INTRODUCTION

The report entitled “A research done on Maggi Brand ” 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 paper tries to find

a solution to a real life problem of Maggi to launch its products as a Healthy

Product. 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.

Further, it provides information on the research methodology and

problems faced during the research. It also throws some light on the research

objectives and design.

Lastly, this project shows the sampling method used and data collection

tools adopted for this project.

The focus of my research was the measurement of customer satisfaction

provided by Nestle Maggi. There can be no better opportunity to interact with the

external as well as the internal customers of an organization. Finally the results of

the research verify the fact that keeping the customer satisfied is the best strategy to

not only retains the existing customers but also to expand the business to new

horizons.

1

BACKGROUD OF MAGGI

The industrial revolution in Switzerland in the late 1800s created factory jobs

for women, who were therefore left with very little time to prepare meals. This wide

spread problem grew to be an object of intense study by the Swiss Public Welfare

Society. As a part of its activities, the Society asked Julius Maggi miller to create a

vegetable food product that would be quick to prepare and easy to digest. Born on

October 9, 1846 in Frauenfeld, Switzerland, Julius Michael Johannes Maggi was the

oldest son of an immigrant from Italy who took Swiss citizenship. Julius Maggi

became a miller and took on the reputation as an inventive and capable businessman.

In 1863, Julius Maggi came up with a formula to bring added taste to meals.

Soon after he was commissioned by the Swiss Public Welfare Society, he came up

with two instant pea soups and a bean soup - the first launch of the Maggi brand of

instant foods in 1882 - 83. Towards the end of the century, Maggi & Company was

producing not just powdered soups, but bouillon cubes, sauces and other flavourings.

The Maggi Company merged with Nestlé in 1947. Today, Maggi is a leading

culinary brand and part of the NESTLÉ family of fine foods and beverages. Under

the Maggi brand, which is today known worldwide for quality and innovation,

Nestle offers a whole range of products, such as packaged soups, frozen meals,

prepared sauces and flavourings.

2

MAGGI BRAND IN INDIA

Maggi Comes to India – teething troubles Maggi noodles was launched in

India in the early 1980s. 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 paratha 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 preparation time at home. Maggi was positioned as the

only hygienic homemade snack! Despite this, Nestlé faced difficulties with their

sales after the initial phase. The 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 and surveys, the firm found that children were the biggest

consumers of Maggi noodles. Quickly they repositioned it towards the kids segment

with various tools of sales promotion like colour pencils, sketch pens, fun books,

Maggi clubs which worked wonders for the brand.

3

RESEARCH METHOLODOGY

The research has been carried out in the form of a survey. This includes

primary research in addition to secondary research as stated below. Each respondent

is interviewed through a Questionnaire. The sample is selected by a simple random

sampling method.

The survey address the following information area:

Information Areas:

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

noodles and how do they associate themselves with Maggi?

Are the consumers aware of Maggi Brand or they associate noodles with some

other brand?

Do they consider noodle as a healthy product or they are aware of the

company"s strategy of repositioning it to a healthy product by the launch of

some of the new products?

4

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?

5

RESEARCH PROBLEM

Every attempt will be taken to obtain the error free and meaningful result but as

nothing in this world is 100% perfect I believe that there will still the chance for

error on account of following limitations. The problems faced during the research

were:-

Respondent’s unavailability.

Time pressure and fatigue on the part of respondents and interviewer.

Courtesy bias.

The results and conclusions of the project cannot be generalized in all area of

an organization.

There was a shortage of time and resources for the functioning the operation.

There was a hurdle in the collection of data from primary sources i.e. risky as

well as incomplete.

Confused responses from the people.

6

RESEARCH OBJECTIVES

To understand the influence of Maggi as a brand on consumers mind set.

Sources of Brand equity of Maggi like Brand awareness, Brand image, Brand

association, Brand recall

To understand the Brand performance of Maggi products.

To understand Brand Imagery, Brand Quality perceived by customers, Brand

credibility, consideration, superiority and feelings.

Brand Extension of Maggi in terms of product diversity.

Analyse the repositioning of Maggi brand as a “Healthy product” and the

consumers perseverance towards the same.

7

DATA COLLECTION

Tools of data collection

Tools used for this project are:-

The primary data collection method used for this project is Questionnaire.

The secondary data is collected through News papers, Text books, Marketing reports

of the company and Internet.

8

ANALYSIS & INTERPRETATION

Q-1 Are you a customer of maggi ?

Yes

No

Yes No0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

Interpretation

This survey suggested that out of 40 customers are consumers of Maggi products.

Maggi is quite famous with the different types of customers in the market.

9

Q.2 How often do you have Maggi?

Fortnightly

Once a day

Once a week

Dont eat maggi

Fortnightly Once a day Once a week dont eat maggi0

5

10

15

20

25

Interpretation

Most consumers have maggi once a week followed by Fortnightly.

10

Q.3 You have maggi for?

Breakfast Lunch Evening snacks Dinner

Breakfast Lunch Evening snacks Dinner0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

Interpretation

Most consumers have maggi as evening snacks.

11

Q-4 what comes first in your mind when you hear the word Maggi?

Noodles

Fast food

Snacks

None of these

Noodle Fast food Snacks None of these0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

Interpretation

The survey suggested that 35 out of 50 consumers associated maggi with noodles.

People are familiar with maggi as a brand for noodles in majority .

12

Q-5 what is the brand that comes to your mind when we say the word noodles?

Maggi

Top Ramen

Yippie Noodles

Sunfeast Noodles

Maggi Yippie Top ramen Sunfeast0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

Interpretation

The survey suggested that Maggi is the most popular brand with the customers of

noodles . It suggests that 30 out of 50 consumers associates noodles with magi.

13

Q 6. Rate the following Maggi products with respect to frequency of purchase with 5

being the highest and 1 being the lowest.

Noodles

Ketchup

Cubes

Soup

Pickles

Noodles Ketchup Cubes Soup Pickles0

1

2

3

4

5

6

Interpretation

Most customer given rank 5 rating to the noodles in purchase of maggi product, 4 to

the ketchup, 3 to the cubes, 2 to the soup and 1 to pickles. People purchase Maggi

noodles in majority . The frequency of purchase of maggi noodles is very high.14

Q-7 With what products would you associate the brand Maggi?

Ketchup

Noodles

Soup

Masala

· Ketchup · Noodles · Soup · Masala 0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

Interpretation

The survey suggested that 38 out of 50 people associated the brand maggi with

noodles .

15

Q 8. On a scale of 1 to 5 rate Maggi on the following parameters wherein 1 being the

lowest and 5 being the highest:-

Taste

Hygiene/purity

Variety/flavor

Availability

Packaging

Taste Hygiene/purity Variety/flavor Availability Packaging0

1

2

3

4

5

6

Interpretation

The product Maggi have been rated well on the above parameters by most of the

customers. From the scale 1 to 5 the consumers gave 5(highest rate) to the taste and

avalability, 4 rating to hygiene/purity and packaging, 3 (lower rate) to variety and

flavour. So the company need to introduce maggi in different variety & flavour.

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Q-9 Rate the categories which Maggi should look in future in order of your importance wherein 1 being least important and 5 being the most important:

Chocolates _____________

Salted Potato Chips _____________

Fruit Juices _____________

Processed foods(Ready to use pastes, masala) ____________

Atta _____________

Processed foods Salted potato chips Chocolate Atta Fruit juice0

1

2

3

4

5

6

Interpretation

Here the consumer rated that maggi should look in future in order of their

importance giving most important tag to processed food, and least to Fruit juice. So

company should take the action to fulfill the consumer demand according to their

importance.

Q-10 how do you rate Maggi brand in terms of following parameters:17

Expertise (Competent, Innovative, Market leader)

Trustworthiness (Dependable and keep customers interest in mind)

Liability ( Fun ,interesting)

None of these

Expertise Trustworthiness Liability None of these0

1

2

3

4

5

6

Interpretation

The consumer gave 5(highest) to the trustworthiness, 4 to expertise, 3 to liability

& 1(lowest) to the other factors. According to survey , Maggi brand is using

expertise strategy to look forward in future .

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Q-11 How do you perceive Maggi products?

Good for health.

Ready to eat.

Junk food

Tasty / Fun eating

Good to health Ready to eat Junk food Tasty/fun eating0

5

10

15

20

25

30

Interpretation

25 out of 50 people percieve maggi product as ready to eat.

19

Q-12 Which Maggi products in noodles category do you regularly buy?

Maggi masala

Maggi vegetable attar noodles

Maggi dal Atta noodles

Maggi rice noodles mania

Others

Maggi masala Maggi vegetable atta noodle

Maggi dal atta noodle

Maggi rice noodle mania

others0

5

10

15

20

25

30

Interpretation

Out of 50 half of consumer consume maggi masala, 10 consumer consume maggi

vegetable atta noodle, 8 consume maggi rice noodle mania, 5 consumer consume dal

atta noodle& remaninig consume other. So the marketing & sale of maggi masala

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noodle is more as compared to other maggi noodle.

21

Q-13 Do you perceive Maggi noodles as a healthy product?

Yes

No

Yes No 0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

Interpretation

According to survey Maggie is perceived as a healthy product for most of the

consumers.

22

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

company"s 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 Maggi's market share.

23

FUTURE PLANS

- Nestlé India"s objective is to manufacture and market the company"s

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.

- Maggi's 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 offerings.

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MAGGI – SOME FACTS

Manufactured by Nestle

Entered Indian market in 1982

Market leader in instant noodles category

Main challenge faced is changing the mind-set of the Indian consumer

Initially : –

Target Audience - Working women –

Target Market – Working Women –

Positioning – Convenience of Cooking •

Later –

Target Audience – Mothers –

Target Market – Children –

Positioning – 2 Minute Noodles

Finally, found that Maggi was liked by consumers of all the ages • Turned their

focus to health conscious consumer with the launch of “atta-noodles

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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 than 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

didn"t 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 Indian consumers 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,

Maggi's competitor "Top Ramen" took advantage of the situation and started a

parallel aggressive campaign to eat into Maggi's 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!

26

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

8–9% to Nestle India"s 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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Annexue Questionnaire

Q-1 Are you a customer of maggi ?

Yes

No

Q.2 How often do you have Maggi?

Fortnightly

Once a day

Once a week

Dont eat maggi

Q.3 You have maggi for?

Breakfast

Lunch

Evening snacks

Dinner

Q-4 what comes first in your mind when you hear the word Maggi?

Noodles

Fast food

Snacks

None of these 28

Q-5 what is the brand that comes to your mind when we say the word noodles?

Maggi

Top Ramen

Yippie Noodles

Sunfeast Noodles

Q 6. Rate the following Maggi products with respect to frequency of purchase with

5 being the highest and 1 being the lowest.

Noodles

Ketchup

Cubes

Soup

Pickles

Q-7 With what products would you associate the brand Maggi?

Ketchup

Noodles

Soup

Masala

29

Q 8. On a scale of 1 to 5 rate Maggi on the following parameters wherein 1 being

the lowest and 5 being the highest:-

Taste

Hygiene/purity

Variety/flavor

Availability

Packaging

Q-9 Rate the categories which Maggi should look in future in order of your

importance wherein 1 being least important and 5 being the most important:

Chocolates _____________

Salted Potato Chips _____________

Fruit Juices _____________

Processed foods(Ready to use pastes, masala) ____________

Atta _____________

Q-10 how do you rate Maggi brand in terms of following parameters:

Expertise (Competent, Innovative, Market leader)

Trustworthiness (Dependable and keep customers interest in mind)

Liability ( Fun ,interesting)

None of these

Q-11 How do you perceive Maggi products?30

Good for health.

Ready to eat.

Junk food

Tasty / Fun eating

Q-12 Which Maggi products in noodles category do you regularly buy?

Maggi masala

Maggi vegetable attar noodles

Maggi dal Atta noodles

Maggi rice noodles mania

Others

Q-13 Do you perceive Maggi noodles as a healthy product?

Yes

No

31

BIBLOGRAPHY

Research Methodology -

-by C.R.Kothari

Research Methodolgy - Concept and cases

-by Deepak Chwala

WEBLIOGRAPHY

www.studymode.com

economictimes.indiatimes.com

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