Maggi sells 50 mn packets in 21 days
THE UTTAR PRADESH FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATOR HAS FOUND HIGH LEAD CONTENT IN MAGGI’S PASTA
NEW DELHI: Despite a fresh round of controversy over Nestle’s pasta products portfolio, the Indian consumer’s love affair with Maggi continues.
In last 21 days (since its relaunch on November 9), Nestle India has sold over 50 million packets of Maggi noodles, which roughly means selling over 23 lakh packets to traders in a day.
“Over 50 million packs of Maggi noodles have already been sold to the trade,” Nestle India spokesperson told HT.
While any new blow to the reputation of the Swiss company can impact the re-launch and sales of Maggi drastically, the company said it continues to witness strong demand from consumers.
The Uttar Pradesh Food and Drug Administrator said last week that it had found lead beyond permissible levels in Maggi’s pasta brand, Pazzta.
“Results of the laboratories which are not accredited and cannot be relied upon,” Nestle said.
Retailers supported Nestle’s claims.
“There is no impact on consumer demand. Infact, we have seen more than 70,000 units being ordered across 27 different regions, highest being for Pune, Jaipur and Kolkata, within November,” said Rohit Sood, vice-president, category and merchandising at grocery app PepperTap.
Zop Now, another grocery app, claims to have sold about 15,000 units of Maggi since relaunch, which it claims is five times of the earlier sales on the platform. “Also, we haven’t noticed any negative impact yet on the sales of Maggi Pazzta,” said Praveen Singh, marketing head, Zop Now.
“Maggi noodles have altogether created its individual brand visibility in the market. We have not seen any impact on the demand for Maggi due to high quality lead found in pasta,” said Rajant k Sancheti, co-founder, Pick N Get, an e-tailer.
Mails sent to retailers, including Big Bazaar, Spencer’s and More, did not elicit any response.