Maggi: Return of the prodigal ‘instant noodle’ brand!

It’s official! Maggi Noodles Masala will be back in shelves across India this month onwards. Nestle today said in a statement that 100% of the new samples sent for tests have passed with lead levels far below the ‘permissible limits’.

Nestle said, “Maggi noodles are safe, 100 pct of samples sent from newly manufactured stocks tested by three laboratories have been cleared. all the samples of Maggi noodles masala have been cleared with lead much below permissible limits.”

The company also said that even countries like Australia, USA, UK and Singapore, where Maggi Noodles manufactured in India were exported to, have found it safe for consumption.

This surely comes as a huge relief for the multinational giant, which has been on its back foot in India ever since the ‘Maggi’ controversy tore through its fabric in its Indian operations, making it one of the largest recall of products in FMCG history.

The Bombay High Court recently had directed Nestle India to also get fresh samples of Maggi noodles tested by the labs and once they get the approval, Maggi will be back with new packaging, instructions and the same-old taste.

Production of Maggi noodles has, reportedly, resumed in Karnataka, Punjab and Goa.

Maggi noodles was banned in India in June after MSG and excess content of lead was found in the packets.

This dented the image and revenue sales of Nestle India as Maggi used to be its biggest brand, accounting for about 30% of sales at the company.

However, it is expected that Nestle India’s Maggi will recover the losses. The company has started rigorous advertising for Maggi's return.

Edelweiss in a note stated had stated earlier "We appreciate the company's effort to up the ante on advertising and promotions, but this will depress margins in the coming quarters. We believe Nestle is unlikely to garner the earlier 70% share of the noodle pie.”

(Image credits: Indiatimes)