Suresh Narayanan states that Maggi noodles went from market leadership to near extinction and recovered 60 per cent of its market share within months of its relaunch
Highlighting that his first 100 days in the current role at the company had been one of the greatest challenges of his career, Suresh Narayanan, the Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of Nestle India, has stated that confronting the Maggi crisis was a ‘daunting’ experience.
In his last shareholder letter, Narayanan wrote that Maggi noodles went from market leadership to near extinction and recovered 60 per cent of its market share within months of its relaunch, as mentioned in the latest annual report of the company.
“At that time, a young brand manager suggested ‘’why don’t we relaunch Maggi online?” I asked about the risk of failure. After a quick assessment, we relaunched Maggi online and the rest is history, 60,000 boxes were sold in less than five minutes on Snapdeal,” he added.
Narayanan noted that over the last decade, their revenue witnessed a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10.3 per cent while the corresponding profits from operations grew by 13.5 per cent. In the same period, its market capitalisation grew to 3.9 times, and the Total Shareholder Return (TSR) CAGR was 17 per cent.
“We were once seen as an urban Company with a limited portfolio, but through a penetration-led volume growth strategy rolled out in 2015, we now have access to more households and more consumption occasions,” he wrote.
Noting that in 2015, many considered the company to be solely a Maggi noodles company, he added that since then, the company recalibrated and rejuvenated the portfolio, launching over 150 new products that have contributed to seven per cent of sales. Narayanan explained that through its consumer cluster-based and RUrban strategy, its brands reach two out of three households,
