Nestle India will use consumer engagement and digital marketing platforms to re-establish trust in Maggi. The product will be back on store shelves by the end of the year. Maggi, Nestle India’s flagship brand, had faced a countrywide ban over alleged excessive lead content.
Speaking to reporters, Nestle India managing director Suresh Narayanan said that manufacturing will begin after a round of preliminary testing. The samples will then be tested again, and will be made available to consumers once they are cleared by regulators.
The entire consumer engagement landscape is changing. Going forward, we are setting up robust and far-reaching consumer engagement platforms and compelling digital marketing platforms. It’s a question of re-establishing the primacy of trust in the brand.
— Suresh Narayanan, Managing Director, Nestle India
Narayanan added that the company is looking at setting up 24x7 toll-free consumer services. He said that Nestle India must be equipped to compete in a digitally connected age.
In a major relief to the company, the Bombay High Court had, on August 13, quashed the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) order banning Maggi for six weeks.
The HC asked Nestle to send fresh samples for testing at accredited labs and if the tests were cleared, the noodles could return to India’s shelves.
When asked about reintroducing other variants of Maggi, Narayanan said:
We will first bring back our big-hitters, which is what consumers want. Other opportunities will be considered as time passes, and we get greater clarity on product approvals.
— Suresh Narayanan, Managing Director, Nestle India
He also said that nearly 7,200 employees of Nestle India have been engaged in alternate programmes and training. Narayanan clarified that not one of them has lost their jobs as a result of the ban.
Over 15,000 spice farmers, four lakh wheat farmers, 38 distribution centres, hundreds of distributors, suppliers, vendors, retailers and hawkers have been impacted by the ban on Maggi.
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