In 1983, India won the world cup; then,
another seminal event took place. Nestle debuted its latest creation, Maggi 2 Minute Noodles to the country.
And the rest, as they say, is History. What the hot dog is to America, Maggi is
to India; for we belong to the generation of ubiquitous lovers of this 2 minute
wonder. So much so, that India has now emerged as the largest consumer of Maggi
noodles across all Nestle operations in the world.
So what really does it take to
build an empire as omnipotent and beloved as Maggi’s? Well, for starters, you need
a USP. For all the non marketing muggles,
this implies that you need a Unique Selling Proposition; simply put, something
that will set you apart and make your product sell. This USP then forms the
base of your positioning strategy and subsequent marketing communications. For
Maggi, its positioning was centered on its funda of convenience and ‘2 minute
noodles’. However, Maggi faced its fair
share of hurdles in the beginning; for one, they had a myriad cultural
variables working against them. The concept of packaged/instant foods was not
popular at the time and there was still no (minutely close even) match to Mom’s
‘haath ka khaana’. Nestle therefore found it challenging to break the existing
psyche of the Indian consumer and educate them to this new class of foods. In
the beginning, Nestle tried to position Maggi as a product for the young
working Indian woman who never had time to cook. This was a gross
miscalculation on their part; they weren’t able to appeal to this target
segment at all and the idea never really took off.
Nestle subsequently undertook extensive market
research and found that children were in fact the biggest consumers of Maggi.
They quickly repositioned the brand as a vibrant young brand perfect for a kid.
A gamut of marketing and communication activities soon followed including
distribution of branded merchandise like pencils, sketch pens, books and even
Maggi clubs; all of which worked wonders for the brand. In essence, Nestle adopted a two
pronged positioning strategy- based on Convenience
for mothers and of course fun &
good taste for kids. This enabled Maggi to become instantly relatable and
helped it build a name for itself. And voila, the market for instant noodles
began to grow!
In 1993, Maggi launched its first
variant of Maggi Noodles, ‘Sweet Maggi.’ Although the company undertook a heavy
marketing and advertising outlay, amounting to roughly 75% of the annual
expenditure, the product failed to deliver as expected and was ultimately
withdrawn. Consumers already had a set of associations with respect to the
brand Maggi and its new sweet variant
failed to tick the right boxes. This exercise brought down the company and
Maggi ended up as a loss making proposition.
To boost sales, Nestle decided to lower the price of its noodles by undertaking
some cost cutting measures (thinner and therefore cheaper packaging etc). They
also introduced multi packs which drove up volume and provided some relief.
In 1997, Indo Nissin came out with
its own instant noodles, Top Ramen. Maggi could no longer sit back and enjoy
their monopoly in the instant noodles market. As a counteractive strategy
perhaps, they changed the formula for Maggi Noodles- a move that was rejected outright
by consumers. People had become conditioned to that particular ‘Maggi waala taste’ and thus associated
the brand with certain attributes; changing a component as central as the taste
itself would mean changing the brand altogether! To counter the drop in sales,
Maggi duly reverted to their original formula. This enabled them to navigate
through competition and consolidate their position in the market.
In terms of Branding, we see that
Nestlé’s positioning though centrally the same, has undergone some changes
through the years. From the 90s, Nestle began to build an emotional connect
with its consumers, and weave itself into the daily lives of people and assume
a role greater than that of a mere snack item. Taglines such as “Mummy Bhook
Lagi Hai” coupled with “Bas 2 Minutes” helped reinforce what the brand stood
for. Moreover, Maggi was also able to, with a degree of subtlety, highlight the
role kids play as influencers in households and capitalize on it. What’s pertinent is that Nestle was
astute enough to not position Maggi as a meal in itself or as a replacement for
a meal. They were culturally sensitive enough not to attempt, with futility, to
replace the traditional roti sabzi with Maggi. This enabled the brand to carve
out a niche for itself without over stepping or hurting any sentiments.
Soon, Maggi realized that its
primary target catchment, kids, had now grown into teenagers and as Maggi was
largely associated with their childhoods, they began to distance themselves
from the brand. Nestle, not wanting to lose out on them, launched Maggi
Macaroni, which they expected to be the next Maggi 2 Minute Noodles. However,
the product’s pricing proved to be their failing. A 75g pack of Macaroni was
priced at Rs. 11 whereas a 100g pack of Maggi Noodles cost Rs. 9. There was
thus no incentive for people to move out of their comfort zones and try out
this new Maggi Macaroni when cheaper, albeit unbranded, alternatives were
easily available. Nestle failed to highlight the value proposition effectively
and Maggi Macaroni ultimately faced the axe.
The year 2005 proved to be a major
turning point for Maggi. The aim was to now position Maggi as a more wholesome
food item; tasty but more importantly, Healthy. They thus introduced Atta
Noodles. This was an exhibit by Nestle to expand its brand image and be more
than just a tasty snack but also a brand that cares for your health. This was
reflected in their promotional campaigns as well, ‘Taste Bhi, Health Bhi’. Maggi was now the perfect food item for
Mothers to feed their veggie- hating kids and also for finicky teenagers who’d
otherwise perhaps cringe at the sight of boring old vegetables.
Successful times reigned supreme
and before we knew it, Maggi was celebrating 25 years of success in India. They rolled out a powerful Ad campaign
centered on developing a strong emotional connect with the loyal customer base
it had built and, in a sense, grown up with over the years. The kids who had
once enjoyed it were themselves adults and many of them parents now. Maggi had
thus grown into something bigger and more significant. In essence, there were
25 years worth of stories to tell! Called ‘Me and Meri Maggi’, the Campaign intended
to bring out the bond that people shared with their Maggi. The message Nestle was trying to send out was:
Everyone has a Maggi Story to tell, share yours with us and we’ll feature it!
Taking ‘Me aur Meri Maggi’ a step
further, Nestle roped in Bollywood royalty Big B himself, as a narrator of
Maggi stories in their TV ads. His mass appeal helped add more novelty to the
brand and made the campaign immensely popular. Maggi was thus firmly able to
establish its new positioning, ‘2 minutes
mein khushiyan’.
So, in essence, Nestle’s success
has had an interesting recipe of sorts; To begin with, it created a segment for
itself in the Indian market and consequently enjoyed the First Mover advantage
for quite a while; this, despite the fact that they made some glaring mistakes,
such as choosing the wrong group to target, but learnt from them and more than
compensated in the long run. Secondly, they evolved with the times. They
recognized the need for improved and consistently sought to give their
customers something more. Most
importantly, Maggi was able to develop that crucial connect with its customers
that went beyond the realm of food and flavor. This ultimately laid the way for
its success in the Indian Market and the position it occupies today. They
developed effective positioning and were able to translate it into their
communication and branding strategies.
In fact, I myself am hardly a consumer of Maggi. This just goes to show how, to play on the
words of the great and infamous Lance Armstrong, It isn't about the noodles. I rest my case.
Maggi, through the years: a Continuum
Fast to cook, Good to eat Meri
Masala Maggi
Mummy, bhook lag rahi hai 2 Minute mein khushiyaan Bas do minute Me & Meri Maggi
Taste
Bhi, Health Bhi
