Product and Brand Management

Brand inventory (Pricing & Distribution, POPs & PODs Profiling of number one competitor is rmaining), Competitor analysis and Questionnaire Ownership and Target Customer Profile Maggies ownership is with Nestle. Nestle launched Maggie Noodles in 1982. Maggie Noodles was initially targeted at working women. Then it repositioned itself to target kids. It soon became the market driver in the instant noodles category. Currently enjoys marketshare of 80%. Working women of all school going children who dont find time to make the breakfast in the morning and the evening on the regular basis prefer Maggie as it is ready to cook and can be served in 2 minutes. Maggies target customers also include young professionals who are staying away from their homes as a paying-guest or on rent or in the government or private hostels. In the broader sense the target customers of Maggie include all those people who dont find time in their regular schedule to cook the quick breakfast.

Brand Elements: Logo:

Tagline: Taste Bhi Health Bhi Brand Portfolio: For Maggie Noodles: Maggie 2 Minutes Noodles: MAGGI 2-Minute Noodles is one of the largest and most loved food brands that defines Instant Noodles in India. Continuing to spread joy as it has done for the last 25 years MAGGI Noodles is as tasty as ever and even provides essential nutrients. With the goodness of Protein and Calcium, MAGGI Noodles is available in 4 delectable flavors Masala, Chicken, Tomato and Curry.

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Maggi Cuppa Mania: E t t lt i M i it l l i Si i t t li t i t t it i t i li t l i i tt t l ti t t i ti ll t ! t t i t t t i i t M l Y ! l t l t C l i i M li i i t i l t ltit i i lit t i i t t M C M i C t M C C ill C Y !

For Other Maggie Products: Sauces: M Soups: M i iS i l t zzt C t Mil M l M i izz M zz B M S i i l S j i i lt C

Pastas: M

Cooking Aids: M i C l Maggie Club: tt :// t ii / ll i_ ti _

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Maggie Goodies: tt :// ii /

POPs and PODs. : t t i i t it t l t i l C t

SWOT

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St t M t Leader Brand Loyalty Di tri tion C annel Innovative Flavors and Indian Taste Advertising Strategy Opport nities Unexploited Rural Markets Increasing Working Yout s

Weakness Heavily Dependent on Noodles Category

Threats Competitors Strong Presence Competitive Prices

Problems Faced by Brand in the Initial Few Years when the brand was For Working Women: Indian Psyche Despite of Heavy Media Advertising Sales Did Not Improve Research was conducted to find the roots of the problem. After the results were out the Nestle repositioned the brand Convenience Product for mothers and as a Fun Product for children. Tagline Fast to Cook, Good to Eat was in line with positioning Promoted the product further by distributing free samples and giving gifts on return of empty packets.

STPD for Maggie:

Segmentation Age Eating Habits Lifestyle of Urban Families

Targeting Kids Youth Office Goers Working Women Health Conscious People

Positioning Fast To Cook, good To Eat 2 Minutes Noodles Taste Bhi Health Bhi

Differentiation Taste Flavor Packaging

Segmentation to Differentiation:

Product and Brand Management

Classic Noodles: or Kids between 5-10 ears eg Atta Noodles or Health Conscious People Rice Mania - or Teenagers Cuppa Mania for Office Goers and Working Women Some Historical Events in the Brand Journey: ales Declined in 1990 As a remedial effect Maggie changed formulation from ried Base to Air Dried Base. Competition from Top Raman Increased tremendously as years passed by ome of New Product Launches failed on face Dal Atta Noodles ambhar lavor ome of new product launches did not prove as successful as Maggie Noodles Ketchups, oups, tastemakers

Use Communication Mediums By Nestle For Maggie

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Market Penetration Strategies and Other Promotional Strategies used by Maggie: Promotional Campaign in Schools in the town having population more than 10000 Advertising Focusing On Kids New Product Innovation according to Different Consumer Needs Veg Atta Noodles, Cuppa Noodles Availability in Different Pack Sizes 50 Grams, 100 Grams, 200 Grams and family packsDirect Impact on Affordability Conducting Regular Market Research Focus on creating distinctive image based on twin benefits of instant and healthy noodles with emphasis on health conscious consumers Strengthened the distribution network in rural areas within 100 KM of all metro cities Competitive Pricing Creative Interaction Blog For www. Maggie-club.in Maggi was a sponsor for Hum Log, a popular television show on Doordarshan, Indias sole channel in 1984.

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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 Maggi does not focus heavily on print media during its launch since its initial target audience was mothers and kids. Some advertisements in the print media were used to highlight the convenience factor of Maggi. Print Ad By Maggie:

The above advertisement in various magazines in 2003 to celebrate 20 years of its product in india

Maggi has recently come out with advertisements in some weekly magazines for its new atta noodles and rice noodles variants. Maggi rice noodles mania had the highest column centimeter in print during jan aug 07 among the instant foods category. Maggis expenditure on print media is much lower compared to other media

Maggi noodles or retailers sales promotion initiatives:

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Maggi was distributed free in schools and offices to promote trial Return gifts on empty packs Maggi fun book & stickers with funky animal facts

Display Large pack sizes at the top with decreasing pack sizes as going downward. Why? 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.

Outer display shelves are purchased by company (Reliance mart . Public relations: The Maggi Club - the children under 14 were invited by press advertisements and distribution of leaflets to become a member of maggi club by 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. Benefits 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, discounted tickets of Appu Ghar. Organized Maggi school quizzes and sketching The Economic Times, a prominent newspaper in India, in 2003. "Maggi is the leader in the Instant Noodles category because it is constantly improving its understanding of the consumer to give them excellent and tasty products that provide nutrition, health, and wellness. Martial Rolland, chairman and managing director, Nestl India Ltd., in 2006. "Maggi has managed to enter Indian homes to change the traditional food habits of Indian children on their promise of convenience. This brand has understood the psychology of Indian mothers and positioned itself for mother-child indulgence. KNORR SOUPY NOODLES Knorr recently launched another product line extension - Soupy Noodles. The brand is currently running the campaign featuring its brand ambassador Kajol. Soupy Noodles combines both the properties of soup and noodles. The brand is promoting this variant as a new category to be carved out of Noodles. To penetrate in the noodle market dominated by

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NILs Maggi, HUL took the root of product innovation (expansion) Soupy noodles is not entirely an innovation since a similar version called Curry Noodles exists in the market. To counterattack HUL Maggi might launch its version of soupy noodles. If the taste is good, Indian market will see the emergence of a new category of soup + noodles. Knorr Soupy Noodles is launched in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. It will be introduced across India in a phase wise manner. The powder in Knorr Soupy Noodles is not simply a tastemaker or spices but actual soup powder, with a taste and consistency similar to Knorrs flagship product. Noodles are not perceived as a healthy food and Soup does not bring any excitement to kids. Thus, the idea behind soupy noodles is FUN with HEALTH. To convey this idea in a better way, HUL has roped Kajol as a brand ambassador and the Thoda Khao, Thoda Piyo proposition helped the kids understand how to consume the product and made it fun at the same time.

FOODLES What makes Foodles unusual is that it is being offered under the Horlicks brand. Horlicks was always sweet, even the biscuits and cereal bar. They wanted to extend the brand into a savory or salty kind of product and Foodles was an opportunity to do that. Horlicks is already a market leader in stimulants in the form of malted drinks. By branding Foodles under Horlicks, GSK associated its new product in the Health food category without investing much on creating awareness of its functional benefits. Its penetration will be easier since Horlicks is a trusted brand and already finds its place in the households with children aged 6 12 years. In the case of Foodles, nutrition is going to be the differentiator, remaining consistent with the plank already occupied by Horlicks. So besides the regular flavour, Foodles will also be available in a multi-grain option viz. Vitamin-fortified and the four-grain version. The market growth of Foodles is 3% p.a. and aims the target of 6% market share in a year or so. Foodles has been able to garner 5 per cent of sales in the South and East where it was soft-launched before going national. Its multigrain variant costs Rs 15 for 80 gm compared to Maggi's Rs 10 for 80 gm. TOP RAMEN Its not Noodles, Its Smoodles. Smoodles means Smooth Noodles. Top Ramen is the second largest Noodles brand in India trying hard for the past 18 years to beat Maggi Noodles. Top Ramen is a global brand from Nissin. Launched in 1991, Top Ramen has been trying all possible marketing tool to dethrone Maggi. In 2001, when Maggi changed its taste, Top Ramen gained popularity and acceptance. Top Ramen always perceived as a premium brand compared to the affordable Maggi. For the past 10 years, the brand has been distributed by Marico. In 2008, the alliance was mutually called-off . Now Nissin is building its own distribution network. Top Ramen could not offer any serious differentiation to Maggi either

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in terms of the product or brand because of which it lost its ground to Maggi. Top Ramen also lost out when Maggi repositioned itself in the health platform. Top Ramen had its share of innovations. This brand is credited with innovating a new category of cup-noodles in Indian market. The difference between cup noodles and instant noodles is that cup-noodles need not be cooked, it is ready to eat just after adding hot water into it. Top Ramen currently holds more than 90 % share in the cup -noodles market. Maggi has recently entered the cup-noodles market with its brand Cuppa- Mania. It is expected that the entry of new players will expand the category. Unlike instant noodles where the brands are targeting kids, Cup-Noodles is targeting adults. The segment aimed by Top-Ramen is 16-35. Top Ramen Curry noodle comes with gravy which no other noodle company provided.

SMALL PLAYERS Other brands that may not have the huge money power of the multinational giants but which are piggybacking on the opportunity afforded by modern trade are Chings Secret and Smith & Jones from Capital Foods, the Future Groups private label brand Tasty Treat and Wai Wai from Chaudhary Group. Chings Secret is aimed at youth between ages 16-25, where there is a demand for something spicier. Chings Instant Noodles are available in three delicious Chinese flavors, Schezwan, Manchurian and Hot Garlic. Chings Secret has gone the college route to get closer to its youth demographic. They have sponsored a large number of college shows in the country last year and are also targeting the youth aggressively through Facebook. The Chings Secret community on Facebook has over 118,000 fans following the brand. Chings Instant Noodles launches with a multimedia campaign across TV, Cinema, Hoardings, Internet and Mobile. Chings Khao Baki Bhol Jao is the advertising tagline. Tasty Treat offers spicy masala and has flavours like Punjabi masala and Mumbai masala waiting in the wings to cater to local tastes. Future Group plays the game of low cost to get an entry in noodle market. Wai Wai is built around the USP of being a genuinely instant noodle that can be eaten directly from the pack unlike Maggi which requires at least two minutes worth of cooking. No other brand has such option. Wai Wais variant Mi Mi is in the Rs 5 space. While the product was largely targeted towards kids, it helped get more people to sample the product. To help the brand be recognised across kiranas and convenience stores TV is given much importance. Just being present in modern trade will not give sustainable value

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PARAMETERS

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Maggi

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Foodles

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Soupy Noodles

Positioning

Fast to cook good to eat

Nourishment Noodles

A healthy and exciting snack for kids

Variants

25 flavours worldwide

Ala Masala Crazy Curry

Mast Masala Chinese Chow Tomato Chatpata

Packaging

Chota pack (40 gms) Single Pack (80 gms) Double Pack Pack of four

Regular Pack (80 gms)

Regular Pack (80 gms)

Prize

Rs. 10

Rs. 10 & Rs. 15

Rs. 15

Market Share

90%

3.5%

NA

Questionnaire:
1) What product would you associate with the tag lines mentioned below? y 2 minute noodles/ Bas 2 minute. y Dont be a noodle, be a snoodle. . y More nourishing noodles ..

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Mummy bhook lagi Taste bhi, health bhi . Fast to cook, good to eat

2) What comes first to your mind when you hear the word Maggi? y Noodles y Fast food y Snacks y Other .... 3) How do you perceive Maggi products? y Good for health y Ready to eat y Junk food y Tasty y Fun eating 4) Rank the following Maggi products with respect to frequency of purchase (1 being the highest) y Noodles y Ketchup y Soups y Cubes 5) On a scale of 1 to 5 rate Maggi noodles on the following parameters (1: highly favorable, 5: highly unfavorable) y Taste y Variety/ flavors y Hygiene/ purity y Availability y Packaging (SKUs) 6) Which variety of maggi noodles do you regularly buy? y Maggi masala y Maggi vegetable atta noodles y Maggi dal atta noodles y Maggi rice noodles mania y Maggi soupy noodles y Others .

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7) How would you rate Maggi noodles in terms of following parameters? y Expertise (Competent, Innovative & market Leader) y Trustworthiness (Dependable & keeps customers in mind) y Liability(Fun & Interesting) y None of these 8) According to you, which age group prefers Maggi noodles the most? y 4-12 y 13-26 y 27-40 y 41 & above y All 9) What according to you helped Maggi noodles to increase sales? y Affordable prices y Continuous innovation y Variety and flavors y Attractive advertisements 10) Which Maggi noodles advertisement first comes to your mind? 11) Which advertisements of Maggi products do you like the most? y Noodles: mein aur meri maggi y Sauces: Its different y Soups: taste bhi, health bhi y Pasta: nutra-licious pasta y Others: 12) According to you who are the biggest competitors for Maggi? y Noodles: ............ y Sauces: . y Soups: .. y Pasta: 13) Rank the categories which maggi should look in future in order of your importance:

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Chocolates Salted potato chips Fruit juices Processed foods (ready to use pastes, masalas) Others ........

14) Your suggestions for improving maggi noodles:

Profile Sheet: Age: Sex: Profession: Monthly income: Marital status:

Thank you for your answers. It has been a pleasure interacting with you.