For the last few months, Maggi noodles were having a tough time in India. Having been dragged to the court, a blanket ban for allegedly over-using lead and then a mass incineration in cement kilns, Maggi’s misfortune lasted for quite some time. But now, the ban had been lifted from the instant noodles, and guess who is deconstructing the Maggi noodle case now? Harvard Business School’s India Research Centre it is.
India Research Center of Harvard Business School (HBS), which largely dwells on the missteps that led to the product withdrawal, will be working on a case study on one of the country's biggest food recalls. It has been put on a fast-track basis and could be ready in about a month, against the more typical nine months or so that it takes to wrap up one of these, says an Economic Times news report.
Earlier, Jaipur Literature Festival and Mumbai’s Dabbwalas were also a part of HBS research. However, these two were unqualified success and Maggi drew more attention for exposing Indian system’s many faults and triggered harsh criticism of the regulator's crackdown by the government that runs it. On top of that, the judiciary poked holes in the manner in which the matter was pursued. Nestle India denied it had been approached for a case study, informs the news report by the financial daily.
"As a matter of policy and in fairness to the companies that work with us, we do not comment on cases until they are officially published and entered into the Harvard Business School case collection," Brian Kenny, HBS chief marketing and communications officer, said in an email response to the ET. "So I cannot provide you with any insight into cases that are currently in progress."
According to information available with the ET, HBS has approached key stakeholders and top food companies for their views on the issue. "We have been approached for comment on the Nestle Maggi mess," a top official, on condition of anonymity, told the ET.
In last few months, food regulators of 7 countries, including the US, UK, Singapore and Australia, have concluded that India-made Maggi noodles are safe for consumption.