With support from e-commerce, Nestlé eyes double digit growth

In the aftermath of the Maggi crisis, Nestle India is aggressively trying to increase the consumption of its flagship instant noodles brand eyeing double digit growth, a top company executive said. It is also sharpening focus on digital media and pushing other products so that all categories contribute almost equally to the company's overall revenue.

"Results for the last two quarters of 2015 have been impacted by the Maggi Noodles issue. However, we are committed towards double digit (growth) that is triggered by actual volume consumption increase," Suresh Narayanan, chairman and managing director, Nestle India told PTI.

The Swiss major had taken a hit of Rs 450 crore including destroying over 30,000 tonnes of the instant noodles since June when it was banned because of alleged excessive lead content. Maggi, which was relaunched in November after a 5-month ban, is currently available in over 700 towns and sold by 3 lakh small and large shopkeepers, the company said.

"We are investing significantly in the re-launch, and we will be ensuring that the consumer is aware that Maggi Noodles are safe to consume," Narayanan said. The company is now simultaneously pushing growth in other categories such as milk products and chocolates, along with the relaunch of Maggi.

"We want to grow our business so that each category and brand contributes in more or less equal measure to the overall revenues of the firm. We are aggressively pushing growth in other categories such as milk products and chocolates," he said.

The company is engaging actively in social media, and is building a strong digital presence to strengthen the Maggi brand. Along with TV and print campaigns the company is engaging with customers via Facebook and Twitter. "Digital and social media is central to our brand-building process. We believe that big things happen for brands when these two are in synergy," he said.

The company is leveraging all the sales channels and had tied up with e-commerce player Snapdeal to push online pre-orders, which saw an offtake of 60,000 units in the first five minutes. Nestle India sold 3.3 crore units of Maggi in the first 10 days of its relaunch.

The company has a digital acceleration team, which was responsible for the 'We Miss You Too' Maggi campaign and has also set up 24x7 toll-free consumer services in order to address consumer concerns. "For us, the concept is not just digital media, but of competing in a digitally-connected age," he said.