60,000 Maggi kits sold out in 5 mins on Snapdeal

It took just 5 minutes for 60,000 welcome kits of Maggi to be sold out on Snapdeal as consumers thronged the e-commerce platform to lap up their 2-minute instant noodles.

Earlier this week, Snapdeal had announced that it will sell Nestle's Maggi via a unique "flash sale model" as the noodles brand made a comeback after a gap of five months.

Read more from our special coverage on "NESTLE MAGGI CONTROVERSY"

• Maggi returns to shop shelves
• Nestle relaunches Maggi; partners Snapdeal for online sales
• Nestle relaunches Maggi noodles; begins market rollout
• Rival brands up the ante as Maggi relaunch nears
• Nestle resumes Maggi production in 3 states

Maggi was banned after it was allegedly found to have lead content beyond permissible limits.

While registrations for Maggi's welcome kit (containing 12 packs of Maggi, a 2016 Maggi calendar, a Maggi fridge magnet, Maggi post cards and a 'Welcome Back' letter) opened up on November 9, the sale began today on Snapdeal.

"Snapdeal sold out the first batch of 60,000 Maggi Welcome Kits within 5 minutes of Maggi Flash Sale going live today. There has been much anticipation for the return of one of the favourite Indian brands and we have witnessed a phenomenal response to this sale from customers across the country," Snapdeal Senior Vice President (Partnerships and Strategic initiatives) Tony Navin said.

Flash sales or deal-of-the-day is an e-commerce business model in which a website offers a single product for sale for a limited period of time. Potential customers have to register to avail the deal.

A new batch of Maggi Welcome Kits will be on sale from November 16.

Maggi has been relaunched in 100 towns through 300-odd distributors and is being rolled out in a staggered manner across the country, except in eight states where it is still not allowed.

The popular brand of noodles had passed tests by three government-accredited laboratories, as ordered by the Bombay High Court which in August had lifted ban on the instant noodles that was imposed by food safety regulators.

Maggi was banned in June by Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) which stated that it was "unsafe and hazardous" for consumption due to presence of lead beyond permissible limits. The company had withdrawn the noodles brand from the market.