Market share for Wai Wai noodles grows to 28% in India

ITC's instant noodle brand YiPPee has crossed the Rs 1,000 crore sales mark in the year ended September. In noodles segment, Yippee is the second largest brand with about 22% market share.

Aashirvaad, ITC's largest brand, has garnered consumer sales of Rs 5,000 crore, further consolidating its position as one of the biggest brands in India's packaged foods segment. 

Hemant Malik, Divisional Chief Executive (foods), ITC, said, "There were certain packs where we were under-indexed, such as large family packs. So we changed our strategy to focus on supply chain, promotion and distribution of these large packs and that segment is now growing for us."

"It's become a Rs 1,000 crore brand. When we got into space, there was one very large competitor and it was very important for us to innovate and offer a differentiated product in the market. After seven-and-a-half years now, we have more than 22% market share led by innovations like round, long and non-sticky noodles sold along with vegetables in sachet," he added.

Food Safety and Standards Authority (FSSAI) has drawn a line for manufacturing of instant noodles in the country. Authority has drafted standards concerning the manufacturing of instant noodles. The draft focuses key parameters such as ingredients used, quality and safety. Furthermore, FSSAI has also put the draft on the public domain making entire process more transparent.

Elaborating further, Faggan Singh Kulaste, Minister of State for Health informed that the standards specify the raw materials that can be used for manufacture of noodles and seasoning provided with the noodles along with the quality and safety parameters of the final product.

Instant noodles can be prepared from wheat flour and/or rice flour and/or flour of any other cereals, millets, legumes and water as the main ingredients, with or without addition of spices. Dried fruits and vegetables, nuts, edible protein and egg powder may be added, if required. The standards also provide that the product shall be of good characteristic colour, appearance, texture, aroma and taste and shall be free from added colour, undesirable taste, dirt, insect's larvae and impurities or any other extraneous matter, stated minister during his conversation with media.

He added that the limits for moisture, acid insoluble ash and acid value have also been specified in these standards. In case of any violation of labeling requirement, action as per provisions of the Food Safety and Standards Act 2006 and regulations there under shall be taken by the state authorities concerned.

ITC's instant noodles brand Yippee is inching closer to become Rs 1,000- crore brand, making the most out of the controversy that hit rival Nestle's Maggi, reported PTI.

"Sunfeast YiPPee! as a brand is now in its fifth year post the national rollout. We are proud to say that Yippee Noodles is poised to enter the Rs 1,000 crore club in the ITC Foods stable," said V L Rajesh, Chief Executive, ITC Ltd Divisional, Foods Division.

Explaining Yippee's growth pre-and post-Maggi ban, he said it was "growing at more than 40 per cent before the controversy broke out... (in June 2015), with all the competitors in the market".

"The controversy and confusion that prevailed adversely affected the whole industry. However, with our proactive inputs and innovative campaigns, we were the fastest to recover and then exceed our old sales levels," Rajesh added.

The company's campaigns had focused on "world-class product and manufacturing processes", he said.

Nestle had re-launched Maggi in November following a Bombay High Court order, which in August had lifted ban on the instant noodles brand imposed by food safety regulators.

Exuding confidence of taking on the market leader in the instant noodles segment, he said, "We were gaining market share month-on-month even before the controversy happened and are continuing to grow even now."

In 2015, ITC had revenue of Rs 36,507.40 crore. During 2015-16 ITC's net sales was Rs 17,310.23 crore, in which non-cigarette FMCG segment including branded packaged food business had contributed Rs 4,522.63 crore.

ITC is planning to set up new manufacturing units for Yippee considering its growth rate, he said, "We will continue to invest in line with our ambitions in this category."

FIR has been registered against the CEO and founder of an e-commerce major for allegedly selling popular Maggi noodles online in five Indian states during the ban period, reported PTI.

A case was registered against Kunal Bahl, CEO of Snapdeal and Rohit Bansal, founder for online sale of Nestle's instant noodles in five states including Rajasthan during the period of ban between June 7 and October 30 last year, said police.

A complaint was lodged by Lalit Sharma, a Jaipur-based lawyer following which police registered an FIR under sections 420 (cheating), 120-B (criminal conspiracy), 272 (adulteration of food or drink intended for sale), 273 (sale of noxious food or drink) of the IPC and sections 59 and 63 of the Food Safety and Standards Act 2006.

The company spokesperson said they have not received any information on the same.

Last June, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India had placed a ban on sale of Maggi after they found high levels of lead in it.

Moreover, the Bombay High Court had revoked the ban on Maggi on 19th October paving the way for it to be back on shelves.

A Tamil Nadu based Muslim organisation has issued a 'fatwa' against Yoga Guru Baba Ramdev's Patanjali products made by using cow urine, saying their use was considered 'haram' (forbidden) in Islam, reported PTI.

Tamil Nadu Thowheed Jamat (TNTJ) said cow's urine was being used as a 'key ingredient' in cosmetics, medicines and food products of Patanjali that are available in open markets as well as online.

"According to the beliefs of Muslims, cow's urine is haram which should not be used. Therefore, TNTJ issues a fatwa that products of Patanjali are haram," said TNTJ in a release.

The fatwa was being issued to ensure that such products were not consumed by Muslims due to a lack of awareness about the ingredients of the products they consume in daily life, it added.

Nestle India is aggressively trying to increase the consumption of its flagship instant noodles brand eying double digit growth, said a top company executive.

It is also sharpening focus on digital media and pushing other products so that all categories contribute almost equally to the company's overall revenue, reported PTI.

"Results for the last two quarters of 2015 have been impacted by the Maggi Noodles issue. However, we are committed towards double digit (growth) that is triggered by actual volume consumption increase,” said Suresh Narayanan, chairman and managing director, Nestle India.

The Swiss major had taken a hit of Rs 450 crore including destroying over 30,000 tonnes of the instant noodles since June when it was banned because of alleged excessive lead content.

Maggi, which was re-launched in November after a 5-month ban, is currently available in over 700 towns and sold by 3 lakh small and large shopkeepers, said the company.

"We are investing significantly in the re-launch, and we will be ensuring that the consumer is aware that Maggi Noodles are safe to consume," Narayanan said.

The company is now simultaneously pushing growth in other categories such as milk products and chocolates, along with the re-launch of Maggi.

"We want to grow our business so that each category and brand contributes in more or less equal measure to the overall revenues of the firm. We are aggressively pushing growth in other categories such as milk products and chocolates," he said.

"Digital and social media is central to our brand-building process. We believe that big things happen for brands when these two are in synergy," he added.

The company is leveraging all the sales channels and had tied up with e-commerce player Snapdeal to push online pre-orders, which saw an off take of 60,000 units in the first five minutes.

Nestle India sold 3.3 crore units of Maggi in the first 10 days of its re-launch. The company has a digital acceleration team, which was responsible for the '

We Miss You Too' Maggi campaign and has also set up 24x7 toll-free consumer services in order to address consumer concerns. "For us, the concept is not just digital media but of competing in a digitally-connected age," he said.

Patanjali Ayurved, the FMCG venture promoted by yoga guru Ramdev said it has received notice from food safety regulator FSSAI, which had accused it of launching instant noodles without approval, reported PTI.

"We have received notice from FSSAI today and we will give reply to it," said a company spokesperson.

Last week Central Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) had said Patanjali did not have approval for its newly-launched instant noodles but the company had strongly denied it.

Ashish Bahuguna, FSSAI Chairperson had stated that no approval or licence was granted to Patanjali for its instant noodles and for instant noodles companies needed to take prior approval. He had said Patanjali Ayurved have not taken approval for it.

However, Patanjali, strongly denied FSSAI's claims and insisted that it has licence for Pasta, under which noodles fall, as per the regulator's classification.

The company further said FSSAI has already admitted that it was no longer possible for the regulator to continue with process of product approvals, which was facilitated through an advisory in May 2013, following a Supreme Court order in August this year that upheld an order of Bombay High Court on the issue.

According to FSSAI's May 2013 advisory, food products covering a broad spectrum including "novel foods, functional foods, food supplements, irradiated foods, genetically modified foods, foods for special dietary uses or extracts or concentrates of botanicals, herbs or of animal sources" should apply for product approval.

The High Court had ruled that the advisory does not have any statutory backing but the FSSAI had approached the apex court against the verdict.

Patanjali had launched 'Atta Noodles' earlier this month in 70 gram packs priced at Rs 15, claiming to be cheaper than competitors, with an eye to take on market leader Nestle's Maggi, which returned to the shelves five months after FSSAI had banned it.

RI Bureau

Nestle India, one of the largest food manufacturers here, is facing allegation from the food authorities over its flagship product, Maggi. The issue also brought a wave on social media pages influencing lots of Maggi lovers against the product, who are deciding to no more have a bite of their favourite ‘Meri Waali Maggi’.

On 30th April 2015, the local authorities in Lucknow asked Nestle India to recall one batch of MAGGI Noodles,  which is around 200,000 packs, on the grounds that it contained Monosodium Glutamate (MSG) and lead concentration of 17.2 parts per million (ppm), nearly seven times the permissible limit in the instant noodle.

According to a media statement issued by Nestle, the Maggi batch that FDA had asked to recall was manufactured in February 2014 and had already reached the ‘Best Before date’ in November 2014. And the company’s practice is to collect stock that is near ‘Best Before date’ from distributors/retailers.

“We are confident that these packs are no longer in the market. The company does not agree with the order and is filing the requisite representations with the authorities. In the meantime, it is important to note that there are no other orders to recall MAGGI Noodle products in the market. People can be confident that MAGGI Noodle products are safe to eat,” a Nestle Spokesperson commented on a telephonic query.

The statement also assured the quality and safety of the products being sold by Nestle in India mentioning that this is the top priority for the company.

“We have in place strict food safety and quality controls at our MAGGI factories, including thorough quality checks at each stage of our raw material sourcing and manufacturing process. This includes comprehensive testing to ensure that MAGGI Noodles comply with all applicable food safety laws, as well as our own high standards of quality and safety before they reach our consumers,” added the statement.

On allegation of lead and MSG contains in the instant noodle, the company stated that they are aware of the reports of elevated levels of lead in a pack of MAGGI Noodles analysed by the authorities. And the food company regularly monitors for lead as part of their stringent quality control processes, including testing by accredited laboratories.

“We have submitted product samples to an independent accredited laboratory and will share the results with the authorities,” added the statement issued by Nestle.

Food Safety and Drug Administration (FDA) has asked Nestle India to recall a batch of Maggi noodles from stores across the country, saying the product contained dangerous levels of lead, reported Reuters.

According to FDA in Uttar Pradesh, high lead content was examined during the routine tests on two dozen packets of instant noodles, manufactured by Nestle in India.

"Maggi instant noodles contained dangerous amount of lead and MSG. We had to immediately issue orders against the company,” shared, D G Srivastava, Deputy Inspector General of the FDA in Lucknow.

During the check the officials found a lead concentration of 17.2 parts per million (ppm), nearly seven times the permissible limit in the instant noodle. However, the acceptable limit of lead ranges between 0.01 ppm and 2.5 ppm.

The scientists also found high levels of added monosodium glutamate (MSG), a taste enhancer, in the noodles.

Nestle India, a subsidiary of Swiss-based Nestle SA , said it had strict safety and quality controls in place for all raw materials used to make Maggi noodles.

A company spokesman confirmed Uttar Pradesh had ordered it to withdraw the batch dating back to March 2014, but added the items concerned had either already been consumed or were beyond the sell-by date, making the recall difficult.

FDA has also approached federal food inspectors in New Delhi to launch a wider investigation of the noodles.