Abstract

Nestlé India Ltd. (NIL), the Indian subsidiary of the global FMCG major, Nestlé SA, introduced the Maggi brand in India in 1982, with its launch of Maggi 2 Minute Noodles, an instant noodles product. With the launch of Maggi noodles, NIL created an entirely new food category - instant noodles - in the Indian packaged food market. Because of its first-mover advantage, NIL successfully managed to retain its leadership in the instant noodles category even until the early 2000s. Over the years, NIL extended the Maggi brand to a variety of culinary products like soups, sauces and ketchups, and cooking aids among others. However, these product extensions were not as successful as the instant noodles. In 2005, NIL started offering a range of new ‘healthy’ products under the Maggi brand, in a bid to attract health-conscious consumers. This case looks at the various phases in the product life cycle of Maggi noodles in India. It talks about the various measures taken by NIL to keep the Maggi brand fresh in the minds of Indian consumers. The case also talks about the various extensions of the Maggi brand and tries to analyze why only the sauces and ketchups category, among all the other product extensions, managed to succeed. It further discusses the measures taken by NIL to reposition Maggi as a ‘health product’. The case ends with a discussion whether NIL would be successful in sustaining this new image for Maggi in the market.

Learning Objectives

The case is structured to achieve the following Learning Objectives:

• Understand the strategies undertaken by a major FMCG company to create and establish a new product category. Understand the issues involved in sustaining the image of a popular brand. Study the issues involved in brand extensions. Understand the strategie

Keywords

Maggi, Nestlé India Ltd, Instant noodles, Brand extension, Repositioning, FMCG, Health and wellness company, Product extension, Instant soups, Brand management, Ready-to-eat, Advertising