Nestle’s 2020 vision: To become a "nutrition, health and wellness" company

So here’s one story where moral comes before the tale begins. It’s simple. When in crisis, be a visionary, set your goal and move with the pace.
That’s precisely what Nestle plans after the big fat fiasco over Maggi in India.

Maggi Noodles, which is yet to recover from the extra usage of lead in its tastemaker spice, is looking forward. Nestle, which owns Maggi has committed to meet some goals by 2020 to reaffirm itself as a "nutrition, health and wellness" company.

Nestle's new commitments, which also flashed on Twitter on Tuesday, is seen as an attempt towards salvation. The firm has hired global public relations firm APCO Worldwide to firefight the crisis, according to The Economic Times.

Commitments include building knowledge leadership in children's nutrition, providing nutritionally sound products designed for children and helping reduce risk of under nutrition through micro nutrient fortification, apart from reducing salt, sugars, saturated fats and removing trans fats in products.

Nestle on its website said it is learning more about the contribution its foods and beverages can make at every stage to enable its consumers reach and maintain optimal nutrition and health throughout their lives.

The firm said it would "encourage consumption of whole grains and vegetables, deliver nutrition information and advice on all our labels, provide portion guidance for consumers, promote healthy diets and lifestyles, including physical activity and ensure responsible marketing communication to children".

This comes at a time when consumer rights groups are targeting Nestle for misleading mothers through its advertisements for Maggi, which dominates the Rs 3,800-crore instant noodles market in the country with estimated 70% share and is mainly targeted at children.

"Nestle has cheated the Indian consumer by not mentioning contents on product labels," Prof Abraham Koshy of the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad told the ET. "This controversy is bigger than the (pesticide in) Coca-Cola controversy and its revival will be a long haul process," he added.

Advertising veteran Piyush Pandey, who is credited to have bailed out Cadbury after live worms were reported in Dairy Milk, expressed hope Nestle will be able to win back Indian consumers' confidence.

"This is a case of manufacturer and authorities who are not in total agreement with testing procedures and findings,"the executive chairman and creative director for Ogilvy & Mather India and South Asia told the ET.

"Nestle is a significant global player with a long-term presence in India. I am sure they will do their homework, interact with the authorities and come back into the market," he added.

Pandey said there have been precedents in the case of international beverages and confectionery manufacturers who have done enough to win back the confidence of consumers and authorities.

Nestle faced the flak from national food regulator, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, which outrightly rejected Nestle's defence questioning the product testing methodology.

(Image: India Times)