Brand Study: Maggi 1

2012

A Project Report On
Brand Study

Project Analyzed & Documented By :

Dixita Porwal, PGP/FW/10-12/ISBE-A Pratik Gandhi, UGP/FW/09-12/IIPM Rajwin Patel, UGP/FW/10-12/ISBE Sagar A. Agrawal, UGP/FW/09-12/IIPM Sneha Chandan, PGP/FW/10-12/ISBE-B

Brand Study: Maggi 2

ACKNOWLEDGMENT
We heartily thank our Project in-charge, Prof. Avinash Murkute,Faculty IIPM, Pune, whose encouragement, guidance and support from the initial to the final level enabled us to develop an understanding of the subject. We are grateful for Sirs contribution towards the execution of our project.

Lastly, we offer our regards and blessings to all of those who supported us in any respect during the completion of the Research.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
S.NO 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 12 Executive Summary Background Of Nestle India The Companys History Management Structure CSR Activities Introduction Of The Project Brand Story Maggi Brand Extension Brand Name And Logo Jingles And Taglines Management Strategies 4Ps Evaluation Integrated Marketing Communication STPD Analysis SWAT Analysis Brand Prism 13 Sales And Marketing Channel 44 PARTICULARS PAGE-NO 5 6 8 10 11 14 16 17 22 27 30

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14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 21 22 23 24 Distribution Channel Market Penetration Strategies Taste And Preferences Of Consumer Demography and psychograph of consumers Research Methodology Data Collecting Plan Comparative Analysis Based On Questionnaire Analysis Success Factors Of Maggi Conclusion Recommendation Bibliography 45 47 49 52 53 55 60 65 66 68 70 71

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The report entitled A Study of Brand Maggi deals with the study of Maggi brand that was launched in India in the year 1983, by Nestle India Limited, which became synonymous with noodles. This research tries to find awareness of Maggi& its product line with that of its competitors. The introduction provides the company background, operational & other important information provided by the company, which would assist in taking the decision for the right brand extension strategy for Maggi.

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INTRODUCTION
Background Nestle India ltd:Nestle India Limited (NIL) is the Indian subsidiary of the global FMCG major, Nestle SA. Nestle India Ltd. introduced Maggi Brand to the Indian consumers with the launch of Maggi 2 Minute Noodles, an instant food product, in 1982. With the launch of Maggi noodles, Nestle India Ltd. created an entirely new food category - instant noodles - in the Indian packaged food market. Nestl, which world knows as cautious and conservatory company is a Swiss originated 140 years old Multinational. The man at the helm is Swiss national Carlo Donati, an all inspiration and image of the company. His philosophy is bottom line dictating top line based on delegation and decentralization. It resulted from a merger in 1905 between the Anglo-Swiss Milk Company for milk products established in 1866 by the Page Brothers in Cham, Switzerland and the Farine Lacte Henri Nestl Company set up in 1867 by Henri Nestl to provide an infant food product. Nestl Indias business objective and that of its management and employees is to manufacture and market the Companys products in such a way as to create value that can be sustained over the long term for consumers, shareholders, employees, business partners. The product mix of Nestle India consists of milk products and baby products (42.5%), beverages (29.3 %), processed foods (14.4 %), chocolate and confectionary (13.8 %). Nestle India plans to expand

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business into similar and diversified product categories. With an Employee strength of over 3000 and turnover of US$ 497 million in 2003, Nestle India is one of the leading companies in the FMCG space in India. The company is acknowledged among Indias most respected companies and among the top Wealth Creators of India.

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THE COMPANY'S HISTORY

Year 1870 -The Swiss Julius Michal Johannes Maggi (1846-1912) inherited the family business: a mill in Kemptal, near Zurich. Year 1886 - Several women were factory workers, thus the time available for housework and the preparation of meals was considerably reduced, and working class families suffered from poor nutrition. In view of this state of affairs, the doctor Schuler recommended the wide use of dried vegetables: peas and beans, given their rich nutritive value. Julius Maggi produced appliances for roasting and grinding these vegetables, to make flour from peas, beans, lentils etc., and enabling housewives to make a quick nourishing soup. Year 1900 - At the Universal Exhibition, Maggi won several medals and grand prizes. Jules Magi set up home in Paris. The French head office was on the Place de l'Opra, and the factory on the Boulevard Arago. Maggi now had depositories in Paris, Berlin, Singen (Germany), Vienna and Bregenz (Austria). A number of advertising texts written by Franck Wedekind had strong military undertones: Year 1947 - Maggi merged with the Nestle India firm.

Year 1948 - Sopad took over from Nestle to handle production and marketing for Nestle and Maggi products in France. Maggi now had eleven factories throughout the world.

Brand Study : Maggi 9 Year 1982 - Nestle India Ltd. introduced Maggi to the Indian consumers with the launch of Maggi 2 Minute Noodles, an instant food product, in 1982. With the launch of Maggi noodles, Nestle India Ltd. created an entirely new food category instant noodles - in the Indian packaged food market.

Year 1984 - Eating habits changed, and Maggi adjusted their products, with low fat Bouillons, Bouquet Garni ("a little extra to add taste and give your dishes a festive look!"), and "Soupes Moulines", a new line to add to their "Soup Time" range. The ad announcing the new "Maggi souffl mix" had two sections: on the "BEFORE" page, a man disguised as a oriental wise man levitates a magnificent souffl, on the "AFTER" page, the same man holds the Maggi sachet in his hands "The magic formula to a successful souffl!"

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MANAGEMENT STRUCTURE
National Sales Manager

Regional Sales Manager

Consumer Service Manager

Area Manager

System Support

Event

Territory incharge

System Support Manager

Event Manager

Sales Associates

Leader

Distributer

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CSR ACTIVITIES
Nestl has been a partner in India's growth for over nine decades now and has built a very special relationship of trust and commitment with the people of India. The Company's activities in India have facilitated direct and indirect employment and provides livelihood to about one million people including farmers, suppliers of packaging materials, services and other goods. Nestl India manufactures products of truly international quality under internationally famous brand names such as NESCAF, MAGGI, MILKYBAR, MILO, KIT KAT, BAR-ONE, MILKMAID and NESTEA and in recent years the Company has also introduced products of daily consumption and use such as NESTL Milk, NESTL SLIM Milk, NESTL Fresh 'n' Natural Dahi and NESTL Jeera Raita.

Nestle in the community:Nestl India has always focused on long term, sustainable and profitable growth and helped communities around its factories to improve their quality of life in a similar manner. Nestl Agricultural Services has used the experience gained by Nestl across the world to set up a system of direct and efficient contact with the farmers. Company veterinarians and agronomists supervise the milk routes and advise farmers on various issues including proper feed for the herds. Milk storage facilities have been set up close to the farmers. Veterinary services are provided free, and medicines provided at wholesale cost. The company assists farmers in artificial insemination programs for their cattle, provides subsidy and helps them in procuring loans.For more on Nestl Agricultural Services

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Safe Drinking Water:Water is a scarce resource. In India, availability of clean drinking water is a major concern for many communities. Almost 200 million people do not have access to clean drinking water. Nestl India is committed to improving the situation and believes that the first step is to create awareness in the communities around its factories. A key focus area of our corporate initiatives is to help provide Clean Drinking Water and educate children in schools to conserve this scarce resource.

Education and Training:Nestl supports initiatives to create awareness about the right to education and encourages the communities around its factories to send their children to school. Nestl India employees have developed a special play 'Let Us Go to School' for this purpose. This has been staged amongst the communities around our factories, and its recordings screened at smaller gatherings along the milk routes. The Company also recognizes the active role that village women play in adopting good dairying practices in dairy farms and regularly conduct special programs that help them. Nestle India supports local schools, helps in the maintenance of public parks and green belts, and facilitates blood donation camps and health awareness programs. The key messages of conservation, hygiene, health and wellness are progressively built into the communities where the Company is present. All these initiatives strengthen the bond between Nestl India and the community.

Brand Study : Maggi 13 "Creating Shared Value is a very different approach to corporate social responsibility (CSR), because it is not focused on meeting a set of standard external criteria, or on philanthropy. The idea of winners and losers doesnt fit this model of CSR."

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INTRODUCTION TO THE PROJECT

Brand MAGGI:Maggi is an over 100-year-old Nestl brand of instant soups, stocks, bouillons, ketchups, sauces, seasonings and instant noodles. It quickly became a pioneer of industrial food production, aiming at the improvement of the nutrition of worker families. Over time the scope of MAGGI has been extended from a predominantly dehydrated cooking aid brand towards a general savory food brand including many types of ready meals and also frozen food. This is in line with the fact that people all over the world are cooking less and less from scratch.

MAGGI BRAND IN INDIA:Maggi Comes to India teething troubles Maggi noodles was launched in India in theearly1980s. Carlo M.Donati, the present Chairman and

Managing Director of Nestle India Ltd, brought the instant noodle brand to India during his short stint here in the early eighties. At that time, there was no direct competition. The first competition came from the ready-to-eat snack segment which included snacks like samosas, biscuits or maybe peanuts, that were usually the bought out type. The second competition came from the homemade snacks like pakoras or sandwiches. So there were no specific buy and make snack! Moreover both competitors had certain drawbacks in comparison. Snacks like samosas are usually bought out, and outside food is generally considered unhygienic and unhealthy. The other competitor, homemade snacks overcame both these problems but had the disadvantage of extended

Brand Study : Maggi 15 preparation time at home. Maggi was positioned as the only hygienic home made snack! Despite this, Nestl faced difficulties with their sales after the

initial phase. The sole reason being, the positioning of the product with the wrong target group. Nestle had positioned Maggi as a convenience food product aimed at the target group of working women who hardly found any time

for cooking. Unfortunately this could not hold the product for very long. In the course of many market researches consumers and surveys, the firm found that they

children were

the biggest

of Maggi noodles.

Quickly

repositioned it towards the kids segment with various tools of sales promotion like color pencils, sketch pens, fun books, Maggi clubs which worked wonders for the brand.

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BRAND STORY
Launched in 5 flavors initially Masala, chicken, Capsicum, sweet & sour, and Lasagna Maggi had to fight hard to be accepted by Indian consumers with their hard-to-change eating habits. The packaged food market was very small at this time, Nestle had to promote noodles as a concept, before it could promote Maggi as a brand. It therefore devised a two-pronged strategy to attract mothers on the convenience plank and lure kids on the fun plank. Gradually,

the market for instant noodles began to grow. The company also decided to focus on prom otions to increase the brand awareness. In the initial years, Nestle promotional activities for Maggi included schemes offering gifts (such as toys and utensils) in return for empty noodles pack. According to analyses the focus on promotion turned out to be the single largest factor responsible as for Maggis measured to a crutch rapid meet acceptance. Nestle\s their sales target. Managers Gradually, Later many

utilized promotions

sales promotion became

for Maggi

noodles sales.

of the Maggis extensions also made considerable use of promotional schemes. The focus of all Maggis extensions was more on below the line activities rather than direct communication. In addition to promotional activities, Maggi

associated itself with mainstream television programme and advertised heavily on kids programme and channels. After its advertisements with taglines like mummi bhookh lagi hai,bas do minute and fast to cook good to eat Maggis popularity became highly attributed to its extremely high appeal to children. As a result, Maggis annual growth reportedly touched 15% during its initial years.

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MAGGIS BRAND EXTENSION

In order to stretch Maggis brand to include Indian ethnic foods the company tied up with a Pune based Chordia foods to launch pickles under the year 1995. The company also tied up with Indian foods fermentation (IFF), a Chennai based food company to market popular south Indian food preparation such as sambher, dosa, vada and spices in consumer packs in Dec 1995. The company reportedly saw a lot of untapped potential in the market for ready to use south Indian market. In 1996, products from these two ventures received lukewarm response from the market; sales were rather poor in the regions in which they were launched. Analysts attributed the failure of these Maggi extensions to the fact that Nestl seemed to be particularly bad at dealing with traditional Indian product categories. Maggi noodles performed badly in 1996. Despite slow sales in the previous two years, Nestl had set a sales target of 25,000 tonnes for the year. However, Maggi couldnt cross even 14,000 tonnes. Adding to the company woes was the failure of Maggi Tonights Special, a range of cooking sauces aimed at providing restaurant-like-taste to food cooked at home. The range included offerings such as Butter Chicken gravy and tomato sauce for pizzas. Nestl launched Maggi Macaroni in July 1997. According to analysts, Maggi Macaroni was launched partly to deal with the growing popularity of competing noodles brand Top Ramen. Maggi Macaroni was made available in three flavors, Tomato, Chicken, and Masala. The company expected to repeat the success of Maggi noodles with Maggi Macaroni. As with most of its product launches, Maggi Macaronis launch was backed by a multi-media advertisement campaign including radio, television,

Brand Study : Maggi 18 outdoors and print media with the tagline, Tum Roz Baby. Due to failure Nestl had to withdraw Maggi Macaroni completely from the market. Nestl had not even recovered from Macaronis dismal performance, when it learnt to its horror that Knorr had dethroned Maggi as the leader in the soup segment (end of 1997). The only saving grace for Maggi seemed to its ketchups and sauces, which were turning out to the rare successful extensions of Maggi. These products were supported by a popular advertisement campaign for the Maggi Hot & Sweet sauce brand. These humorous advertisements, featuring actors Pankaj Kapoor and Javed Jafri, used the tagline, Its different. However, during mid1997, HLL began promoting its Kissan range of sauces aggressively and launched various innovative variants in the category. Nestl responded with a higher thrust on advertising and different size packs at different price points. Though Kissan gained market share over the next few years, Maggi was able to hold on to its own market share. Meanwhile the operational costs of Maggi noodles had increased considerably, forcing the company to increase the retail price. By early 1997, the price of a single pack had reached Rs 10. Volumes were still languishing between 13,000-14,000 tonnes..

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PRODUCT PORT FOLIO OF THE BRAND: MAGGI

The product mix of Maggi is divided into various categories defined below. The company has launched various products under each category as mentioned below.

1. Noodles
Maggi 2-Minute Noodle ( Masala , Chicken, Curry and Tomato) Maggi Dal Atta Noodles ( Sambhar taste) Vegetable Atta Maggi Noodles Maggi Rice Noodles (Lemon Masala, Chilly Chow and Shahi Pulao) Maggi Cuppa mania (Masala yo, Chilli chow yo)

2. Sauces
Teekha masala Tomoto chatpat Imli khata mitha Tomato ketchup Hot and sweet Tomato pudina Ginger, Garlic & Coriander Maggi Oriental Chilli Garlic Ginger, Garlic & Coriander

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3. Maggi Pichko
Tomato Imli

4. Soups Healthy
Chef Style - Cream Mushroom - Sweet Sour Tomato Noodles - Tangy Tomato Vegetables Home Style - Creamy Chicken - Mixed Vegetable - Rich Tomato Chinese Style - Chinese Hot Sour Chicken - Chinese Sweet Corn Chicken - Chinese Sweet Corn Vegetables - Chinese Hot & Sour Vegetables

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5. Maggi Soup Sanjivni

Amla Badam Spinach Dal Tomato

6. Maggi Bhuna Masala

Bhuna masala for gravy dishes Bhuna masala for Vegetable Dal

7. Maggi Magic Cubes

Chicken Vegetarian masala

8) Maggi Pasta: White Red

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BRAND NAME
Brand name is a Promise
It says 'you know the name, you can trust the promise'. As all promises, it is trusted only as far as those promises are met. Trust is a critical first step and brands aim to accelerate that step leveraging the implied promise of the brand. The brand's most valuable asset is its name. A brand name encapsulates all of the content intellectual and emotional that people associate with the product. Names make this process of association easier than others. With all of the challenges business owners face, it makes sense to use every advantage at their disposal. Word is, a great name is a great start.

Maggi: Ready to Cook

Maggie a synonym for noodles is a well-established product of Switzerland based Nestle Group. In July 2001, Maggi replaced Nescafe as the companys core brand. It has become the most sought after snack food in recent days. It has a brand value of Rs.3.7billion. This shows the popularity of this product. It will be interesting to know the history of such a product and how was the brandnamed. Well the history of this brand traces back to the 19 th century when industrial revolution in Switzerland created jobs for women, who were therefore left with very little time to prepare meals. Due to this growing problem Swiss Public

Brand Study : Maggi 23 Welfare Society asked a miller named Julius Maggi to create a vegetable food product that would be quick to prepare and easy to digest. Julius, the son of an Italian immigrant came up with a formula to bring added taste to meals in 1863,which became popular among the working class families because of their convenience and nutritional value. In 1890, Julius founded the company society Anonym pour la Fabrication des Products Alimentative MAGGI (SAF) in Germany and Austria. In 1934, SAF was taken over by Alimentana. Later in 1947, Alimention merged with Nestle and Nestle introduced Maggi to the rest of the world. The formula clicked well & Maggi became a brand name. Thats precisely what is required in making a product a brand. The brand has grown to an estimated 200 crore & contributes to around 10% of Nestle Indias top line. It claims to have added value to our life without taking more than "2-Minutes" of our daily life and that too for last 25 years. In India 'Maggi Noodles'is recognized as a genre of products known as Instant noodles. Maggi Noodles has literally revolutionalized the way we cooked & eat food. There was no single food product available in world that could be cooked in less than "2-Minutes" without much of recipe. It was a brilliant idea of Nestle Team, which later created a separate market of Instant Noodles itself. Hardly anyone could think of the revolution brought by a simple food product in our lives. It is enormous. And even after 25 years of dominating more than 90% share of market, there is virtually any competition. So people often say, "There is virtually no room for any new thing in Instant Noodles". This is exactly what a strong brand name does over the years to the product.Maggi is just not a food product. It is more than it. It is an original concept. It is lifestyle. It is a new food habit. It is a great idea. It is the cheapest

Brand Study : Maggi 24 branded food item available in market. "Creating a superb taste needs a vision of adding value to food habits of people, it is just more than satisfying crave". MAGGI is the name that serves it impeccably. Maggi is the name, which showed the power of marketing. This brand made noodles a household product. When many foreign food brands are trying to change Indian consumer's taste, Maggi bought in a silent revolution. To mark its silver jubilee, Maggi is running a campaign " Me & Meri Maggi".The name slowly attached itself to the sentiments of Indian consumer's need without disruption. Maggi personifies the basic principles of understanding consumers, innovating and investing in the brand.

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BRAND LOGO

A logo is a mathematical element (ideogram, symbol, emblem, icon, sign) that, together with its logotype (a uniquely set and arranged typeface) forms a trademark or commercial brand. Typically, a logo's design is for immediate recognition. The logo is one aspect of a company's commercial brand, or economic or academic entity, and its shapes, colors, fonts, and images usually are different from others in a similar market. Logos are also used to identify organizations and other non-commercial entities. Today there are many corporations, products, brands, services, agencies and other entities using an ideogram (sign, icon) or an emblem (symbol) or a combination of sign and emblem as a logo. As a result, only a few of the thousands of ideograms people see are recognized without a name. It is sensible to use an ideogram as a logo, even with the name, if people will not duly identify it. Currently, the usage of both images (ideograms) and the company

Brand Study : Maggi 26 name (logotype) to emphasize the name instead of the supporting graphic portion and making it unique, by it non-formulaic construction via the designable use of its letters, colors and any additional graphic elements. Carlo Donati gave the Maggi word to the product range to continue the image of healthy and fast to cook food for workingwomen which was introduced by Julius Maggi Etienne MauriceFirmin Bouisset (September 2, 1859 1925) was a French painter, poster, artist and printmaker who developed and designed the logo of Maggi

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JINGLES AND TAGLINES

A jingle is a memorable slogan, set to an engaging melody, mainly broadcast on radio and largely used today on television commercials. It is a very useful tool used by companies today as far as retention of the product after the commercial is concerned. Cultivating strong jingle creative can offer an effective way to cultivate brand ubiquity without crossing the line of obtrusiveness. The real power of the jingle is viral. Jingles communicate a broad theme in a simple enough way that it can be consumed "in the midst" of other media and activities. A tag line is a three to seven word phrase that accompanies your logo. It expresses your company's most important benefits and/or what you want your customers to remember about working with you. Think of it as the words you want to linger in your target customer's mind about you and what you have to offer. Great tag lines appear to be effortlessly created because they just seem to flow. In fact, creating and refining one takes time, just like designing a great logo. The benefits of taking the time to craft a great tag line lie with the tag line's stickiness. Great tag lines stick in your memory. Creating a great jingle and distinctive tag line are critical in creating a brand that provides the perfect image for your company and great ones just might be memorable enough to give your company the beachfront property in the minds of your customers that leaves them thinking only of you.

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Effective use of Tag line and jingles by Maggi :Maggi has faced lot of hurdles in its journey in India. The basic problem the brand faced is the Indian Psyche. Indian Palate is not too adventurous in terms of trying new tastes. So a new product with a new taste that too from a different culture had a great deal of difficulty in appealing to Indian market. Initially Nestle tried to position the Noodles in the platform of convenience targeting the working women. But it found that the sales are not picking up despite heavy promotion. Research then showed that Kids were the largest consumers of the brand. Realizing this, Nestle repositioned the brand towards the kids using sales promotions and smart advertising. Now Maggi is the number one brand in the noodles.

Maggi was positioned as 2-minute noodles with a punch line that said Fast to Cook Good to Eat. The jingle Mummy bhook lagi, Bas do Minute, Maggi Maggi Magge quickly grasped the attention of consumers all over India. This gave the implied understanding to the consumer that it was a between meals snack. The company could have easily positioned the product as a meal, either lunch or dinner. But, it chose not to do so, because the Indian consumer mindset did not accept anything other than rice or roti as a meal. Hence trying to substitute it with noodles would have been futile. The firm did not position it as a ready-to-eat meal either, as the housewife prefers to make a meal for her kids rather than buy it for them. And if she can make it in two minutes with very little effort, then obviously its a hit with her. The kids also loved the taste, thus the 2minute fundacoupled with the yummy taste worked. NILs promotions positioned the noodles as convenience product, for mothers and as a fun product for children.

Brand Study : Maggi 29 The tag lines such as Fast to Cook Good to Eat, 2-minute noodles and Taste Bhi, Health Bhi are the strong brand elements of Maggi, which have helped in building brand equity. EG:-

Maggi Cuppa Mania Just add garam paani and carry on jaaani! Nestle has widened its offering of the Maggi brand of noodles with the launch of Maggi Cuppa Mania instant noodles. The company hopes that its instant noodles will be an instant hit with busy executives who are short on time, and consequently the product has been launched with the tag line Just add garam paani and carry on jaaani! The product, launched in two variants Masala Yo ! and Chilli Chow Yo! has been packaged with a disposable fork to make it an even easier snacking option.

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MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES
4Ps EVALUATION:Price: Considering the price points in the market for maggi, it should continue to position itself in the Snacks. Affordable by all income groups Differentiated packaging Lower price point strategy Millipack for Rs.5 Targetting the lower middle class as well as those who want to consume in lesser quantity. Inflation effect on volume than price - Reduction of 100gm pack to 95gm, keeping price as Rs. 10 only Multi packs at cheaper price per noodles Healthier products at higher price. Differentiated packaging.

Place: Wide distribution network. Limited penetration in rural areas. The company has a complex supply chain process. Target hawkers/roadside eating joints The distribution network is well spread Easily available in all kirana stores, retail store etc. Sales territories, Warehousing system.

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Product: Quality Models and sizes Packing Brands Service

Promotion: Nestle also followed up these launches with Its different ad campaigns. Nestle was focusing their ads based on children's taste and health. In addition to promotional activities, Maggi associated itself with mainstream television programme and advertised heavily on kids programme and channels. Maggi is now targeting its products at the entire family and not only kids. Maggi has recently launched MAIN AUR MERI MAGGI campaign in commensuration of 25 years of Maggi in India.

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Packaging (Often referred as 5th P):Many consumers are not aware of the fact that packaging contributes substantially to our current standards of living. Its state-of-the-art packaging that has made certain items conveniently available to the general public and easy to handle. In the past hundred or so years, the demands producers and consumers place on packaging have developed significantly. While initially the transportation and protection of goods were the primary functions served by packaging, today, it also acts as a brand-defining marketing instrument as well as an innovative and practical shell with ever-new advantages for consumers Contemporary 21st century industrialized societies survive on a diet of the many, highly popular TV cooking series. At the same time, the number of pre-cooked, easily manageable dishes in which packaging plays a pivotal role is growing increasingly in retail outlets. Whether discounter or gourmet store, all retailers know the value of convenience. And convenience is made possible by sophisticated, market-oriented packaging solutions, which often merely need to be popped in the oven or microwave, contents and all, before serving. Packaging innovations can be seen from two varying perspectives, one wherein in adds to the basic functionality of the product through providing additional benefit to the consumers and second would be when it enables trials and increased usage by virtue of pack size (small).

Brand Study : Maggi 33 The Expected product benefit is proper packaging to ensure customers a good quality, fully packed seasoning tastemaker at affordable price. The beliefs associated with a brand constitute the brand image, and the customer may have uninformed beliefs which are likely to generate a negative image about the brand. The marketer must ensure that consumers have all relevant and correct information about the brand to facilitate formation of a positive brand image. Certain beliefs developed are neutral and are more dependent on the situation or circumstances of purchase or usage ofthe product.

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Brand strategy- IMC

It is integration of all marketing tools, approached and resources within a company which maximizes impact on consumer mind and which results into maximum profit at minimum cost.

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Promotional tools of communication

Initial Strategies of Maggi:Maggi has faced lot of hurdles in its journey in india The basic problem the brand faced is the Indian psyche Initially Nestle tried to position Maggi in the platform of convenience targeting the workingwomen. However, the sales of maggi was not picking up despite of heavy media advertising. To overcome this Nestle conducted a research. Nestle promotion positioning the maggi product as a convenience product for mother and as a fun product for children. The maggi Tagline, Fast To Cook Good To Eat was also in keeping with its positioning. They promoted the product further by distributing free samples. Giving gifts on return of empty packets, etc. Effective Tagline Communication.

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Different communication media used by Maggi

TV Ads:Initially maggi was targeted at the workingwomen and later the upper middle class kids. Maggi was a sponsor for Hum Log, a popular television show on Doordarshan, Indias sole channel in 1984. Maggi is now targeting its products at the entire family and not only kids. Maggi has recently launched Main Aur Meri Maggi campaign in commensurate of 25yrs of maggi in India.

Print Ads: Maggi does not focus heavily on print media. During its launch since its initial target audience was mother and kids. Some adv in the print media were used to highlight the convenience factor of maggi. Recently maggi came out with advertisements in some weekly magazines for its new atta noodles and rice noodles varients. Maggi rice noodles mania had the highest column centimeter in print among the istant food category. Growth in noodles/pasta print advertisement grew by 42% share in 2010. Maggis expenditure on print media is much lower compared to other media.

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Sales Promotion: To introduce new products To attract new customer and retain the existing ones To maintain sales of seasonal products To meet challenge of competition tools Exchange schemes Price Off offer Scratch and win offer

Discount offered to retailers: 7%discount on 6-piece pack (56MRP), 5 rupee discount on 8-piece pack (78MRP). These are promotional schemes given to retailers. Maggi is coming up with schemes like giving one soup pack with 8-piece pack. In past company had promotional schemes like 4 piece pack with that of Rs.36 instead of Rs.40.

Display: Large pack sizes at the top with decreasing pack sizes as going downward. This is because that for a retail outlet the more value is generated large pack thus they try to project big size at convenience place.

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Public Relation: The Maggi Club the children under 14 were invited by press adv and distribution of leaflets to become a member of maggi club ny sending logos cut from 5 empty maggi wrappers. Maggi projected it as maggi clubbers are fun lovers and intended to use it as reference group. Benefit offered to maggi- clubbers are various games like snap safari game, Cap and mask sets, travel india game, Disney today comic. To obtain each gift the member has to send 5 wrappers as purchase proof. Some special privileges were given to regular members time to time like, discounting tickets of Appughar. Organisation maggi school quizzes and sketching.

Result of PR Activity: Getting closer to regular customer boosted the sales. Making valuable direct marketing database. Recently, again, they have started maggi fan club. This time it is operating online and they are provided user name and password.

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STPD ANALYSIS
Segmentation: Market Segmentation divides the heterogeneous market into homogenous groups of customers who share a similar set of needs/wants and could be satisfied by specific products. Maggi Brand have segmented the market on the basis of lifestyle and habits of URBAN FAMILIES. Targeting: Market Targeting refers to evaluating and deciding from amongst the various alternatives, which segment can be satisfied best by the company. The Maggi Brand have mainly targeted the Kids, Youth, Office Goers & Working Woman which falls into the category of conveniencesavvy time misers who would like to get something instant and be over with it quickly. Positioning: Market Positioning is the act of designing the companys offerings and image to occupy a distinctive place in the minds of the target market. The goal of positioning is to locate the brand in the minds of consumers to maximise the potential benefit to the firm. Maggi has positioned itself in the SNACKS category and not in the meal category since Indians do not consider noodles as a proper food item. Therefore Maggi have developed its brand image of instant food products with positioning statements such as 2 minutes noodles and Easy to cook, good to eat.

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Differentiations: Points-of-difference (PODs) are attributes or benefits consumers strongly associate with a brand, positively evaluate and believe they could not find to the same extent with a competitive brand. The Maggi Brand have also differentiated its brand image from its competitors in terms of taste, flavours and packaging. Maggi have launched wide varieties of products in different flavors which can attract larger set of customers. Maggi products are also available in different sizes catering to different customer needs.

Brand Study : Maggi 41

SWOT ANALYSIS
The SWOT analysis of Maggi brand clearly indicates the strengths of Maggi as a Brand in Indian market. The Brand was found to be a leader in its category of Noodles, with strong customer loyalty. Intensive distribution of Maggi as a Brand was seen in urban areas of the country. The major threats of the brand as shown in the figure below indicates that Maggi has made several attempts to revamp itself as a Healthy Product but till date its perseverance towards the tag line is low by the consumers. The brand is in the growth stage of product life cycle with a strong inclination towards the maturity stage.

Strengths
Established Family Brand Strong Global Corporate Brand ( NIL ) Specialization in food processing category marketing and distribution in Urban Market leader Pioneer and Leader so 1st mover advantage in Noodles, Sauce, Ketchups and Soup market. Nestle symbolization of warm, family & shelter Innovative flavours for Indian taste buds Distribution Channels

Brand Study : Maggi 42

Weakness
Generic Brand to Noodles in India Low rural market presence constraints Uniform Brand for all food category Heavily dependent on one flavor

Opportunities
Growing package and canned food market in India by 15% annually. High brand awareness of Indian consumer Opportunity to be substitute to other snacks category of food products. Unexploited rural market Increasing number of working youth Affinity of Indians to Chinese food Health related issues

Threats
Competitors with long history in product category Internationally like, Heinz Sauce and ketchups of Heinz Indian, Top Ramen in Noodle and Knorr Soups. Single product focused competitors like Heinz sauce and Wai Wai Noodles. Less Entry Barriers in the Market segment for product category ITCs strong base in Indian Market. Substitute Product to Product Segment Competitive pricing Strong presence of regional competitors

Brand Study : Maggi 43

Brand Consumer Prism

BRAND PRISM OF MAGGI

Brand Study : Maggi 44

SALES AND MARKETING CHANNEL

Marketing channels
The focus of our market channel analysis is limited to culinary products, as maggi falls under this product category. Customer upper and middle class family Strategic intent selling and promotion form the strategic intent for this distribution channel Channel Type Maggi followed a market type channel for its culinary products

Marketing Channel Strategy: A hybrid strategy involving both a push as well as a pull strategy is used by maggi. The push strategy employed through setting targets at various levels of the distribution channel and a pull strategy is exercised through aggressive advertising and in store promotion.

Marketing Channel flows: Following are the different marketing flows in Maggi marketing channel Physical Goods flow Information Flow Payment Flow Promotion Flow Title Flow

Brand Study : Maggi 45

DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL
Physical Good Flow
Nestle has 6 factories across India. From these factories, Maggi are directly shipped to CFAs (carry and forward Agencies) located in each state. Carry and forward agencies provided the warehousing facilities that are required for distribution across the state. The presence of carry and forward agencies in each state ensures that the taxes, octroi and other state level charges applied are lower. The next entity in the channel is the distributer. There are two major types of distribution. Distribution Targeting Traditional trade Distribution targeting modern trade Distributors Focused on traditional trade deal with Wholesalers for reaching areas with spares demand Retailers in area of high demand Wholesalers distribute Maggi products to smaller stockiest and retailers. Retailer stores are segmented based on their per week order. There are four board categories Super A Supper High Volume retailers A High volume retailers B Medium volume retailers C Low

Brand Study : Maggi 46

Each distributer covers close to 400- 500 retail stores. The product is shipped from the distributer to the wholesaler or retailer as per the order taken by the distributer sales men. There is a one day delay between talking an order and distributing the product. Modern trade involves retail stores chains. Ex: Big Bazaar, Reliance Fresh etc. They are serviced Through specially designated distributors. The number of distributors supplying goods to these major retailers is samller than that of traditional trade.

Brand Study: Maggi 47

MARKET PENETRATION STRATEGIES

Maggi started with promotional campaigns in the school to see the reaction of children after eating Maggi. Started their advertising straight focusing on kids. Introduced new products like atta noodles dal atta noodles cuppa mania. Products are made available in different packages like 50,100,200,400 Gms. Keep on conducting market research to understand changes in market.

Though Maggi has been successful every time, there were times when it faced challenges. Some of these are: Sales saw decline in 1990: The Company saw a decline in the sales in 1990. When the company tried to find out what the reason was, they came to know that there was some thing wrong with the formula that spoiled the taste. So the formula was changed from fried base to oiled dried base Competition increased in noodle segment: When Maggi was enjoying being the only noodle offering by any company Top ramen entered the market as a competition. This was a big challenge for Maggi. Though Top Ramen couldnt do well in India.

Brand Study : Maggi 48 New product launched in market but failed- Nestle decided to expand its offerings by offering Dal atta noodles & Sambhar flavor noodles. But these products were not welcomed by the people the very special taste of Maggi was still ruling the consumer Maggi launched some new products: Ketchups, Soups, Taste makers etc. but they were not successful

Brand Study: Maggi 49

TASTE AND PREFERENCES OF CONSUMERS

Health is the flavor of the season. Food companies in India are growing aware of the increasingly changing consumption trends and taste preferences among the Indian junta. No surprises, but this is the reason more and more companies are coming up (or are actually re-marketing) with products that are healthy. Take for example Coke and Pepsi; both have already started looking into the noncarbonated drinks category section. Maggi first introduced in the market Maggi Atta Noodles which it claimed was a healthy food as it was made of wheat flour followed by soups.

Nestle India, in an effort to carry on with its trend of providing the Indian consumers healthy food recently introduced a range of Healthy Soups. The entire range consists of the following; maggi tomato, mixed vegetable, tomato vegetable, mushroom, chicken, sweet corn chicken and hot and sour vegetable. The product is priced at Rs 25 for 70 grams. Maggi became successful because it understood consumers . The brand never wanted to change Indian consumer's habit. It did not had ambitions about changing Indian's breakfast or dinner preferences. What Maggi did was to slowly attach itself to Indian consumer's need without disruption.

Maggi was also closely watching consumer preferences.When consumers wanted healthy food, Maggi launched Atta Noodle variants that was healthy . More importantly this move addressed the concerns of Homemakers. The brand extended itself to multiple segment

Brand Study : Maggi 50 but without diluting the core brand equity.

Maggi over these years have made lot of mistakes. It made mistakes because the brand was willing to experiment. More importantly the brand learned from those mistakes and corrected itself.

Maggi also invested heavily in brand building. The campaigns for one of Maggi's products were always there in the media which kept the brand fresh in the mind of the consumers. Maggi personifies the basic principles of understanding consumers, innovating and investing in the brand. Maggi is one packaged food brand that has only seen its popularity grow in the past many years and the secret to the success is that instead of trying to change the food habits of consumers, it has tried to align itself with local tastes and preferences with the fast to cook and good to eat promise. To commemorate its successful journey through a quarter of a century in the worlds largest consumer market, the brand, last year, launched an innovative campaign inviting its loyalists to share with it their Maggi stories and promised to broadcast them to the world at large, thereby, making them the superstars overnight. Along with television commercials, which aired individual consumer stories of their lasting memories of Maggi, the brand displayed pictures of these loyal customers on the Maggi packs. Nestle also introduced a website Me and meri maggi in for engaging with them. The company also rewarded its consumers by adding to the Maggi portfolio, that hitherto had sauces and soups in various flavors, a range of prepared dishes and cooking aids such as Maggi Bhuna Masala and Maggi Pazzta. So far focussed on

Brand Study : Maggi 51 urban consumers, the company also made a pitch for rural consumers by launching Maggi Rasile Chow noodles at an inviting price of Rs4. Again, local tastes and recipes have been at the core of all these marketing innovations. Creating delight and happiness in everyday meals is not just about providing tasty food. It is about providing taste and health in a convenient combination, says Shivani Hegde, general manager, foods.

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DEMOGRAPHY AND PSYCHOGRAPHY OF CONSUMERS

Demography: 1) Age and sex: people of different age groups consume Maggi products.
Children, teenagers, adults as well as old people consume them. Both genders male and female consume them.

2) Income: - Maggi products are available at reasonable prices. So the lower,

middle as well as the higher class consume them.

3) Religion and nationality: - Maggi products are famous and are consumed
by people of all religions and nationality.

Psychograph: 1) Attitude: - Consumers of maggi have a positive attitude towards the

product, which makes it the leader in the market. Maggi dominates the market.

2) Lifestyle:- Lifestyle determines the way of living of people. It describes

how a consumer leads his life. All consumes Maggi products.

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Research Methodology
Sample Size
Number of respondents Survey Location 50 Pune

Methodology
The research was carried out in the form of a survey. This will include primary research in addition to secondary research as stated below. The survey research method will be descriptive research design. Each respondent will be interviewed through a Questionnaire. The sample will be selected by a simple random sampling method.

The survey will address the following information area

The objective as spelt out can be elaborated into specific information areas to be studied. How do customers perceive Maggi as a stable brand, their perception of Maggi and how do they associate themselves with Maggi? Are the consumers aware of Maggi Brand or they associate Maggi with some other brand?

Brand Study : Maggi 54 Do they consider noodle as a healthy product or they are aware of the companys strategy of repositioning it to a healthy product by the launch of some of the new products? Which product from the entire basket of Maggi products do the consumers consider as the best selling product for Maggi and to which the consumers frequently buy? Are the consumers willing to accept Maggi brand extensions to some other products like chocolate, juices, chips etc

Brand Study: Maggi 55

DATA COLLECTION PLAN

Data Gathering
This study involves data collection (primary research) from different households in four different areas Pune (Aund, Market Yard, Warje, Bhandarkar Road)

Literature Review
The research conducted as a part of our study would include Primary as well as Secondary research. Primary research would include a survey that would be conducted in selected localities of Pune and nearby areas where the responses of consumers would be recorded through a designed questionnaire. Secondary research would include various aspects of Brand management through Internet, Journals, company reports, expert views etc.

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SAMPLE QUESTIONNAIRE FOR MARKET RESEARCH

Thank you for taking the time to fill in this questionnaire, you will remain anonymous. We need a sample of an audience to use as an example for our Research Project at College

Q1. Do you purchase ready to eat products available in the market? a) Yes b) No

Q 2. What is the brand that comes to your mind when you think of ready to eat food? a) Maggi b) Top Ramen c) Knorr d) ITC Sunfeast

Q 3. Are you a consumer of Maggi? a) Yes b) No

Brand Study : Maggi 57 Q 4. You came to know about Maggi from: a) Newspapers b) Radio c) T.V advertisements d) Friends e) Other source, specify ______________

Q5. Do you know which umbrella brand does Maggi fall into? a) Unilever b) Kraft c) Nestle d) Britannia

Q6. Rank the following Maggi products w.r.t. frequency of purchase with 5 being the highest rank.

a) Noodle b) Ketchup c) Soup d) Masala e) Cubes

Brand Study : Maggi 58 Q7. Do you recall any of the T.V. advertisements of Maggi? a) Yes b) No

Q 8. Rank the categories, which Maggi should look in future in order of your importance: a) Chocolates b) Salted Potato Chips c) Fruit Juices d) Processed foods (Ready to use pastes, masalas) e) Others (Please mention)

Q9. Do you perceive Maggi as a healthy product? a) Yes b) No

Q10. Are you happy with the current price & packaging size variants of Maggi Products? a) Yes b) No

Brand Study : Maggi 59 Q11. How do you perceive Maggi products? a) Good for health. b) Ready to eat. c) Junk food d) Tasty / Fun eating

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QUESTIONNAIRE ANALYSIS
Q1. Do you purchase ready to eat products available in the market? Yes 50 No 0
Q1

Yes
No

Q 2. What is the brand that comes to your mind when you think of ready to eat food?

Maggi Top Remaen Knorr ITC Sunfeast

41 0 4 5

ITC Sunfeast Knorr Top Ramen Maggi 0 20 40 60 Series1

Brand Study : Maggi 61 Q3. Are you a consumer of Maggi? Yes No 45 4

Q3 Yes No

Q 4. You came to know about Maggi from: Newspaper Radio T.V Friends Other 1 0 38 8 3

Other Friends T.V Radio Newspapers 0 10 20 30 40

Series1

Brand Study : Maggi 62 Q5. Do you know which umbrella brand does Maggi fall into? Unilever Kraft Nestle Britannia 6 1 42 1

Britannia Nestle Kraft Unilever 0 10 20 30 40 50 Series1

Q6. Rank the following Maggi products w.r.t. Frequency of purchase with 1 being the highest rank? Noodle Ketchup Soup Masala Cubes 240 178 153 116 64
Cubes Masala Soup Ketchup Noodle 0 100 200 300 Series1

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Q7. Do you recall any of the T.V. advertisements of Maggi? Yes N0 45 5

Yes No

Q8. Rank the categories, which Maggi should look in future in order of your importance:
Chocolates Salted potato Chips Fruit Juices Processed Foods Others 110
others

104 135 156 0

Processed Foods Fruit Juices Salted Patato Chips Chocolates 0 50 100 150 200 Series1

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Q9. Do you perceive Maggi as a healthy product? Yes No 24 26

Q9 Yes No

Q10. Are you happy with the current price & packaging size variants of Maggi Products?
Yes No 43 7
Yes No

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Q-11How do you perceive Maggi products? Good For Health Ready To Eat Junk Food Tasty/ Fun Eating 3 23 6 18

25 20 15 10 5 0 Good for Health Ready to Junk Food Tasty/Fun Eat Eating Series1

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ANALYSIS
Maggi is having the best channel, as the product is easily available at almost each & every store. Next comes the top ramen which is also established in the market from long time but brands like Knorr, Sunfeast, Horlicks is not available at stores & if it is available its not been sold. Pricing has been a very important factor when it comes to the sales of Maggi products and retailers emphasize on the fact that customers want a good price as there are competitors coming in the market. Television is the medium from which people are aware and enlightened about the brand. Its also been observed that Maggi has the best mind-share among all the brands that were researched in the project. Also, apart from it being a ready-to-eat product with fun, Maggi as a brand is perceived as a family product amongst the other brand which were researched.

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SUCCESS FACTORS OF MAGGI

Quick Localization:One major factor for Maggi's success was its quick localization. We have been eating Maggi since our childhood, for about 15 years, we never knew that Maggi was a foreign brand until we read Wikipedia just before writing this article. How many times had you seen the wrapper of Maggi Noodles packet? Many times! Everybody likes reading everything that's written on wrapper; in fact it has become a hobby that we don't even know about consciously. So Maggi has a simple presentation of itself to people in India. Every common Indian knows the tagline of maggi - 2-minute noodles. And Maggi was famous in the flavor of Masala. Happens to mean spice in India. So to a common Indian, Maggi Masala sounds very logical and Indian. Never did Maggi put any fancy English tag lines nor did it endorse its product as a foreign brand though it could have. It's almost like they hid their real identity of being a foreign brand simply by not revealing the fact neither in ads nor in the wrapper or anywhere else The advertisements that endorsed Maggi in the Television, picture, a small girl and a boy waiting eagerly for her mom to cook and serve Maggi. Once served, they happily eat their meal and go to play. To add, there was no hint of foreign hand in the brand. So they kind of Indianized Maggi, established as a brand that every Indian can identify with and buy that product without any hesitation.

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CONCLUSION
The food processing business in India is at a nascent stage. Currently, only about 10% of the output is processed and consumed in packaged form thus highlighting huge potential for expansion and growth. Traditionally, Indians believe in consuming fresh stuff rather then packaged or frozen, but the trend is changing and the new fast food generation is slowly changing. Riding on the success of noodles, Nestle India, tried to make extensions of the Maggi brand to a number of products like, sauces, ketchups, pickles, soups, tastemakers and macaroni in the mid-1990s. Unfortunately, the macaroni and pickles didnt pick up as expected. The soups and sauces did somewhat fine, gathering considerable sales volumes and have a satisfactory presence even today. Maggi Noodles itself faced a bit of difficulty with respect to taste, and nearly lost its position in the minds of Indianconsumers in the late 1990s. When Nestle changed the formulation of its tastemaker, the ominous packet that came along with Maggi Noodles, a major chunk of consumers were put-off and sales started dropping. Also, Maggis competitor TopRamen took advantage of the situation and started a parallel aggressive campaign to eat into Maggis market share. But the company quickly realised this and went back into making the original formula coupled with a free sampling campaign. This helped Maggi to win back its lost consumers and pushed up its sales volumes again!

Brand Study : Maggi 69 Maggi Today The year 2008 saw India leading in worldwide Maggi sales. The brand has grown to an estimated value of Rs 160-170 crore and contributes at least 89% to Nestle Indias top line. All the same, some FMCG analysts feel that the brand has not done much to expand the noodles category. Even after 25 years of its launch, the size of the instant noodles market is yet quite small at Rs 300 crore. But yes, the parent company, Nestle India Limited has certainly encouraged the brand to enter into other culinary products.

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RECOMMENDATION
After the conducted study following recommendations could be sited for Maggi Brand. To gain maximum leverage in terms of profit the company should pay emphasis on segments with age groups 25-35 and above. Advertising is the key to success. Targeting these segments will not only enhance the companys profit margins but also it will leverage the brand image of Maggi. The company should advertise its products by depicting attributes related to Health like Nutrition values, % of Vitamins, Proteins etc.This would help in customers perceiving the product as Healthy. Foray into other food products like chips, chocolates etc under its sole brand name would not only help in Brand extension but will also enhance Maggis market share. FUTURE PLANS:Nestl Indias objective is to manufacture and market the companys products in such a way so as to create value that can be sustained over the long term for consumers, shareholders, employees and business partners. Maggis aims to create value for consumers that can be sustained over the long term by offering a wide variety of high quality, safe food products at affordable prices. The company continuously focuses its efforts to better understand the changing lifestyles of modern India and anticipate consumer needs in order to provide convenience, taste, nutrition and wellness through its product .

Brand Study : Maggi 71

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Websites:www.nestle.in www.maggi-club.in www.indianjournalofmarketing.com www.careerdynamo.com/marketing_journals.html www.wikipedia.com

Newspapers and Magazines:Economic Times Brand Equity Supplement 4Ps of Marketing Magazine Marketing Today Magazine