Nestle resumes production of Maggi across the country

Nestle had started production in four units in a phased manner starting October 26

Nearly six months after it had to shut down Maggi manufacturing units across the country, Nestlé India on Monday resumed production of the instant noodles at the last of its five plants at Tahliwal, Himachal Pradesh. Being one of the two major production units of Maggi noodles, resumption of production in the plant is expected to raise the supply of the product.

“We have resumed manufacturing of Maggi Noodles at its Tahliwal (Himachal Pradesh) Factory. With this, the company has resumed manufacture of Maggi Noodles at all five noodle manufacturing facilities,” the company informed the BSE on Monday. Nestlé had resumed production of Maggi in its plants at Nanjangud (Karnataka), Bicholim (Goa), Moga (Punjab) and Pantnagar (Uttarakhand) in a phased manner from October 26.

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While the addition of the Talhiwal plant is a step forward for Nestlé towards normalising production volume, experts say the production volume will take a few months to reach the pre-ban level; currently, only one out of nine variants of the product is being manufactured. The Oats Masala noodle variant of Maggi lacks approval from the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). Other variants are yet to be re-launched. Nestlé India used to produce around 20,000 tonnes of the instant noodle before the controversy started in May this year.

On Monday, the food major also kicked off a promotional campaign ‘Welcome Back Maggi’ through social media platforms such as Twitter, digital platforms including YouTube, and the print medium. It has released five teaser ads, directed by film director Shoojit Sirkar, for digital, electronic media, highlighting reported consumer delight over the product’s re-entry in to the Indian market from November 9.

“The seed of doubt that has been planted in the minds of consumers in India has to be eradicated and we will be utilising traditional, digital and social media to connect with them,” Suresh Narayanan, chairman and managing director, Nestlé India, had told Business Standard earlier. The focus of these campaigns will be on “trust building and reassuring consumers” about the safety of Nestlé products. “There will be a significant increase in promotional and advertisement spend (in the coming quarters),” he said. The company is conducting its point of sales activation drives to make consumers aware and build the required connection that a brand needs after being absent from the market for some time.

Nestle India’s stock ended 1.53 percent lower at Rs 5,872.65 a share on the BSE on Monday. The BSE Sensex closed 0.07 per cent or 17.47 points, higher at 26,145.67.