Maggi up for grabs through Snapdeal 'flash sale'

After mobile phones, now Nestle's Maggi is being sold via unique "flash sale model" on e-commerce platform Snapdeal, with the online retailer seeking pre-registrations of buyers for the instant noodles brand that made a comeback today after a gap of five months.

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

Flash sales or deal-of-the-day is an ecommerce 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.

Snapdeal will open up registrations today evening and the sale will begin from November 12, it said in an emailed response.

The eCommerce company, however, did not disclose the quantity of packets that will go on sale and said "limited stock will be available".

Maggi is now back on retail shelves in select markets from today, five months after it was banned for allegedly containing lead beyond the permissible limit.

Nestle India, which sells the Maggi brand, is rolling out the product in a staggered manner across the country, except in eight states where it is still not allowed.

Maggi has been relaunched in 100 towns through 300-odd distributors and will be rolled out in many more areas in the coming days, Nestle India Chairman and Managing Director Suresh Narayanan said.

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.

It paved way for Nestle India to bring back Maggi in the market after it 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 withdrew the noodles brand from the market.