Maggie is back with a bang but yet to overcome many hurdles

This year, Dhanteras and Diwali, were celebrated with more enthusiasm by many as popular instant noodles, Nestle Maggie, made its way back to stores in several cities in India including the capital.

This comeback received thunderous response as Snapdeal, which had tied up with Nestle to sell welcome kits of Maggie, sold 60,000 packets in just the first five minutes. Many other sellers also claim that packets of Maggie flew out of the shelves, selling in bulk.

However, it may be not over for Maggie yet, as India’s food safety authority, FSSAI, has appealed to the Supreme Court against the Mumbai Court’s (a regional court) verdict for overturning a nationwide ban on Maggi instant noodles.

Nestle Maggie had been banned for five months since June after an inspection had allegedly found lead content higher than permissible limits.

FSSAI chairman and chief executive officer Ashish Bahuguna had told The Economic Times, “We have appealed in the Supreme Court on two accounts, one is the allegation that our officials acted against the system of natural justice and second the validity of operations of our labs. Our labs follow provisions as stated in the FSS Act and a question on them will bring all our enforcement to a standstill putting the safety of consumers under risk.”

The ban on Maggie was revoked by the Bombay High Court on October 19. Simultaneously Nestle had also begun an aggressive advertising campaign to communicate about the safety of consuming Maggie.

However, Maggie is also facing resistance from Yoga Guru Ramdev whose FMCG venture Patanjali Ayurveda has launched a ‘healthy’ version of instant Atta Noodles. The price of these noodles are Rs 15 for a packet of 70 grams which is said to be cheaper than other companies who sell their Atta Noodles at Rs 25/-.

The hurdles may be many but consumers across the nation are rejoicing that their favourite snack is back. On the other hand, there are many concerned parents who are still unsure of Maggie as a snack for children.