With 70% market share in its bowl, Maggi has been ahead of all competitors for almost 30 years "THE challenge was to establish an alien product and yet find a relevant consumption benefit in the market" Sangeeta Talwar Product Executive at Nestle during Maggi's launch

WHAT is a two-minute product that has grown into an iconic brand, fed and delighted children in India for almost three decades, continues to be the undisputed market leader with a staggering 70 per cent market share? The answer is simple: Maggi.

Launched in 1984 by Nestle India, the 2-minute Maggi continues its strong ride in the Rs 1,300-crore noodles market that it has helped create. It is difficult to say why Maggi’s brand magic has endured in the face of repeated attempts by global rival FMCG majors likes Hindustan Unilever and GSK, the latest being the launch of Horlicks Foodles and Knorr respectively earlier this year. Is it convenience, taste, connect, nostalgia or all of these? So strong is the Maggi magic that the brand name has virtually become a generic name for the product category. But does Maggi have the verve to grow further or would it tire and retire gracefully? Sangeeta Talwar, who recently quit as executive director, Tata Global Beverages, and is on way to join NDDB Dairy Services as MD & CEO, recalled her days as a product executive at Nestle when she was part of the Maggi launch team.

“It was January 6, 1984, to be precise, when Maggi was launched in India. The challenge was how to establish an alien product and taste and yet find a relevant consumption benefit in the market. The decision was taken to position it as an inbetween snack especially made for children who like to experiment with food unlike adults.” It was billed as a fast-to-cook, good-toeat convenient snack that fitted in with the motherchild caring and nurturing relationship, she recalled.

The response was as instant as the product. “It was a runaway success in Delhi when it was launched at Rs 2.50 per 100 gram with a

locally built tastemaker. In fact, we did not have enough stock to meet the demand. Our team used to be chased by dealers asking why we weren’t providing them the product. In the very first few weeks we had to quickly ramp up production,” said Talwar.

The Maggi Club promoted by the company got 500,000 members at the end of a vigorous ad campaign on then iconic television shows like ‘Hum Log’ and ‘Mahabharat’.

But that was so many years ago. Why is it popular even today? Delhi-based 12-year-old Chinmay Misra, a frequent consumer of instant noodle brands, gives an interesting take on his choice of a noodle brand: “I have been eating Maggi since I was studying in Class I. Even though I have tried all the other brands, I am always back to Maggi not just because I have good childhood memories of the brand but because of its taste.” Is it the taste then that drives Maggi? Child psychologist Smita Pandey Bhat said, “Maggi as a brand is so popular amongst kids because the spices in Maggi are very appealing and give it a distinct edge. Children also want a brand which they are already used to. Parents too are not ready to experiment

with any new brand, as they are unsure if their children will like the new brand.

There are a lot of risk factors. With Maggi, they already know as they too have gown up eating Maggi.” She argued, “Parents should also have a valid reason to choose a particular brand. Maggi started with the positioning of being a convenience food for children. The ad, which said “2-minutes noodles” attracted young mothers who could dish out something for their hungry kids in just two minutes. So, it is appealing for both parents and kids.” There is a generational hand-down aspect too behind Maggi’s legacy. Said Talwar, “There are generations which grew up eating Maggi and they still love the brand as adults. And now their kids too are eating Maggi. This is the strength of the brand and its value for the consumer.” Prof Amit Mookerjee, professor, marketing at IIM Lucknow’s Noida campus, thinks that Maggi has been able “to create an easy to use option, which is also seen as a valuable snack for children. It has been able to capture parents on the point of ease.” Nestle too does not have a single reason to offer for Maggi’s success. “Maggi has engaged well with con

sumers and has built enduring relationships with them. When Maggi was launched in the 80’s, the mother's need for convenience was important but without undermining her involvement with the children.

‘Mummy Bhook Lagee Hai Bus Do Minute’ was a pioneering rendition of this approach,” said general manager, foods, Nestle India, Shivani Hegde.

Hegde is confident of the journey ahead being more than smooth. “It is natural that newer brands want to enter the market now. However, to match what Maggi has achieved over the years needs a very strong combination of technology, expertise, and consumer understanding. Today, there is an additional factor to contend with – the strong emotional connect that consumers have with Maggi. This is not easy to replicate,” she said.

But would one call this confidence or arrogance? Santosh Desai, CEO, Future Brands, put it in perspective: “Maggi is a strong player and the new players such as GSK, HUL or IndoNissin, which relaunched Top Ramen again last year, will have to differentiate themselves, but if they go too far from the benchmark taste, then consumers might find them unfamiliar.

It has to be something new

and different, yet not unfamiliar and will not be therefore rejected. People are used to noodles through Maggi.” “Having said that, a brand of Maggi’s size is also vulnerable in some form.

Particularly, when there is a new trend of healthy noodles. There could be some attrition in terms of Maggi’s market share,” warned Desai.

The health factor is in fact gaining currency. Aarti Sachdeva, child nutritionist at Sitaram Bhartia Institute of Science & Research, said, “Theoretically, these products may substitute certain portions of children’s nutrition requirements but I don’t think it is advisable to give them such products as a substitute for a natural balanced diet.” Competition accordingly is betting big on the health platform. An email sent to GSK’s executive VP, marketing, Shubhajit Sen, on what would be their strategy to grab market share in the segment, went unanswered. HUL also did not wish to comment on its strategy.

An HUL spokesperson said, “HUL launched Knorr Soupy Noodles in select states in February this year. It was subsequently launched in modern trade channels across India. Knorr Soupy Noodles provides mothers a

tasty, healthy afternoon snacking option for their children. It comes with 100 per cent real vegetables and carries the `healthy choice stamp'."

GSK has launched its noodle under its popular health drink brand Horlicks and calls it `Foodles' (as noodles are not supposed to be nutritious). Horlicks has also launched a multi-grain variant of the noodle brand.

Maggi too is rolling out a new noodle multi-grain variant called `Multigrainz' and aggressively advertising it as a nutritious food for kids.

Top Ramen, promoted by Indo-Nissin, which was the first to try and take on Nestle in the noodle market in India, too did a relaunch recently. "Indo-Nissin relaunched the Top Ramen brand last year and did a national rollout during January 2010. The brand, which was earlier called Top Ramen Smoodles, is now called Top Ramen Smooth Noodles. In fact, the brand reconstituted the `masala' and made it more Indianised. And the company is also working on several regional flavours," said Manish Masion, executive creative director, Hakuhodo Percept, the ad agency handling the Indo-Nissin account.

Some other players in this market, said to be growing at 20 per cent plus, include Capital Foods (Ching's Secret and Smith & Jones), Future Group (Tasty Treat), and CG Foods (Wai Wai).

"I don't think anybody will believe that the new instant noodle makers could get 70 per cent share. They will be very modest in terms of their market share. They will be looking at building a viable business in this segment, which is doable," concluded Future Brand's Desai. But if niche is the way the market forward, Maggi is ready to test the market with its health plus multi-grain offering.