marketing strategies it became the leader in the instant noodles category.
Introduction of new varieties
In the year 2005, Maggi launched another instant Maggi called Vegetable Atta noodles. A healthy instant noodles product made of whole wheat flour and vegetables.
Today
The brand is popular in Australia, India, South Africa, Brazil, Nepal, New Zeeland, Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan and the Philippines. In several countries it was also known as “MAGGI MEE” (Mee is Indonesian/ Malay/ Hokkien for Noodles).
Initial positioning and subsequent repositioning of Maggi noodles
Initially nestle tried to position the Noodles in the platform of convenience targeting the working women. However, the sales of Maggi was not picking up despite the heavy media advertising. To overcome this NIL(Nestle India Limited) conducted a research, which revealed that it was children who liked the taste of Maggi noodles and who were the largest consumers of the product so they came up with Maggi- 2 minute noodles. NIL shifted its focus from working women and targeted children and their mothers through its marketing. NIL's promotions positioned the noodles as a 'convenience product', for mothers and as a 'fun' product for children. The noodles' tagline, 'Fast to Cook Good to Eat' was also in keeping with this positioning.
The basic problem the brand faced was the Indian psyche. i.e Indians used to be conservative about the food habits so noodles faced a lot of problem in promoting sales.
Maggi: Brand Positioning from 1982 through 2000s
At the time, when Maggi made their entry in Indian mark, Indian customers were much conservative in their food habits, preferring homemade traditional food, rather than canned or packed food. At the initial stage, they targeted Indian women on the perception that they can be easily attracted since Maggi is easy to cook. But all such efforts did not really work in the expected fashion. To find out the exact problem, NIL conducted a market research and found that children are the largest consumers of the product. So, NIL positioned Maggi noodles as a ‘convenience product’ for mothers and as a ‘fun’ product for children by wearing the tagline of ‘Fast to Cook Good to Eat’ (in 1980s).
Advertising taglines like ‘’Mummy, bhookh lagi hai’, ‘Bas 2-Minute,’ and ‘Fast to Cook Good to Eat’ (in 1990s) easily positioned Maggi in the minds of target consumers. Along with aggressive advertising, NIL had adopted other measures like distributing free samples, giving gifts for empty packages, etc for increased product promotion. In 1988, Maggi launched its first extension product ‘Maggi instant soup’, which soon acquired a prominent position in the packaged soup market in India.
During the 1990s, the sales of Maggi noodles declined, and this was attributed partly to the growing popularity of Top Ramen , another instant noodles product. In order to improve sales and attract more consumers, NIL changed the formulation of Maggi noodles in 1997. However, this proved to be a mistake, as consumers did not like the taste of the new noodles. In March 1999, NIL reintroduced the old formulation of the noodles, after which the sales revived
Maggi: Brand Positioning from 2000 till 2012
From the year 2000 onwards NIL came up with a new marketing strategy that focused on the development of health and wellness products. They shaped their marketing strategy after considering the changing lifestyles and eating habits of Indian consumers. As an outcome of this, Vegetable Atta Noodles entered Maggi family in 2005. At this time they promoted their products with the with the tagline “Taste bhi, Health bhi”. By 2010, Maggi faced severe competition due to new entrants like ITC (Sunfeast Yippee), GlaxoSmithKline’s (GSK) Horlicks Foodles, Hindustan Unilever’s (HUL) Knorr Soupy noodles, and Big Bazaar’s Tasty Treat.
The competition continues, but still ‘Maggi’ stands as a market leader in instant noodles market. To maintain their market position, NIL has started to offer aggressive discounts and incentives to retailers on Maggi. Maggi’s market share had slipped from 90% (which was 2 years ago) to 80% in the last few months. But now, through innovative marketing strategies they have regained some ground and now they have 88% market share. But in the future Nestle expects the competition to hot up and it remains to be seen what all innovative steps that Nestle would take to arrest the erosion of their market share.
In the early 2000s, Maggi was the leader in the branded instant noodles segment, and the company faced little serious competition in this segment. In the early 2000s, NIL started introducing new 'healthy' products in accordance with the Nestlé Group's global strategy to transform itself into a health and wellness company.The noodles' tagline, 'Fast to Cook Good to Eat' was also in keeping with this positioning.
Advertisement and sales promotion of Maggi noodles
By its very nature, a product like Maggi 2- minute noodles offers convenience; indeed, that is one of its fundamental product features. However, a product feature even if it is definitive, is not necessarily a benefit to consumers. Giving the family, especially the kids, something nice to eat is a real issue for mothers. And a food product no matter how important or good it is considered by the mother stands little chance unless the kid also wants it. On the other hand, the kid may love the product, but the frequency and the quantum of consumption will be controlled by the mother depending on how good or bad she thinks it is for them. Therefore, the first thing was to make sure the brand meant something appealing to both the mother and the children. So for starters Maggi was presented as a convenient product for mothers and as a fun product for children.
A related factor was that the method of preparation also allowed a mother to add her individual touch to the end product: a touch of tomato cuts of capsicum, the magic of mushrooms. This gave the mother a relief as it was made in her style and was healthy for the child.
The second important component was the meaning given to 2 minutes. If the meaning that people assigned to these two minutes had primarily been ‘now the woman can finish the work quickly’, it would have conveyed that the user was a lazy mother. The campaign, therefore, converted the feature of ‘only two minutes of your cooking time’ into the benefit of ‘only two minutes of waiting by the kids’. This transference of benefit from the user of the product to the beneficiary of the product was a crucial element of the brand’s success combined in the line ‘fast to eat good to cook’.
These ads have become so popular that the line “bas 2-min” entered the language, and immediately reminded the Indian consumers of Maggi noodles even several years after the ads were no longer being aired on T.V. other lines such as ‘Mummy, bhook lagi hai’ (Mummy, I’m hungry) strongly reinforced the association that the quick preparation was less about the convenience and more about not keeping the child hungry.
‘taste bhi, health bhi’’
In 2005 Maggi built this idea of a healthy noodle preparation into its Vegetable Atta Noodles. This product took away the negative that had been associated with noodles – the fact that they were made from ‘maida’ (refined wheat flour) by making the new product from ‘atta’ (whole wheat flour).
As a celebration the unique bond that the brand shares with its ardent users that MAGGI Noodles has launched its newest campaign: “Meri MAGGI 2- minute Mein Khushiyan”, thereby acknowledging that “Meri MAGGI” gives you the power to create happiness in 2 minutes!The campaign gives MAGGI Noodles fans, the great opportunity to share their stories & stand a chance to feature in TV commercials & packs.
In fact, NIL was trying to create an entirely new food category, instant noodles, in India. Initially, the company targeted working women on the premise that Maggi noodles were fast to cook and hence offered convenience.However, this approach failed as was evident from the fact that the sales of Maggi noodles were not picking up despite heavy media advertising. To get to the root of the problem, NIL conducted a research, which revealed that it was children who liked the taste of Maggi noodles and who were the largest consumers of the product. After this, NIL shifted its focus from working women and targeted children and their mothers through its marketing. NIL's promotions positioned the noodles as a 'convenience product', for mothers and as a 'fun' product for children. The noodles' tagline, 'Fast to Cook Good to Eat' was also in keeping with this positioning.
Different communications media used by Maggi noodles
TV Ads:-
Initially Maggi Noodles was targeted at the working women and later the upper middle class kids. Maggi Noodles was a sponsor for Hum Log, a popular television show on Doordarshan, India’s sole channel in 1984. Maggi Noodlesis now targeting its products at the entire family and not only kids. Maggi Noodles has recently launched “Main Aur Meri Maggi” campaign in commensurate of 25 years if Maggi Noodles in India.
Print Ads:-
Maggi Noodles does not focus heavily on print media. During its launch since its initial target audience was mother and kids. Some advertisements in the print media were used to highlight the convenience factor of Maggi Noodles.
Recently Maggi Noodles came out with advertisements in some weekly magazines for its new atta noodles and rice noodles variants. Maggi rice noodles mania had the highest cvolumn centimeter in print among the instant food category. Growth in noodles print advertisements grew by 42% share in 2010. Maggi noodles expenditure on print media is much lower compared to other media.
Sales Promotion:-
Various sales promotions offered by Maggito retain its customers were:
Discount offered to retailers:-
7% discount on 6-pieces pack (56MRP), 5 rupee discount on 8-pieces pack (78MRP).These are promotional schemes given to the retailers.
Display:-
Large pack sizes at the top with decreasing pack sizes as going downward.This is because that for a retail outlet the more value is generated large pack thus they try to project big size at convenience place.
Public Relation:-
The Maggi Club - the children under the age of 14 were invited by press advertisements and distribution of leaflets to become a member of Maggi club by sending logo cut from 5 empty Maggi wrappers. Maggi projected it as “Maggi Clubbers are fun lovers” and intended to use it as reference group. Benefits offered to Maggi-Clubbers are various games like snap safari game, Cap and mask sets, travel India game, Disney today comic. To obtain each gift the member has to send 5 wrappers as purchase proof. Some special privileges were given to regular members time to time like, discounting tickets of Appughar, organization Maggi school quizzes and sketching.
Analysis of the product
STPD Analysis:
Segmentation: Maggi Noodles as a brand have segmented the market on the basis of lifestyle and habits of urban families.
Target:Maggi Noodles brand have mainly targeted the kids, youth, working crowd who fall into the category of “convenience-savvy time misers” who like to get something instant and get over it quickly while considering the health factor.
Positioning:Maggi Noodles has positioned itself in the SNACKS category and not in the meal category since Indians do not consider noodles as a meal. Therefore Maggi Noodles has developed its brand image of instant food product with positioning statements such as “2 minute Noodles” and “Easy to cook, good to eat”. But in the recent times as it has established very well in its segment and far beyond the approach for any competitor, it’s slowly trying to enter into the MEAL category.
Differentiation: Maggi Noodles have also differentiated its brand image from its competitors in terms of taste, flavor and packaging. Maggi Noodles has also launched a wide variety of products in different flavor, thus attracting a large number of consumers. Maggi products are available in different sizes catering a variety of consumer needs.
SWOT Analysis:
Maggi Noodles is the leader in its category with strong customer loyalty.
Strength:
- Established family brand: Maggi is a brand well established among both young and the middle-aged group of a family.
- Strong global corporate brand: Nestle, the corporate which created and are running Maggi, is a very strong brand internationally which makes Maggi Noodles a trustworthy product.
- Market leader:Maggi Noodles is the leader of the market in India.
- Strong Marketing and Distribution channels: Maggi’s marketing strategy and distribution channels to take out its competitors has been of top notch.
- Pioneer in the category:Maggi was the pioneer in the quick cooking noodles category. Thus reaching the minds of everyone made easier.
- Innovative Flavors:Maggi continuously launched new and exciting flavors to retain its customers and also to gain new ones by creating an entirely new variant.
Weakness:
- Not Authentic Noodles: Though the brand “Maggi Noodles” is synonymous with noodles in the minds of the consumers, it has not been able to conquer the market demanding authentic Chinese styled noodles.
Opportunities:
- Growing packaged food market: India has a growing packaged food market of 15% annually which would help Maggi Noodles to increase their pool of consumers.
- Increasing brand consciousness: Over the time, Indian consumers have become very brand conscious with the introduction of many stable products in the country.
- Unexploited rural market: Packaged food has not yet reached the rural market as much as the urban areas.
- Youth: India has a majority of its population less the age of 25.
Threat:
- Health issues: Over the time, the brand has received many allegations regarding the health risk with its products. Though it has taken several actions regarding this, the brand still is associated with these issues in the minds of the consumer.
- Incapable of flavor change:Maggi Noodles can never change its base flavor
- Competitive pricing: It is constantly facing a competition with brands like TopRamen.
- Regional competitors:Maggi’s competitors, though many in the packaged foods segment, its constant competitors are the snack bars.
4Ps Evaluation:
Product: