A couple of years ago my class teacher entered our classroom with a stranger who had a big cardboard carton. We were asked one by one to pick a shiny yellow colour packet bearing-Maggi Noodles.
In 1982, when Nestle (then known as Food Specialities Ltd.) considered launching Maggi instant noodles. The company had several options of choosing from several alternative positioning. The product could have been launched as an alternative for ‘Chinese dishes’ at home or as a ‘mini meal’.
Consumer research showed the company would fetch profits if it were positioned as a tasty, instant snack, made at home and initially aimed at children. There were no direct competitors to Maggi then. For starters this was the brand that pioneered the entire category of packaged food in India. Not easy in a country where freshly cooked food was the norm. The sampling exercise did great wonders for the brand as the four letter word-FREE is very powerful.
Maggi was launched in Delhi in 1983....Even before I was born.....Maggi became a quintessential Indian food.
Maggi has been a part of numerous memorable experiences of my life. From being a midnight snack in the hostel while mugging for exams, to eating vegetable cheese chilli Maggi in the college canteen for dinner. Maggi easy to cook was the first cooking experience for numerous youngsters. It is also the fifth most trusted brand in Indian Food category and the most valued FMCG brand.
Nestlé’s Maggi has stuck to the jingle that marked its entry in the country 25 years ago with instant noodles. The jingle has indeed helped in creating a formidable brand. Maggi’s market share is well above 90 per cent. Maggi is the biggest brand in the Nestlé portfolio in the country. So, why kill the jingle.
This year being the 25th anniversary of maggi, the brand has decided not to litter the sky with hoardings on the occasion. The ads will play Nostalgia. Thus, customers will be invited to share their “Maggi moments” with the company. If the company likes the way you prepare Maggi, you could find your photo on Maggi packs. A new website called www.meandmerimaggi.com.
Maggi among other FMCG products has one of the best and unchanged Positioning. This brand shows how simple strategic positioning ideas almost always come in small words. Maggi found a vacant, strong position and ‘sat on it’ as the ‘Fast to cook’, Good to eat’ any time sanck.
Guest author: Megha
In 1982, when Nestle (then known as Food Specialities Ltd.) considered launching Maggi instant noodles. The company had several options of choosing from several alternative positioning. The product could have been launched as an alternative for ‘Chinese dishes’ at home or as a ‘mini meal’.
Consumer research showed the company would fetch profits if it were positioned as a tasty, instant snack, made at home and initially aimed at children. There were no direct competitors to Maggi then. For starters this was the brand that pioneered the entire category of packaged food in India. Not easy in a country where freshly cooked food was the norm. The sampling exercise did great wonders for the brand as the four letter word-FREE is very powerful.
Maggi was launched in Delhi in 1983....Even before I was born.....Maggi became a quintessential Indian food.
Maggi has been a part of numerous memorable experiences of my life. From being a midnight snack in the hostel while mugging for exams, to eating vegetable cheese chilli Maggi in the college canteen for dinner. Maggi easy to cook was the first cooking experience for numerous youngsters. It is also the fifth most trusted brand in Indian Food category and the most valued FMCG brand.
Nestlé’s Maggi has stuck to the jingle that marked its entry in the country 25 years ago with instant noodles. The jingle has indeed helped in creating a formidable brand. Maggi’s market share is well above 90 per cent. Maggi is the biggest brand in the Nestlé portfolio in the country. So, why kill the jingle.
This year being the 25th anniversary of maggi, the brand has decided not to litter the sky with hoardings on the occasion. The ads will play Nostalgia. Thus, customers will be invited to share their “Maggi moments” with the company. If the company likes the way you prepare Maggi, you could find your photo on Maggi packs. A new website called www.meandmerimaggi.com.
Maggi among other FMCG products has one of the best and unchanged Positioning. This brand shows how simple strategic positioning ideas almost always come in small words. Maggi found a vacant, strong position and ‘sat on it’ as the ‘Fast to cook’, Good to eat’ any time sanck.
Guest author: Megha
Firstly congratulations to Megha for having come up with an amazing piece of article on brand Maggi(one of the most trusted brands in India).
ReplyDeleteBut i forsee a problem or a brand crisis at this point.it's been prevalent for sometime now. Maggi as a brand has overshadowed "Noodles" as a product. Maggi has defintely not restricted it to being Just noodles, but the brand recognition comes from it being a dominant brand in Noodles product category.I am a hard core brand loyal of Maggi, so when i visit a retailer i ask specifically for a Maggi.But then i realise at times he just ends up giving me a Top ramen or any other brand cos to him Maggi has become synonymous to Noodles. there has been a brand proliferation here. No doubt this has helped Maggi sell like hot cakes everywhere. For sometime Maggi did have some competition from other players but for more than two decades now it has been the dominant player in the market.well, the day is not far when a major FMCG behemoth would launch a me too like that of Maggi.Believe me most of these Chineese noodle brands get partly sold cos of Maggi. A customer comes and asks for a Maggi and and not Noodles.Maggi in thelong run would lose it's identity from being quick snack to being reffered to as Noodles.It has to break the ice and distinguish itself now.
it has happened in the past. best examples are
Xerox(brand) overshadowed Photocopying(product).a customer does not understand that Xerox is a brand in photocopying category.
Bisleri(brand ) overshadowed the mineral water(product category). today if i go to a outlet and ask for Bisleri, the retailer wouold give me a local Bindu, Ganga or aquafina cos he get's better margins from them than Bisleri.
Colgate is yet another brand which till last few years was struggling to find it's brand presence and also distinguish itself.
All this happens cos the brand per say does not keep reinventing itself. that's the need for the hour. the brand needs make noise so that it remains and ensures that there is a buzz.It has to keep knocking the consumer doorsteps to have a mindshare in his psyche.