History

Share of the Fabrik von Maggis Nahrungsmitteln, issued 1. July 1908

The company originated in Switzerland in 1884, when Julius Maggi took over his father's mill. He quickly
became a pioneer of industrial food production, aiming to improve the nutritional intake of worker
families. Maggi was the first to bring protein-rich legume meals to the market, and followed up with a
ready-made soup based on legume meals in 1886. After that Julius Maggi introduced bouillon
concentrates, first in capsules, then in cubes. In 1897, Julius Maggi founded the company Maggi GmbH
in Singen, Germany.[1]

In 1947, following several changes in ownership and corporate structure, Maggi's holding company
merged with the Nestlé company to form Nestlé-Alimentana S.A., currently known in its francophone
home base as Nestlé S.A.[2]

Products

Maggi Seasoning sauce (replica of a historic bottle)

A bottle of Maggi sauce in 2006

Bouillon cubes

Cube

The bouillon cube or Maggi cube is a meat substitute product that was introduced in 1908.

In Germany, Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire, Bénin, Gambia, Sénégal, Guinea, Nigeria, Ghana, Burkina Faso,
Togo, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Mali, Niger, and Mauritania and parts of the Middle East, Maggi cubes are an
integral part of the local cuisine. In Haiti and throughout Latin America, Maggi products, especially
bouillon cubes, are widely sold with some repackaging to reflect local terminology.[3] In the German,
Dutch, and Danish languages, lovage has come to be known as Maggi herb (Ger. Maggikraut, Du.
maggikruid or maggiplant, Da. maggiurt), because it tastes similar to Maggi sauce, although lovage is not
present in the sauce.

Maggi advertisement in Senegal

Seasoning sauce

In Romania, Mexico, German-speaking countries, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Poland
and France, "Maggi" is still synonymous with Maggi-Würze (Maggi seasoning sauce), a dark, soy sauce-
type hydrolysed vegetable protein-based condiment sauce. In Spain and Mexico, it is sold under the
name Jugo Maggi.[4] There are a total of nine different formulations, which differ between nations
and/or regions.

Noodles

Boiled Maggi instant noodles with tea flavoured milk, served in India.

Maggi instant noodles are popular in Bangladesh, Pakistan, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, New Zealand,
and India and are synonymous with instant noodles in most of these countries. Nestle has 39% market
share in Malaysia,[5] and had 90% market share in India prior to a nationwide ban by the Food Safety
and Standards Authority of India. Following the ban, the market share was reduced to 53% in India.[6] In
Malaysia, fried noodles made from Maggi noodles are called Maggi goreng. Maggi Instant noodles are
branded as "Maggi 2 Minute Noodles" in Australia, New Zealand[7] and India.[8]

In India, Maggi Masala noodles carry a green dot, meaning they are specifically formulated to serve
vegetarians. However, Maggi chicken noodles carry a red dot, indicating that they are not vegetarian.[9]
This special formulation is not available in other countries, unless imported from India.