SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING – CASE

STUDY

The Fall and Rise of Maggi

Made by Aashish Rawat (47) and Prem Bhimawat (08)

Get to know about Maggi :

Points Information
Company Name Maggi
Date of Establishment 1884
Establishment Place Germany
Registered Address Switzerland
Networth $12 Million
Parent Company Nestle

Founder of Maggi : Julius Maggi

The fall and controversy of Maggi (2015) :
Timelines
■ 1982: Maggi noodles enter the Indian market
■ May 21: Amid concerns over "dangerous levels" of lead and MSG in Maggi, the Uttar Pradesh food
safety body says Nestle asked to recall the batch collected for testing from Barabanki.
■ June 3: Delhi government bans Maggi for 15 days, other states order tests. Government files complaint
against Nestle India with the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission on Maggi.
■ June 7: Noting that the FSSAI has commenced proceedings against Maggi, the Confederation of All India
Traders (CAIT) demand action against its brand ambassadors and the officials who approved the product.
■ July 1: Britain's Food Standards Authority says Maggi noodles manufactured in India and exported to
Britain, were safe to consume and contained lead well within permissible levels
■ July 3: Canadian food regulator says Maggi safe for consumption
■ Aug 6: Union Consumer Affairs Minister Ram Vilas Paswan responds on Maggi noodles, saying once
public perception becomes negative about a product, its credibility gets affected
■ Aug 13, 2015: Bombay High Court lifts ban on Maggi noodles. Orders fresh tests on samples
Result of the Maggi controversy.
■ Nestle was left with no choice but to recall the popular snack from the market. Between June 5 and September 1, 2015, nearly
38,000 tonnes of Maggi Noodles were recalled from retail stores across the country and destroyed. Maggi's share in the
Indian market went down from 80 per cent to zero.
■ “Maggi controversy was the worst crisis that we have faced in the 104 years of our existence in this country, also the worst crisis
the company has faced globally in a long time,” Nestle India, Chairman & MD, Suresh Narayanan, he said at the time.
Return of Maggi.
■ When the ban was lifted, Nestle restarted from scratch. Since then it has launched over a dozen products under the
brand that have helped it regain much lost ground, and in 2017 contributed over Rs 26 billion to its topline with over
60 percent value share of the instant noodles market.
■ Maggi reported its first quarterly loss in at least 17 years. The brand which had been enjoying over 75% of the market
share since ages saw the worst days in 2015 with a nationwide ban on its instant noodle product. The entire market with
sales of worth Rs 250–300 crore a month went down to 5–10% during the Maggi controversy. 
■ Once Nestlé released the issues, they started taking corrective actions while awaiting for court’s verdict.
■ Nestlé India also got a boost in late July from the arrival of Suresh Narayanan as its new top executive. Narayanan, had begun his
career with Nestlé in the sales department in Gurgaon, and he still knew many of Nestlé India’s employees and the market. He
had also proved to be an expert and versatile crisis manager. He started interacting with the press right on the of his arrival and
declared that his mission was “to bring Maggi back”.
■ Increased Campaign — After the fiasco of the Maggi ban, its parent company Nestle decided to increase its spending on
television commercials, leading to a growth of its ad volume to about 96 percent by September, 2015 — two months prior to the
relaunch of the famous noodles, according to various data estimates. The first print advertisement that accompanied the
announcement of the relaunch read — “Your Maggi is safe, has always been.”
■ Social Media — Maggi was relentless in its promotions of the upcoming relaunch on social media. Using the full force of its
high held presence on a platform like Facebook and Twitter Maggi played its cards smartly when it decided to take this into
account by making a deal with Snapdeal, which became the only platform where Maggi packets were sold before its official
comeback into the shelves of all stores. This raised its demand by a roof and customers were trying to outbid each other for the
ownership of the packets, sometimes even paying more, before it went out of stock. The company thus set the stage for Maggi’s
official comeback into the markets.
■ These positive steps have helped Maggi become a market leader again with a market share of 53% by end of of June 2016 (from
a low of 10.9% during the ban).
We all love a comeback story don’t we?
Asking for help always work
■ Snapdeal sold out a whopping 60,000 Maggi Welcome Kits within 5 minutes of the Maggi Flash Sale. Hashtags such as
#DILKIDEALWITHMAGGI started trending on Twitter after the sale was resumed. Being truthfu
■ After receiving an overwhelming response to the flash sale, Maggi conducted various online competitions asking consumers
to express their favourite moments and feeling’s about Maggi’s comeback. Consumers participated with full enthusiasm.
Brand’s Twitter, Facebook page, and YouTube page’s resounded with fans expressing their trust in Maggi.
■ Current position of Maggi is, Maggi enjoys a market share of over 70%, despite the presence of a number of other brands.
This decade old dominance, however, is set to be shaken up. which is valued at around 250 crores. According to Datamonitor
estimates, the instant noodle market in India is worth over Rs 1,300-crore and is growing at a phenomenal rate of over 17-
20% per year.

Maggi tweets during the fall. Brand ambassadors

THE END