Volume 4, Number 3, July – September’ 2015

ISSN (Print):2279-0934, (Online):2279-0942

PEZZOTTAITE JOURNALS SJIF (2012): 3.735, SJIF (2013): 5.020, SJIF (2014): 5.996

International Journal of Retailing & Rural Business Perspectives © Pezzottaite Journals. 1811 |P a g e

IMPACT OF MAGGI NOODLES ON THE YOUTH

Nitin J. Maniyal36 Dr. M. M. Munshi37

ABSTRACT

The youth of the 21st century are inclined towards the junk food, the food that is tasty and easy to make although knowing its

ill effects and its impact on health. After Maggi Noodles was banned across the country and Nestle India Ltd withdrew stocks,

it gave us an opportunity to study what is the impact of Maggi Noodles on the youth, and study various different factors

connected to it through a survey. This Survey studies the consumption frequency, its consumption after the ban and will it

affect the sales once Maggi Noodles is Re-launched.

KEYWORDS

Junk Food, Health Safety, Maggi Survey etc.

INTRODUCTION

The hot topic for the today‘s generation, how do we lead our life without Maggi Noodles, the most vital part of food? Several

Questions in the minds of the people and the company regarding the product, will people accept it again or not? Will people trust

it or not and so on. Maggi Noodles comes in various different flavors and the today‘s youth enjoys consuming it. There are

various restaurants set up in India serving Maggi as the only dish, with different toppings and additives, in case of a ban all such

enterprises may also shut or they will have to initiate using substitutes. This survey has been conducted with the objective of

understanding liking towards the product in understanding its value proposition. This survey answers all the questions, which

were unanswered.

LITERATURE REVIEW

Nestle retains its market leadership position with 59.84% of retail sales in India, but will it retain the same position after the ban is

withdrawn or it may be shared among other substitutes as well.

More than allegedly selling Maggi with excessive lead content or mislabeling packs, perhaps Nestle India's biggest transgression

in the run-up to the noodles hitting the fan in early June may well have been the inadequate communication with government and

regulators. It states that samples were taken for testing from the plant at Goa, which is an export unit that exports goods to UK,

Kenya and other countries. Other countries have given a green chit in the favor of Nestle. Hence other samples were drawn from

other units and tested in private and public laboratories for testing the presence of lead content which is harmful for the health.

RESEARCH PROBLEM

Trends present in the sale of Maggi Noodles

OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

To study the consumption frequency before the ban.

To study the consumption after the ban.

To study the consumption frequency after the Re-Launch.

To know the impact of Maggi Noodles on the youth.

METHODOLOGY

Primary data has been used thorough a close-ended questionnaire.

Sample Size: We totally questioned 200 people randomly and found 5 questionnaires to be defective, so the total samples taken

into consideration are 195 respondents.

36 Research Scholar, Department of Business Administration, Visvesvaraya Technological University, Karnataka, India,

nitin.maniyal@gmail.com 37 Associate Professor, Department of Business Administration, Visvesvaraya Technological University, Karnataka, India,

mmmunshi@rediffmail.com

Volume 4, Number 3, July – September’ 2015

ISSN (Print):2279-0934, (Online):2279-0942

PEZZOTTAITE JOURNALS SJIF (2012): 3.735, SJIF (2013): 5.020, SJIF (2014): 5.996

International Journal of Retailing & Rural Business Perspectives © Pezzottaite Journals. 1812 |P a g e

DISCUSSION

To study the inclination towards the product a series of questions were asked in order to understand the youth and following are

the questions with its results.

Question No 1: What was your consumption frequency before Maggi Noodles was banned?

Table-1

Frequency Zero

Times a

week

Once a

week

Twice a

week

Thrice

a week

Four

times a

week

Five

times a

week

Six

times a

week

Seven

Times a

week

Eight

times a

week

Ten

Times a

week Total

What was your consumption

frequency before Maggi Noodles

was banned? 43 55 44 20 14 10 2 4 1 2 195

Percentage 22% 28% 23% 10% 7% 5% 1% 2% 1% 1% 100%

Sources: Authors Compilation

28% of the sample consumed Maggi Noodles at least once a week, 23% of sample consumed twice a week, 10% of sample

consumed thrice a week, the remaining were less than 10% who consumed it more than thrice a week. 22% of the sample was

found to consume less than a week, when questioned some of them denied the consumption totally and the remaining said to have

less frequently may be once or twice a month.

This state‘s more than two third of the youth population were addicted to Maggi Noodles.

Question No 2: Did you consume Maggi Noodles after it was banned?

Table-2

Answers Yes No Total

Did you consume Maggi Noodles after it was banned? 41 154 195

Percentage 21% 79% 100%

Sources: Authors Compilation

21% of the sample consumed Maggi Noodles even after it was banned this shows the level of addiction towards it, while the

remaining 79% did not consume as a few respondents said it was not available in the market and so on and the left wanted to

finish the stocks.

Question No 3: Do you now trust Nestle as a Brand?

Table-3

Answers Yes No Total

Do you now trust Nestle as a Brand? 120 75 195

Percentage 62% 38% 100%

Sources: Authors Compilation

After the increased levels of lead content found, 38% of the sample have lost trust on Nestle as it has cheated the public, where as

62% of respondents continue their faith in Nestle. Hence, it would be difficult for Nestle to build up its brand and trust amongst

the public to keep its sales intact.

Question No 4: Do you believe is a healthy food?

Table-4

Answers Yes No Total

Do you believe Maggi is a healthy Food? 41 154 195

Percentage 21% 79% 100%

Sources: Authors Compilation

21% of the sample believes Maggi to be healthy food, 79% of sample knows Maggi is not a healthy food but still consumes it.

Volume 4, Number 3, July – September’ 2015

ISSN (Print):2279-0934, (Online):2279-0942

PEZZOTTAITE JOURNALS SJIF (2012): 3.735, SJIF (2013): 5.020, SJIF (2014): 5.996

International Journal of Retailing & Rural Business Perspectives © Pezzottaite Journals. 1813 |P a g e

Question No 5: Would you prefer Maggi Noodles for the children?

Table-5

Answers Yes No Total

Would you prefer Maggi Noodles for the children? 43 152 195

Percentage 22% 78% 100%

Sources: Authors Compilation

Only 22% of the youth agreed that Maggi Noodles should be preferred for the children whereas 78% of the youth denied

preferring it for the children. Looking into the future Nestle can face the trouble to manage its sales as the youth today is the future

tomorrow.

Question No 6: How much will you rate Maggi Noodles on taste?

Table-6

Answers Very Delicious Delicious Tasty Not so Tasty Sour Total

How much will you rate Maggi on Taste? 43 40 74 32 6 195

Percentage 22% 21% 38% 16% 3% 100%

Sources: Authors Compilation

Of the survey conducted 22% of the youth rated Maggi Noodles as very delicious, 21% rated as Delicious, 38% rated as tasty,

16% rated as not so tasty and 6% rated as sour. From the above we can state 81% of the youth like to consume Maggi Noodles as

they find it good in terms of taste whereas 19% of the youth do not favour it in terms of taste.

Question No 7: How much will you rate Maggi Noodles on Health Safety?

Table-7

Answers Very

Safe Safe

Does not

affect much

Affects

Little

Very

Unsafe Total

How much will you rate Maggi Noodles on Health Safety? 6 22 39 65 63 195

Percentage 3% 11% 20% 33% 32% 100%

Sources: Authors Compilation

Only 3% of the youth said Maggi Noodles was very safe for consumption, 11% said it was safe, 20% said it does not affect much,

33% said it affects little and 32% declared as it was very unsafe. Of the above results we can state one third of the population are

in favour for Maggi Noodles and they will keep consuming whereas two third of the population are now aware it is unsafe to

consume.

Question No 8: Would you prefer Maggi Noodles if it is re-launched with approval of FSSAI?

Table-8

Answers Yes No Total

Would you prefer Maggi Noodles if it is Re-launched with approval of FSSAI? 86 109 195

Percentage 44% 56% 100%

Sources: Authors Compilation

44% of the youth said they would consume Maggi Noodles after the re-launch, whereas 56% of the youth denied consuming after

the re-launch.

Question No 9: What will be your consumption frequency if Maggi Noodles is Re- Launched?

Table-9

Results Increase Decrease Remain the same Total

What will be your consumption frequency

if Maggi Noodles is Re- Launched? 33 90 72 195

Percentage 17% 46% 37% 100%

Sources: Authors Compilation

Volume 4, Number 3, July – September’ 2015

ISSN (Print):2279-0934, (Online):2279-0942

PEZZOTTAITE JOURNALS SJIF (2012): 3.735, SJIF (2013): 5.020, SJIF (2014): 5.996

International Journal of Retailing & Rural Business Perspectives © Pezzottaite Journals. 1814 |P a g e

17% of the youth said it consumption frequency would further increase, 46% said its consumption frequency will decrease and the

remaining 37% stated that it will remain the same. This state‘s more than 50% of the youth still favor Maggi after the Re-Launch.

FINDINGS

21% of the youth consumed Maggi Noodles after the government banned it,

38% of the youth have lost trust in Nestle,

79% of the youth are now aware Maggi Noodles is not an health food,

78% of the youth do not prefer Maggi Noodles for the children,

In terms of taste, 81% of the youth prefer it,

Two Third of the sample is still rate Maggi Noodles as unsafe,

44% of the youth accepted consuming Maggi Noodles after its re-launch,

More than 50% of the youth will favour Maggi Noodles after it is Re-Launched.

SUGGESTIONS

Re-Launch the Maggi Noodles with approval from FSSAI and get it approved from International Agencies before

sending the stocks to the market,

Create an urge in the youth through advertisements,

Increase in the Marketing Campaigns will pick up the sales,

Re-Start the sales with Re-Launch Offers,

Conduct Group Discussions in the top institutes of Management in India to create awareness.

CONCLUSION

Nestle will have to work hard to build up the faith among the people, it may take a long time might be several years to up-bring its

brand again. Most of the youth have now starting consuming the competitor‘s products like Yippie Noodles and others. If they get

addicted to those brands, then the Brand Loyalty towards Maggi may be lost. More than 50% of the youth will consume Maggi

Noodles after it has been Re-Launched with approval from FSSAI as the addiction continues because of greater impact on the

youth.

The Bombay High Court has given the verdict in favour of Nestle and withdrawn the ban after the testing has been conducted

various different laboratories. Almost two third of the population are inclined towards junk food although knowing its ill effects

on health. This helps us to conclude there can be more Business Houses selling junk food and giving increased scope for Health

Care Services there by promoting our GDP levels.

REFERENCES

1. Retrieved from https://www.nestle.in/aboutus/ask-nestle/answers/maggi-noodles-india-msg-lead-ban-recall

2. Retrieved from

http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/maggi-noodles-in-soup-everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-

controversy/article1-1354268.aspx

3. Retrieved from

http://www.ukessays.com/essays/marketing/maggi-noodles-is-manufactured-by-nestle-marketing-

essay.php#ixzz3jExPpVhB

4. Retrieved from

http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/maggi-noodles-in-soup-everything-you-need-to-know-about-the...

5. Retrieved from https://twitter.com/ngosindia

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