maggi report

REPORT ON THE MARKET RETENTION STRATEGIES OF MAGGI IN NAGPUR

INTRODUCTION

|SUBMITTED BY:-ANIKET GUPTA

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INTRODUCTION

In this report we are going to study about the retention strategies of

Maggi noodles in India. Maggi is a brand of Nestle Company which is a well renowned

company in the whole world.

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 flavorings. The Maggi Company merged with

Nestle in 1947. Today, Maggi is a leading culinary brand and part of the NESTLE 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 flavorings.


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MAGGI BRAND IN INDIA

Maggi Comes to India – teething troubles Maggi noodles was launched

in India in the early1980s. 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 preparation time at home. Maggi was positioned as the

only hygienic homemade snack! Despite this, Nestle 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 color pencils, sketch pens, fun books, Maggi clubs which worked wonders

for the brand.

Maggi was positioned as ‘2-minute noodles’ with a punch line that

said ‘Fast to cook! Good to eat!’ And 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


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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 it’s a hit with her! What’s more, if kids also love the taste, the product is as

good as sold! So the ‘2-minute’ funda coupled with the ‘yummy taste worked!

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 promotions 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 analysts the focus on promotion turned out to be the

single largest factor responsible for Maggi’s rapid acceptance. Nestlé’s Managers utilized

promotions as measured to meet their sales target. Gradually, sales promotion became a

crutch for Maggi noodles sales. Later many of the Maggi’s extensions also made

considerable use of promotional schemes. The focus of all Maggi’s extensions was more

on below the line activities rather than direct communication. In addition to promotional

activities, Maggi associated itself with main stream television program and advertised

heavily on kids program and channels. After its advertisements with taglines like

“mummy bhookh lagi hai, bas do minute” and fast to cook good to eat Maggi’s

popularity became highly attributed to its “extremely high appeal to children”. As a

result, Maggi’s annual growth reportedly touched 15% during its initial years.


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PRODUCT VARIANTS:-

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, ChillyChow and Shahi Pulao)

· Maggi Cuppa mania (Masala yo, Chilli chow yo)

2. Sauces

· Teekha Masala

· Tomato Chatpat

· Imli Khata Meetha

· Tomato Ketchup

· Hot and Sweet

· Tomato Pudina

· Ginger, Garlic & Coriander

· Maggi Oriental Chilli Garlic

· Ginger, Garlic & Coriander


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3. Maggi Pichkoo

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

5. Maggi soup sanjivni

· Amla

· Badam

· Spinach

· Dal

· Tomato


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6. Maggi Bhuna Masala

· Bhuna Masala for gravy dishes

· Bhuna Masala for vegetable dal

7. Maggi magic cubes

· Chicken

· Vegetarian Masala


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OBJECTIVES


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OBJECTIVE OF STUDY:-

1. To study about the consumer behavior and consumer loyalty.

2. To study about the challenges faced by Maggi during the initial stage.

3. To study the challenges Maggi faces from its competitors.

4. To study the strategies opted by Maggi to retain its customers.

5. To study the effectiveness of the strategies opted by Maggi to retain its customers

and develop brand loyalty.


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SCOPE OF THE STUDY


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SCOPE OF THE STUDY:-

1. This study is an analysis of the strategies opted by Maggi (Noodles) to retain its

customers.

2. The study will cover the promotional activities carried out by Maggi.

3. To project will study the effectiveness of the strategies opted.


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LIMITATIONS


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LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY :-

1. The study is limited to the area of Nagpur.

2. Time period for the study of the project is limited.

3. Finance is available in limited amount.


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RESEARCH METHODOLOGY


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RESEARCH METHODOLOGY:-

Research is the process whereby the researcher arrives at logical and practical solutions

to the defined problems.

Research is the defining of problems, formulation of the hypothesis, organizing and

evaluating data, making deductions and additions, reaching conclusions, and then

assessing the conclusions to determine whether they fit the hypothesis.

METHODS OF DATA COLLECTION

Collection of data is the gathering of information for the subject matter under study of

the enquiry to be taken, and the methods to be decided generally depends on the nature,

feasibility and the purpose of the study as well as the availability of the resources and

time.

The data collection can be grouped under two types:-

Primary Data

Secondary Data

PRIMARY SOURCES:-

Primary data are those, which are collected for the first time. They are collected by the

researcher for the first time for his own use.

The sources of Primary Data includes:-

Direct Personal Interview

Interview

Drafting a Questionnaire


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DIRECT PERSONAL INVESTIGATION:-

This is that method wherein the researcher goes and collects data by himself

instead of engaging another person. This type of investigation is normally not widespread

and investigation is done in a particular locality.

INTERVIEW METHOD:-

An interview is an extremely effective method of gathering information. An

interview is always pre-planned and is important source of data collection as the

interviewer can obtain a lot of required information by depicting the level of

understanding of the interviewee. Interview can be of two types such as:- Direct Personal

Interview and the Telephonic Interview. Direct Personal Interview requires face-to-face

contact with the respondent. Other interviewing techniques include structured or

unstructured method. The interview in which the questions to be asked are decided in

advance and where the nature and the pattern in which the questions are asked are

standardized, it is known as structured interview. Telephonic interview can be used as a

follow-up of a mailed question and is fairly used to carry out on the actual interview. In

practice, both the structured and the unstructured interview techniques should be used so

that the interview is successful.

QUESTIONNAIRE METHOD:-

Another method of data collection is the survey that consists of asking questions

to a section of people. A questionnaire is generally mailed or handed to the respondent

fills the questionnaire as per his viewpoint. While filling the questionnaire the interviewer

the interviewer has absolutely no involvement. The researcher has to ensure that the

questionnaire is relevant. The questionnaire should be designed in a manner, which is

relevant to the subject under enquiry and to the respondent. The researcher should design

the questionnaire keeping in mind what exactly he wants to know from the respondents.

Questions should not be ambiguous.


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Questionnaires can be of two categories, close ended and open ended. Close

ended questions have answers that are easy to code and sometimes this can be done right

from the questionnaire, thereby saving time and money. Open ended questionnaires are

other type of mailed questionnaires. Here the respondent is expected to answer

adequately, in detail or to clarify an answer.

SECONDARY DATA:-

Secondary data are those, which have already been collected by others. When it

is not possible to collect data in primary form the researcher may take the help of

secondary data. They are those, which have already been collected with some other view

in mind. They are collected for serving the objectives other than what the researcher

might have in his mind.

The sources of Secondary Data include:-

Books

Websites

Journals

Company Records

BOOKS:-

A book is a collection of papers or other material with texts, pictures, written, on

them, bound together along one edge, within covers. A book is called a monograph to

distinguish it from serial periodicals such as magazines, journals or newspapers.


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WEBSITES:-

A website may be the work of an individual, a business or an organization and is

depicted to some particular topic or purpose. Websites are written in or dynamically

converted to HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language) and are accessed using a software

program called a web browser also known as an HTTP client.

JOURNALS:-

Many publications issued at stated intervals, such as magazines or the record of

the transactions of a society, are often called journals. In academic use, a journal refers to

serious, scholarly publication, most often reviewed in advance.

COMPANY RECORDS:-

Company records are those, which contain information about the company such

as journals, ledgers, cashbook, minute book, share registers, accounts, brochures of

products, records relating to employees and correspondence files.


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DATA ANALYSIS


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DATA ANALYSIS

Over the years, Maggi has been trying to come with new strategies and retain its

customers.

Following has been the data collected from dealers:-

ORGANIZED RETAILS SALES PROMOTION:-

7% discounts on 6 piece pack (56 MRP), 5 rupee discount on 8 piece pack (78

MRP). These are promotional schemes given by retailers themselves not by

Nestle India Ltd.

Company is coming up with schemes like giving one soup pack with 8 piece

pack. This also promotes the other product like the Maggi soups.

In past company had promotional schemes like 4 piece pack at Rs. 36 instead of

Rs.40.


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DISPLAY:-

The position of the Maggi packets are kept depending upon the size i.e. the largest

at the top and the smallest at the bottom of the shelf. This is because the top rack

attracts the maximum attention of the consumer and the larger the packet; the

more the profit for the retailer.

Outer display shelves are purchased by the retail outlets (Big Bazaar, Reliance

Mart).


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ORGANIZED CONSUMER SALES PROMOTION:-

Promotional Tools of Communication:-


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Different Communication Media Used by Nestle India Ltd.

ADS:-

Initially Maggi was targeted at the working woman and later the upper middle

class kids.

Maggi is now targeting its products at the entire family and not only kids with its

“Kuch Healthy” slogan.

Maggi has recently launched “MAIN AUR MERI MAGGI” campaign in

commensuration of 25 years of Maggi in India.


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INTEGRATED MASS COMMUNICATION

ADVERTISING

ADS AD CAMPAIGNS

BILLBOARDS PRINT ADS TV ADS OTHER

PUBLIC RELATIONS

SALES PROMOTION

INTERACTIVE MARKETING


PRINT ADS:-

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.

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. Growth in noodles/pasta print

advertising grew by 42% in Jan-May 05 compared to Jan-May 04. Of this, Maggi

Vegetable Atta noodles had 92% share.

Maggi’s expenditure on print media is much lower compared to other media.

SALES PROMOTION:-

OBJECTIVES:-

To introduce new products.

To attract new customers and retain the existing ones.

To maintain sales of seasonal products.

To maintain the challenge of competition.

TOOLS:-


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Exchange schemes

Price-off offer

Coupons

Scratch and win offer

Money back offer

Maggi Noodles or Retailers Sales Promotion Initiatives

Maggi was distributed free in schools and offices to promote trial.

Return gifts on empty packs.

Maggi fun book and stickers with funky animal facts.

PUBLIC RELATION:-

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.


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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.

Organized Maggi school quizzes and sketching.

RESULTS 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 providing user name and password.


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SWOT ANALYSIS OF MAGGI BRAND

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.

STRENGTH:-

Market leader in their segment.

Strong brand loyal consumer base.

Wide range of distribution channel.

Product according to the need of Indian consumer.

Innovative product.

WEAKNESS:-

Products are dependent on each other.

Not so presence in rural market.


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OPPORTUNITY:-

Increasing number of working youth.

Product has been acceptable in youth category.

Shift to rural market.

Changing preference of consumer towards Chinese food fast food.

Can foray into other food markets with its strong Brand name.

THREAT:-

Price war with competitors.

Strong presence of regional competitors.

Consumers don’t perceive it as a ‘Healthy Product’.


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MARKET SURVEY:-

Q.1:- What brand do you prefer for noodles?

66

16

10 8

Brand

MaggiTop RamensChingsTasty Treat


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Q.2:- Why do you like this brand?

24

8

56

12

Liking

TasteHealth BenefitsReady to EatAvailability


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Q.3:- How often do you consume Maggi?

8

64

12

16

Consumption

DailyWeeklyMonthlyRarely


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Q.4:- From which source do you get the information about the brand Maggi?

68

12

9 11

Source

TelevisionMagazinesNewspaperBillboards


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Q.5:- Why do you prefer Maggi over other brands?

723

13

57

Preference

PriceAvailabilityOffersTaste


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Q.6:- Preferred time for eating Noodles?

17

4

66

13

Timing

BreakfastLunchSnacksDinner


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Q.7:- What do you think about the Pricing of Maggi noodles?

6

81

13

Pricing

Under PricedPerfectly PricedOver Priced


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Q.8:- What flavor do you prefer in Maggi noodles?

67

7

179

Flavour

MasalaTomatoVegetable AttaRice Mania


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Q.9:- How will you rate Maggi Noodles?

16

72

57

Rating

ExcellentGoodAverageBad


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FINDINGS


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FINDINGS:-

Following is the result of the survey conducted in the market about Maggi:-

It is found that majority (66% of people interviewed) prefer the brand Maggi over

Top Ramens and Chings.

The reason that the customers gave for its consumption is that it is ready to eat i.e.

it is fast to cook and it is tasty too.

56% of people consume Maggi on weekly basis. This shows that it has great sales

in the Indian market.

68% people get to know about the brand Maggi and about the latest offers of

Maggi through the Television media. This shows that Maggi uses an extensive

sales promotion strategy to woo its customers.

57% of people like the brand Maggi over other brands as it is tasty and is readily

available at their nearest local grocery shop or supermarket.

66% people prefer eating Maggi noodles as snacks i.e. in the evening time.

81% people feel that Maggi noodles are perfectly priced. This shows that Maggi

has done great research in the market and worked a lot for the pricing of the

product.


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67% people prefer Masala flavor in Maggi noodles. There is also a pretty good

share of Vegetable Atta noodles in market as people have people nowadays have

become health conscious and even elders like this flavor.

72% people rate Maggi Noodles as ‘Good’ this means that they are very satisfied

with the quality of the product.


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CONCLUSION


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CONCLUSION

The analysis shows the importance of marketing activity for any firm. The correct

marketing mix plays an important role in any firm’s success. In absence of a proper

marketing mix the firm cannot perform well as it has its own importance.

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.

Product satisfies the needs and wants of a consumer and if designed as per Needs

of the consumers it can reap high profits for the firm. The value for money, from the

point of view of the consumer, is of utmost importance which leads to greater sales and

thereby pushing up the profits.

Pricing becomes a major tool of marketing mix as the products should not only be

affordable but also should provide value for paid money. The Pricing strategy should be

planned by taking into consideration the socio- Economic factor of the target consumers.

Place or distribution channel also plays an important role as the right product

should be available to the customer at the right time. Different distribution channels are

used to cater to the different segments of the consumers. Attempt is made to make it

available at convenient places.

Promotion helps in creating awareness about the product and its features. Without a

sound promotion strategy the right message cannot be communicated to the consumer

which can lead the consumer to make wrong perception about the product.


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RECOMMENDATIONS


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RECOMMENDATIONS:-

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.

Maggi should come with more offers and offer more gifts along with its purchase

to retain its customers.

Earlier Maggi used to conduct quizzes in schools, which it has stopped doing so;

it should start conducting such quizzes and contests to popularize among kids as

the major target mass of Maggi noodles are kids only.

The packaging of Maggi is substandard; it should work upon the packaging more.

According to the survey conducted, people are demanding more variety in flavors

of Maggi noodles.

The advertisements are not catchy and they should work upon it more.

The basic target of Maggi is the urban mass; but to capture a larger market share it

should popularize more in rural areas through affordable costs.

Since Maggi is one of the strongest brand names; it should diversify into other

FMCG’s (Fast Moving Consumer Goods) to make it stronger and profitable in

this age of cutthroat competition.


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REFERENCES AND BIBLIOGRAPHY


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REFERENCES AND BIBLIOGRAPHY:-

WEBSITES:-

1. www.nestle.co.in

2. www.google.com


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http://www.google.com/

http://www.nestle.co.in/


ANNEXURE


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ANNEXURE

QUESTIONNAIRE

(CUSTOMER SURVEY FORMAT)

Name: - Age: - Occupation:-

Q.1:- What brand do you prefer for noodles?

Maggi

Top Ramens

Chings

Tasty Treat

Q.2:- Why do you like this brand?

Taste

Health benefits

Ready to eat

Availability

Q.3:- How often do you consume Maggi?

Daily

Weekly

Monthly

Rarely


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Q.4:- From which source do you get the information about the brand Maggi?

Televisions

Magazines

Newspapers

Billboards

Q.5:- Why do you prefer Maggi over other brands?

Price

Availability

Offers

Taste

Q.6:- Preferred time for eating Noodles?

Breakfast

Lunch

Snacks

Dinner

Q.7:- What do you think about the Pricing of Maggi noodles?

Under Priced

Perfectly Priced

Over Priced


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Q.8:- What flavor do you prefer in Maggi noodles?

Masala

Tomato

Vegetable Atta noodles

Rice noodles

Q.9:- How will you rate Maggi Noodles?

Excellent

Good

Average

Bad

Q.10:- Any suggestions for improving Maggi Noodles….


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