Market Research

project

Nestle: Decoding
Brand Health &
Instant Noodle
Perceptions in
India

Group 11

March 2024
Introduction

Nestle Maggi is looking to solidify its reign. But in a

dynamic market, understanding brand health requires
a nuanced approach.

Maggi is embarking on a two-pronged research

mission to not only assess its own standing but also
delve into the psyche of consumers who might be
saying "no" to instant noodles altogether.

The research has been done in two stages:

1) Quantifying the Maggi Magic
2) Diving Deeper into the "No Noodle" Zone

By combining quantitative and qualitative data, Maggi

can paint a complete picture of its brand health and the
instant noodle landscape in India
Objectives

Strengthen Brand Salience: Boost Consumption: Redefine the Category:

Reconnect with consumers and Address concerns head-on and Innovate based on consumer
reaffirm Maggi's iconic status, offer products that resonate insights, leading the way
ensuring it remains the go-to with evolving preferences, towards healthier, tastier, and
name for instant noodles. drawing more consumers into more sustainable instant
the Maggi fold. noodles that appeal to a
broader audience.
Research Methodology

Quantitative research Qualitative research

Quantitative online surveys of 110+ respondents will Not everyone is reaching for a steaming bowl of instant
help us cut through the noise and understand Nestle noodles. 5 Qualitative in-depth interviews will help
Maggi’s position. This phase of study will allow us to Maggi understand the "why not" behind this trend. A
capture brand salience, consumption, and preference. magnifying glass can bring these concerns into focus,
But the battle for dominance is fierce.
whether it's health worries, taste/texture issues, or even
We would be able to understand which other brands are ethical and environmental considerations surrounding
consumed by Maggi consumers, how they associate packaging and production. By listening closely, Maggi
different brands, etc. can unlock the key to making instant noodles more
appealing to a wider audience, potentially even those
who haven't considered them before.
 Sample proportions from quantitative study

North 30%

Male 53% 25-34 years 67% SEC A 94%

South 30%

East 22%
Female 47% 35+ years 33% SEC B/C 6%

West 18%

Base: Sample size: 116

Instant noodles:
Brand health
 Category consumption is skewed towards females and
youngsters

Ever consumer instant noodles

5% 6% 3% 3% 5%
10%

Brand recall TOM SPONT Aided

Maggi 82% 10% 8%

95% 94% 97% 97% 95%
90% Yippee 8% 54% 32%

Top ramen 7% 9% 74%

Overall Male Female Young Old SEC A

Yes No

Base: Sample size: 105

 Nestle Maggi has robust KPIs along with conversions.
Sunfeast and Nissin need to focus on increasing trials

Awareness

Consumption
71% 49% 36%
Preference 5%
85% 24% 16%

Base: Sample size: 105

 Spicy noodles brands consumption is skewed towards
females. Sunfeast Yippee noodles are consumed more
among less affluent households
Instant noodles consumption
80%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%
Maggi Yippee Top ramen Nissin Wai wai

Overall Male Female SEC A SEC B/C Young Old

Base: Sample size: 105

 Sunfeast Yippee noodles is giving a tough competition to
Nestle in South
Instant noodles consumption
90%

80%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%
Maggi Yippee Top ramen Nissin Wai wai

Overall North South East West

Base: Sample size: 105

 Nestle leads in terms of preference. Consumption of
spicy noodles is higher among females
Brands Overall Male Female Young Old North South East West
Nestle 60% 64% 57% 60% 61% 61% 57% 58% 75%
Sunfeast Yippie 12% 13% 11% 14% 7% 7% 14% 16% 13%
Ching’s secret 5% - 9% 7% - 7% 0% 5% -
Top Ramen 5% 7% 4% 4% 7% 7% 7% 3% -
Knorr 4% 7% 2% 3% 7% - - 11% 5%
Wai Wai 4% - 7% 3% 7% 2% 7% 5% 3%
Nissin 3% - 5% 3% 4% 2% 14% - 2%

Consumption among those who prefers Maggi

44%

Youngsters, affluent 30%

households and people from 26%
25% 25%
north and south like to have
more options in their basket 15%
of instant noodles

Yippee Chings Wai wai Top ramen Knorr Nissin

Base: Sample size: 105
 7 in 10 buys instant noodles once a week. Frequency of
purchasing instant noodles is higher among consumers
who prefer Maggi

Frequency of purchasing Average frequency

of buying
2% Prefers Maggi
Skewed towards
3% females, west and
Overall Prefers Maggi
north
3% 1%
1% 74%
69%
Overall
26% 21% Skewed towards east and
south
80 times a year 83 times a year

2-3 times 4-5 times 6-7 times

8+ times Once in a week
Base: Sample size: 105
 Nestle can associate eating Maggi with happy and
proud feeling to increase the number of occasions
Occasions Overall

Late-Night Cravings 63% Skewed towards

West (88%) and
Evening Munchies 55% Skewed towards South (71%)
Skewed towards North West (63%) and
Substitute Meal 47%
(49%) and South (57%) East (76%)
College Life Staple 34% which leads to higher
spending on instant
Monsoon Treat 32%
noodles
Quick Dinner 30%
Breakfast 23%
Travel Companion 22% More females like to have
instant noodles as a substitute
Sick day comfort food 22% to meal and when they are
feeling good
When you are really happy 20%
Quick Lunch 17%
When you are proud of yourself 8%

Base: Sample size: 31

 Spending on instant noodles is higher among North and
South. Older cohort likely to be recent customer and spend
more
INR 169 INR 152
Monthly spends on
preferred brand

INR 154 INR 173

INR 159

INR 167 INR 164 INR 158 INR 119

Base: Sample size: 105

Consumers psyche and segmentation
K Means cluster analysis

• In order to understand our customer’s persona, Statements used for analysis Cluster 1 Cluster 2 Cluster 3 Cluster 4
we have divided our sample in 3 segments
The classic comfort food -1.1 -0.7 1.2 1.3
using statistical analysis on distance-based
clustering such that respondents within the The fun and adventurous choice -0.8 -1.0 1.2 -0.8
group are homogeneous and across the groups The flavour fusion fiesta -1.1 -1.0 1.3 -0.9
they are heterogeneous. Best instant noodle brand -0.3 -0.9 1.4 0.9
This brand has the best taste -0.5 -1.0 1.3 0.2
• We have used brand association statements to
see the association of brands among customer’s The hearty and satisfying classic -0.5 -1.0 1.2 1.2
mind and then changed the variables into binary. The customizable canvas -0.8 -1.0 1.3 0.1
When I think of instant noodles,
-0.3 -1.0 1.4 1.3
• We have done segmentation using K-means my mind instantly goes to
cluster analysis on SPSS to arrive on 4 clusters. This brand is not healthy 1.1 -1.1 0.5 -0.9
For the analysis, we have used mentioned
psychographic statements 𝑁𝑜𝑟𝑚𝑎𝑙𝑖𝑧𝑒𝑑 𝑠𝑐𝑜𝑟𝑒𝑠=( 𝑋¿ ¿ 𝑖 −𝜇)/ 𝜎 ¿
• Cluster centers converged within 10 iterations

• We have used normalized scores for deciding

the key parameters for each cohort
Follower Fraternity- 35%

Brands consumed
63% 63% Maggi 72%

Yippie 26%

Top Ramen 23%

37% 37%
Wai Wai 19%

Knorr 17%

34% 34% Ching’s secret 14%

Nissin 10%

Patanjali 7%
14% 17%

Name: Rohan

Behavioral Traits:
•Relies on convenience foods due to a busy lifestyle.
•Values social conformity and tends to follow the preferences of their peer group.
•Seeks comfort in familiar foods, even if not entirely satisfied with taste or healthiness.
Variety Seekers-29%

Brands consumed
62% 79% Nestle 97%

Sunfeast Yippie 74%

38% 21% Ching’s secret 53%

Wai Wai 46%

24% 14%
Knorr 43%

Top Ramen 39%

34% 28%

Name: Arjun
Age:
Behavioral traits:
• Look for variety
• Look at Maggi as the classic option
• Not fully convinced by Maggi’s diversity and health offerings
Loyalists- 28%

Brands consumed
43% 71% Maggi 100%

Yippee 18%

Knorr 11%
57% 29%
Top Ramen 7%

Ching’s secret 7%

36% 14% Wai Wai 5%

Patanjali Ayurved 4%

Nissin 4%
39% 11%
Name: Aisha
Age:
Key Characteristics:
• Passionate Loyalty
• Emotional connection
• Are aware of Maggi’s effect on health, yet prefer to eat
Rival fans- 9%

Brands consumed
56% 89% Top Ramen 30%

Yippee 30%

44% 11%
Ching’s Secret 30%

33% 22% Patanjali 8%

Knorr 4%
33% 11%

Name: Gaurav
Age:
Behavioral Traits:
• Finds Maggi to be boring
• Look for diverse, new things to try
• Is health-conscious
• Doesn’t consider Maggi as comfort food at all
Why not
instant
noodles?
 Maggi need to position itself as healthy snacking item

Reasons for not consuming instant noodles

Skewed towards
It is unhealthy 73%
males (76%) and
Skewed towards West (89%)
I like traditional food more 38% males (43%) and
East (53%)
I don’t trust the production process 23%

My parents/ elders don’t allow 14% Parents still try to

control eating habits of
Packaging has an adverse impact on environment 11% Sustainable packaging can their daughters in
attract more people from urban India (16%)
I don’t like the taste 11% older cohort, given their
higher spends on category
I don’t like the texture 9%

I cannot afford to buy 2%

Base: Sample size: 31

Customer
pain points
Recommendations

• Nestle Maggi must diversify its flavours to entice variety

seekers and maintain customer loyalty. As Maggi gains
popularity among the majority, word-of-mouth will attract
follower segment. Targeting rival fans requires
positioning Maggi as an adventurous product, achievable
through the introduction of new and enticing flavours.

• Nestle can link consuming Maggi with feelings like

happiness and pride of consumer to increase the number
of occasions and directly having an impact on top line
and bottom-line.

• Maggi should introduce whole wheat noodles/ oats/

brown rice/ fox nut/ healthier options with the same taste
as the original, at an affordable price. A brief campaign
highlighting Maggi's sustainable packaging and
production process will draw in non-consumers of instant
noodles, expanding Maggi's appeal beyond its current
market.
Thank you
Aashi Jain (2023MBA001)
Anjali Agarwal (2023MBA009)
Isha Singh (2023MBA027)
Meghna Dey (2023MBA043)
Mounika Vasireddy (2023MBA077)
Nilaksh Dixit (2023MBA049)
Shreya Maheshwari (2023MBA062)
Subhasish Chakraborty (2023MBA067)

Questionnaire link-

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1QAid8dOWcQXMitBzBum22IUMe5p_lz5BJhiwQ439Kos/edit