Abstract

The case discusses the marketing and promotional strategies adopted by Nestlé India Ltd (NIL) to revive the Maggi brand in India. In June 2015, Maggi was banned for six months across India after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of India found much higher than permissible amounts of lead in samples of Maggi 2-Minute noodles – one of NIL’s best-selling products in India. The company had to recall 38,000 tons of Maggi noodles from millions of retail shelves across the country. After getting clearance from the apex court, the ban was relaxed in November 2015. The controversy affected the company significantly with Maggi losing over Rs10 billion in sales and its brand image suffering a serious blow. Suresh Narayanan (Narayanan), Managing Director of NIL, was on a mission to resurrect the beleaguered Maggi brand. The plan included spending heavily on advertising and brand building initiatives in addition to stepping up consumer engagement on the digital platforms. The case discusses the measures taken by NIL to bring the Maggi brand back to life and regain the trust and confidence of customers. With ad campaigns such as ‘We Miss You Too’ and ‘Nothing Like Maggi’, the brand took an emotional route to reach out to its customers. However, the biggest challenge for NIL going forward would be to retain Maggi’s dominant position in the Indian noodles market in light of increasing competition. Can Narayanan successively revive Maggi? Can NIL win back market share in India?

Learning Objectives

The case is structured to achieve the following Learning Objectives:

• Understand the brand positioning strategies adopted by NIL to revive the Maggi brand in India.
• Understand the importance of brand repositioning.
• Understand the role of digital media in promotion.
• Understand the issues involved in sustaining the image of a popular brand.
• Identify the challenges faced by Narayanan in reviving the brand and explore strategies he may adopt to overcome these challenges.

Keywords

Brand Repositioning; Brand Management ; Communication Strategy; Crisis Management; Digital Marketing