Nestle India has re-launched Maggi Noodles across store shelves in India just ahead of the festive season and the Swiss food giant is leaving no stone unturned to capitalize on the lost time as it seeks to expand the sales through collaboration with ecommerce company Snapdeal.
The company has stated that the instant noodles will not be available in eight Indian states that have banned its sale.
Currently, Maggi is being manufactured at three locations in the country - Nanjangud (karnataka), Moga (Punjab) and Bicholim (Goa). It is also in the process of obtaining permits from Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand state governments to begin manufacture of Maggi Noodles.
With the absence of Maggi in the Indian market, Nestle India's September quarter reported a 60% drop in net profit to Rs 1.24bn from Rs 3.11bn in same quarter previous year. During this quarter, net sales plunged 32.1% to Rs 17.36bn (year-on-year), mainly impacted by the Maggi Noodles controversy, reports moneycontrol.com.
The move comes after the controversial noodles cleared the government approved lab tests, paving way for its retail sales this month. All the newly manufactured samples have been cleared by National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL) labs as directed by the Bombay High Court earlier this year. With the clearance, Nestle is also working on beginning Maggi Noodles production at its two other plants too - Tahliwal and Pantnagar.
Nestle stated that it has conducted over 3,500 tests of over 200 million packs in both national as well as international accredited laboratories. Maggi Noodles had cleared all the tests. The Swiss food giant intends to discuss with states where permissions and approvals are required to commence the production of Maggi Noodles for it to hit shelves this month.
In October, the company had stated that it would begin sale of Maggi Noodles only after the fresh samples have been cleared by three laboratories designated by the Bombay High Court.
Image: Maggi Noodles back in Indian market. Photo: Courtesy of Sixth6sense/Wikipedia.
