Nestle readies war chest to revive Maggi brand by year-end

Suresh Narayanan, Managing Director of Nestle India, is on a fire-fighting mission to resurrect the beleaguered Maggi brand before the year-end. The plan includes spending heavily on advertising and brand building initiatives in addition to stepping up consumer engagement on the digital platforms.

Speaking to BusinessLine , Narayanan said, “It is going to cost a lot to resurrect Maggi but it would be less than the ₹450 crore hit that we have taken on the brand.’’

While Narayanan did not disclose the exact amount be kept aside for the brand, insiders said that it can be in the region of ₹300-400 crore.

“Consumers have to place trust in the brand and we will be using the digital platform to build innovation with consumer outposts for building engagement, ’’ added Narayanan.

Nestle will use revenues from other brands such as Cerelac and Lactogen to fund the revival plan. Not all variants of Maggi are going to be back on the shelves.

“We will launch about six variants instead of all variants under Maggi. Variants like oats may not be launched right away. Instead, we will bring out the big hitters first and then look at other opportunities. There will be no change in the taste of the 32-year-old tried and tested Maggi,’’ the new head of Nestle’s India operations said.

Roping in celebrities such as Amitabh Bachchan and Madhuri Dixit may not happen immediately either despite the urgency to re-build credibility for Maggi. “We are still evaluating the need for celebrities as we look at the entire value chain of the brand,’’ he said.

Meanwhile, Maggi continues to get exported to seven countries despite it being off the shelves in India.

The Swiss company said there is no difference in the product between the export and domestic markets and continues to be accepted in countries such as the US, the UK, Canada and Singapore.

“We continue to export and Maggi is 100 per cent sourced from India to seven countries with no difference in quality. But exports for the brand are less than 5 per cent of its overall revenues,’’ said Narayanan.

However despite FSSAI banning Maggi, Nestle is not planning to dither from its commitments in the Indian market.

“We have been spending ₹2,500 crore over the past few years in India and will continue to be here till the existence of mankind,” he added.