Maggi Going with the taste & Preferences Project ReportSUBMITTED TOWARDS PARTIAL FULFILLMENTof Post-Graduation Diploma in Management Academic Session[2014-2016]Submitted To Submitted ByProf. Vijendra Dhyani Sudip Ranjan Das(BM-014265) Surabhi Parmar(BM-014270) Syed Asad Hussain(BM-014275) Tausif Chaudhary(BM-014280) Vanshika Awasthi(BM-014285)

Institute Of Management Studies,Ghaziabad

DECLARATION

We, declare that the research project report entitled "Maggie GOING WITH THE TASTE & PREFERENCE" submitted to IMS COLLEGE GHAZIABAD for the partial fulfillment of the requirement for the award of PGDM (Academic Session: 2014-16) is our endeavors and it has not been submitted earlier to any institution/university for any degree.

Place:_____________Date:_____________

Acknowledgement

First of all, we express our deepest sense of gratitude to our loving parents for their loving care, blessing, faithfulness and thus enabling into me to accomplish this venture.We express our heartfelt gratitude to Prof. Vijendra Dhyani (Professor, Marketing Management) under his guidance, supervision and constant encouragement through the dissertation report. Apart from this, we shall pay our gratitude to all my friends for extending their helping hands in completion of research project report.

PREFACEPost-graduation diploma in management (PGDM) program is one of the most reputed professional courses in the field of management. This course includes both theory and its applications as per contents of its curriculum. Research report is an integral part of management program at the INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES, GHAZIABAD.It give exposure to our practical knowledge and also to get interact with the various aspects of present market conditions. Each student is required to undergo practical experience.The research project programmers are designed to give the managers the future of the corporate happenings and work culture. The real life situation is really different from the stimulated exercise enacted in an artificial environment inside. The Research project programmers are designed, so that the managers or tomorrow do not feel when the time comes to take responsibilitiesThe report presented here is a result of our hard work. This project helps us to understand the 4Ps ,SWOT Analysis of Maggi.

CONTENT

Introduction Introduction to Nestle company Introduction to Maggi MARKET SEGMENTATION, TARGETING AND POSITIONING OF MAGGI Marketing mix of Maggi Strategies adopted by Nestle Maggi SWOT analysis of Maggi Questionnaires on Maggi Graphical Representation of Questionnaires Conclusion Reference

INTRODUCTIONFMCG industry, alternatively called as CPG (Consumer packaged goods) industry primarily deals with the production, distribution and marketing of consumer packaged goods. The Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) are those consumables which are normally consumed by the consumers at a regular interval. Some of the prime activities of FMCG industry are selling, marketing, financing, purchasing, etc. The industry also engaged in operations, supply chain, production and general management.Examples include non-durable goods such aspersonal care, household care and food & beveragesand many other consumables.Though the profit margin made on FMCG products is relatively small, they are generally sold in large quantities.The Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) industry in India is one of the largest sectors in the country and over the years has been growing at a very steady pace. The Indian FMCG industry is largely classified as organized and unorganized. This sector is also buoyed by intense competition. Besides competition, this industry is also marked by a strong distribution network coupled with increasing influx of MNCs across the entire value chain. This sector continues to remain highly fragmented.

INTRODUCTION OF NESTLE COMPANYNestl is the world's leading nutrition, health and Wellness Company. Their missionof "Good Food, Good Life"is to provide consumers with the best tasting, most nutritious choices in a wide range of food and beverage categories and eating occasions, from morning to night.The Nestl Corporate Business Principles are at the basis of their companys culture, developed over 140 years, which reflects the ideas of fairness,honesty and long-term thinking. Nestl can trace its origins back to 1866, when the first European condensed milk factory was opened in Cham, Switzerland, by the Anglo-Swiss Condensed Milk Company. One year later, Henri Nestl, a trained pharmacist, launched one of the worlds first prepared infant cereals Faring lacte in Vevey, Switzerland. "Good Food, Good Life" is thepromise they commit to everyday, everywhere to enhance lives, throughout life, with good food and beverages.

Business of the NestleNestle is the largest food company in the world. It is present in all five continents, has an annual turnover of 74.7 billion Swiss Frances. There are 509 factories are running in 83 countries, having 231,000 employsCompany Mission At Nestle, they believe that research can help them to make better food, so that people live a better life. Good food is the primary source of good health, so they are trying to make good food. To provide fresh and pure products to the customers, they introduced (SHE) Safety, Health and environment policy to protect health of their employs and keep clean theirsurrounding environment.Company Vision Vision of Nestle Milkpak Company is to expand business according to the increasing demand of market.As per their company vision in 2020 production capacity of all plants working in Pakistan is being increased. So extension of Kabirwala Plant is the example of their company vision.

Other Product of Nestle

INTRODUCTION TO MAGGIEver since its launch in India in 1983, this brand has become synonymous with noodles. The bright red and yellow colours of the packet with the brilliant blue 2-minute Noodles printed on it has found a place on every kitchen. Over the years, Maggi has grown as a brand and positioned itself as a Fast to cook! Good to Eat! Food product.The history of this brand traces back to the 19th century when industrial revolution in Switzerland created factory jobs for women, who were therefore left with very little time to prepare meals. Due to this growing problem Swiss Public Welfare Society asked a miller named Julius Maggi to create a vegetable food product that would be quick to prepare and easy to digest. Julius, the son of an Italian immigrant came up with a formula to bring added taste to meals in 1863. Soon after he was commissioned by the Swiss Public Welfare Society, he came up with two instant pea soups & a bean soup- the first launch of Maggi brand of instant foods in 1882-83.Towards the end of the century, Maggi company was producing not just powdered soups, but bouillon cubes, sauces and other flavourings.However in India (the largest consumer of Maggi noodles in the world!) it was launched in 1980 by Nestle group of companies. Maggie had merged with Nestle family in 1947. When launched it other competitor the so called home made snacks which are till today considered healthy and hygienic. Hence to capture the market it was positioned as a hygienic homemade snack, a smart move. But still this didnt work, as it was targeted towards the wrong target group, the working women. After conducting an extensive research, the firm found that the children were the biggest consumers of Maggi noodles. Quickly a strategy was developed to capture the kids segment with various tools of sales promotion like pencils, fun books, Maggi clubs which worked wonders for it. No doubt the ads of Maggi have shown a hungry kid saying Mummy bhookh lagi hai to which his mom replies Bas do minute! and soon he is happily eating Maggie noodles.Further the MAGGI 2-MINUTE Noodles has been renovated to provide 20% of the RDA1 of Calcium and Protein for the core target group building on the nutrition proposition Taste bhi health bhi. The company could have easily positioned the product as a meal, but did not, as a study had shown that Indian mentality did not accept anything other than rice or roti as meal. They made it a easy to cook snack that could be prepared in just two minutes. The formula clicked well and Maggi became a brand name.

MARKET SEGMENTATION, TARGETING AND POSITIONING OF MAGGI

Segmentation is the process of grouping people or organizations within a market according to similar needs, characteristics, or behaviours. Targeting is the actual selection of the segment you want to serve the target market is the group of people or organizations whose needs a product is specifically designed to satisfy Positioning is the use of marketing to enable people to form a mental image of your product in their minds (relative to other products)

Target segment of Maggi noodles

Maggi 2 Minute Instant Noodles is already associated with convenience and taste and is currently accepted as a valid filling snack between meals. Maggi will continue to leverage its brand equity and target the following segments for this product. Children and Teenagers: This is a large segment and is Maggis stronghold. The age group between 4 and 14 years has largely similar tastes and is traditionally targeted by Maggi. These segments perceive Maggi instant noodles as a welcome change in taste from the regular Indian fare and they are fascinated by the curly shaped noodles. For these segments innovative products also have novelty value, however, certain dominant preferences emerge. Realizing this early, Maggi shifted focus from the lady of the house to the end consumer i.e. children themselves ending up as the market leader of the instant noodles segment. Early buy in of this segment will help Maggi to sell in other segments in future.

Studying Age: The studying age segment though not traditionally targeted specifically has been devouring Maggi 2 minute noodles. The proposition of convenience of cooking as well as that of a tasty filling snack attracts this segment which due to erratic schedules keeps missing their regular meals.

Office Goers and working women: The Company also targeted this segment people because they were the one who needs refreshment time to time because of hectic schedule and with would take their minimal time. So by keeping this aspect into consideration, the company introduce the Cuppa mania, which is a type of noodle which takes less time to cook and satisfy the hunger as well.

Health Conscious People: The Company is also focusing on the heath aspect. They introduce Veg atta noodle for health conscious people. So they also launch Health Awareness campaign to educate consumers about the benefits of health food. They also sponsor health camps, publish health information and build awareness among the masses.

Positioning of Maggi

Maggi 2 Minute Noodles will continue with its current positioning of convenience and as a fast to cook, good to eat snack as this seems to be working well.

To prevent Top Ramen, the main competitor, from eating into its market share some product innovation is required as otherwise Maggi may get stereotyped as an unexciting product. Top Ramen is following a cost differentiation technique.

To deal with this Maggi has to position itself as a differentiated product. The market is very sensitive to taste and rejects any flavour it dislikes with Maggi having learnt it the hard way, thus the product cannot be greatly differentiated with on basis of taste.

On the other hand Maggi has to deal with the negative perception of Maggi has of being unhealthy in an increasingly health conscious market, a major threat in the current scenario.

Both these problems can be tackled by positioning Maggi as a snack with nutritional value. The recent launch of Veg Atta Noodles and Dal Atta Noodles with the promise of good nutritional value ventures in this area.

MARKETING MIX of MAGGI

PRODUCTS OF MAGGI: NOODLES: MAGGI 2 MINUTE NOODLES:MAGGI 2-Minute Noodles is one of the largest and most loved food brands that defines Instant Noodles in India. Continuing to spread joy as it has done for the last 25 years, your favorite MAGGI Noodles is as tasty as ever and even provides essential nutrients for all stage of your life. With the goodness of Protein and Calcium, MAGGI Noodles is available in 4 delectable flavors Masala, Chicken, Tomato and Curry. MAGGI VEGETABLE ATTA NOODLES: MAGGI CUPPA MANIA Maggi Oats Noodle(New). SOUPS: Rich Tomato Mixed Vegetable Cream of Mushroom Hot & Sour Vegetable Sweet Corn Vegetable Creamy Spinach AGGI HEALTHY SOUPS

SAUCES: MAGGI SAUCES:The quintessential Rich Tomato Ketchup and Rich Tomato Sauce (No Onion No Garlic)The unique Hot & Sweet Tomato Chilli SauceThe tangy and chatkaaredar Imli Pichkoo

PASTA: MAGGI PAZZTA:To further delight the consumer, MAGGI now launches another range of products for tasty and healthy eating NUTRI-LICIOUS PAZZTA. This quick cooking pasta can be conveniently prepared in just 5 minutes, at

any time of the day that you want a tasty and healthy light meal. MAGGI NUTRI-LICIOUS PAZZTA is made from 100% Suji, and is a source of Protein and Fibre. It has being launched in two delicious flavours Masala Penne and Cheese Macaroni. COOKING AIDS: MAGGI MAGIC CUBES. MAGGI BHUNA MASALA. MAGGI COCONUT MILK PRODUCT MAGGI PIZZA MAZZA. MAGGI MASALA AE MAGGI:

PRICE OF MAGGI Considering the price points in the market for Maggi, it should continue to position itself in the snack category itself, since few would be willing to accept it as a meal. The company is taking no chances and is extending its distribution reach to smaller towns and cities. Maggi happens to be Nestlsmost widely distributed brand in the country. Through independent channels, it reaches those villages where the company has no presence, according to Hegde. This is also the time that Maggis value-for-money pack priced at Rs 5 is expected to come handy. (The regular pack comes for Rs 10.) Affordable by all income groups.

PLACE( DISTRIBUTION) The distribution network is well spread. Easily available in all retail stores. Distribution channel PRODUCER - DISTRIBUTOR - RETAILER CONSUMER

EXAMPLE OF MAGGI PLACE ( DISTRIBUTION)

PROMOTION OF MAGGI They promote their product very effectively through television. They have applied the strategy of brand extension. They also sponsor various cookery shows to promote alternate usage of products. They also use strategy of free product samples to promote it. Celebrity endorsements. Eg. Javed Jafferi, Madhuri Dixit. Less promoted as compared to maggi. No particular celebrity endorsement.Maggi has faced lot of hurdles in its journey in India. The basic problem the brand faced is the Indian Psyche. Indian Palate is not too adventurous in terms of trying new tastes. That may be the reason why we are still stuck with Dal. So a new product with a new taste that too from a different culture will have difficulty in appealing to Indian market. Initially Nestle tried to position the Noodles in the platform of convenience targeting the working women. But it found that the sales are not picking up despite heavy promotion .Research then showed that Kids were the largest consumers of the brand. Realizing this, Nestle repositioned the brand towards the kids using sales promotions and smart advertising. Now Indians are the largest eaters of Maggi Noodles in the world. Maggi Noodles is a marketing success story.During 1997 Maggi changed its formulation. It was during that time that Indo Nissin - a Japanese company launched its Noodles brand "Top Ramen" with lot of promotion and with SRK endorsing the brand. Top Ramen gave Maggi a run for its money. The change in taste of Maggi was a mistake. The consumers rejected the new taste of Maggi. And in 1999 Maggi relaunched Noodles with the original taste. Nestle was ready to accept the consumers verdict and it paid off handsomely. Top Ramen could not sustain the growth it had for long.

Maggi's campaigns were revolved around its "convenience to make and good to eat " qualities. Ready in " 2 minutes " was a proposition that was well received by the market. In 2005 Nestle made a very smart move. It knew that although kids love noodles, the parents were bothered about the health aspect of Noodles which was made of Maida. Hence Maggi launched Maggi Atta Noodles with the baseline " taste bhi health bhi" .Reports suggest that after 10 months of the launch , the product has been well received by Indian consumers. Maggi noodles is an example of a brand that knows the customer and willing to learn from the mistakes.

STRATEGIES ADOPTED BY NESTLE MAGGI Strong Customer Relations: The campaign designed by Nestl for Maggis silver jubilee hopes to work on the brands strong consumer connect through television, the Internet and print. The jingle gets a prominent play in the television campaign. Nestl, Indias largest food products company, has decided not to litter the sky with hoardings on the occasion. Instead, the ads will play on nostalgia. Consumers who first sampled the brand as kids now run households. The campaign seeks to strengthen the association.Thus, customers will be invited to share their Maggi moments with thecompany. If the company likes the way you prepare Maggi, you could findyour photo on Maggi packs. A new website called www.meandmerimaggi.com is also in the works.

Good Packaging and Strong Dealer Vendor Relations: Convenience was the unique selling proposition of Maggi when it was launched 25 years ago. For the first time, consumers got something that was hygienically packed and convenient to prepare. It was also the first fusion experiment on food in India.

Continuous process innovation: Instant noodles was an entirely new category in the country, but it was given an Indian twist. Maggi came in four variants:Masala, chicken, sweet & sour and capsicum. Of these, only two have survived masala and chicken which sells largely in the eastern states.Masala continues to be the flagship flavour. In the days that followed, it experimented with more variants, like a garlic- and onion-free one for Gujarat.Some of these still exist, others were discontinued.

The turning point came in 2005, when Nestl came out with Maggi atta(whole-wheat flour) instant noodles. All over the country, atta is considered healthier than maida or refined flour which the company was using from day one. This helped the company take the health platform, though Nestl General Manager (food business) Shivani Hegde insists that the product never ran the danger of being classified junk food. It was then that it added the tagline, health bhi, taste bhi (health as well as taste).

Repositioning as a healthier snack: It is no longer an aspirational product for any socio-economic category of consumers, says Hegde. That was also the time when Nestl was repositioning itself worldwide as a health and wellness company. At the grassroots level, Maggi startedassociating with quiz contests and other such events connected to mental and physical wellbeing. This positioning gave Nestl the platform to launch more products under the Maggi brand. It already had Maggi soups, sauces and coconut milk in the market, but given the strong equity of the brand, Nestl could now extend it to newer categories. Thus, it recently came out with fried masala paste. In 2008, two brand extensions Maggi Bhuna Masala and Maggi Cuppa Mania Instant Noodles .

Price Incentives: The company is taking no chances and is extending its distribution reach to smaller towns and cities. Maggi happens to be Nestls most widely distributed brand in the country. Through independent channels, it reaches those villages where the company has no presence, according to Hegde. This is also the time that Maggis value-for-money pack priced at Rs 5 is expected to come handy. (The regular pack comes for Rs 10.)

Capturing New Customer Base : Maggi realised that one of the reasons for a low market share in Gujarat was that most of gujaratis do not eat garlic and Onions so for Gujarat Maggi has come up with a special product which is devoid of onions and garlic and marketed it as Jain Maggi. This helped them gain a completely unconquered market of Jain Noodle eaters.

Maggi turns 25; Nestle comes up with new campaign: Nestle India is out with a new marketing drive to mark the 25th anniversary this year of its instant Noodles brand, Maggi Called Me & Meri Maggi, the campaign is celebrating the consumers bond with Maggi. The company is doing360 degree activation across television, print and the internet, beside on-ground activities. Nestle has also launched an interactive website for the consumers, www.meandmeri.in.

The packaging has been tweaked to accommodate the pictures of consumers whose entries the Company chooses. If a consumer has a story to tell about Maggi will put him or her on the Packaging, TV or print.

SWOT Analysis for Maggi

STRENGTHS--Market leader in the noodles category. Anytime anyone prefers Maggi as noodles. --It has a huge brand loyalty.--It has developed the huge distribution channel network over thousands of distributors, retailers etc. Hence Maggi is available in every shop right from the supermarket till food malls.--Innovative products for Indian taste buds such as Maggi, Maggi masala, chicken maggi, tomato flavor which helped them grabbing more market as customer needs variety and they loved those flavors aswell.--The advertising strategy for Maggi was a super hit as their tagline itself was very effective andgrabbed the consumers mind.

WEAKNESS--Generic Brand to Noodles in India--Low rural market presence constraints--Uniform Brand for all food category--Brand Proliferation

OPPORTUNITIES:

--The greatest opportunity for the product Maggi is their--Unexploited rural markets as so far they have mainly targeted cities and developed areas.--Number of youths working nowadays are increasing rapidly, so they can open new branches and employ these people and increase production and their by sales and profits by targeting rural markets.--Increased affinity of Indians towards chinese cuisine creates new opportunity for Maggi to improve its taste further and capture large market share.

THREAT:

--Presence of regional competitors e.g Top Raman, Chings noodles.--Price war strategies adopted by other brands like Top Raman.--Competitors with long history in product category Internationally like, Heinz Sauce and ketchups of Heinz Indian, Top Ramen inNoodle and--Knorr Soups.--Single product focused competitors like Heinz sauce and Wai Wai Noodles.--Less Entry Barriers in the Market segment for product category--ITCs strong base in Indian Market.--Substitute Product to Product Segment.

Conclusion

Maggi though has been able to differentiate itself from other Noodles, Maggi Being taken as generic to Noodles is hampering other extended product category. Competitors have high grounds to capture the market differentiating then from being Maggi. It makes others possible product category vulnerable if lunched under Maggi. So to avoid proliferation of brand and introduce new products to capture opportunities in other snacks and ready to eat product category NIL has to introduce new branding strategy. By doing so, NIL could avoid the draw backs associated with the Maggi brand. It could position new brand in competition with other competitors brand where there is no fit of product with the Maggi brand.

Reference

http://www.nestle.in/brands/pdca/Pages/MAGGICUPPAMANIA.aspx

http://virtualaccuracy.com/2007/10/definition-of-marketing-mix-product-price-place-promotion/

http://www.managementstudyguide.com/marketing-mix.htm

http://www.maggi.in/maggi_multigrainz_noodles.aspx

http://www.maggi.in/two_minutes_maggi_noodles.aspx

http://www.maggi.in/vegetables_atta_noodles.aspx

http://www.maggi.in/cuppamania.aspx

www.maggi.in/maggi_multigrainz_noodles.aspx

http://www.maggi.in/range.aspx

http://www.nestleprofessional.com/unitedstates/en/BrandsAndProducts/Pages/default.aspx

http://www.maggi.in/maggi_multigrainz_noodles.aspx

http://www.maggi.in/two_minutes_maggi_noodles.aspx

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fast-moving_consumer_goods