Online players bolster Maggi's comeback

As Maggi stages a comeback on retail shelves after a wait of five months, some online players are leaving no stone unturned to create its recall in a big way.
Where online marketplace, Snapdeal, took a ‘flash sales’ route to create much-needed buzz for Maggi, online grocery firm, Grofers goes a step ahead by delighting consumers’ by giving away free packets of the popular snack.
Snapdeal’s flash sale, which began today, has seen overwhelming response from consumers’, who were made to pre-register for Maggi from November 9 to get their hands on first batch of its welcome kit.
The company sold out the first batch of 60,000 Maggi Welcome Kits (containing 12 packs of Maggi, a 2016 Maggi calendar, a Maggi fridge magnet, Maggi post cards and a ‘Welcome Back’ letter) within five minutes of the Maggi Flash Sale going live today.
“Snapdeal sold out the first batch of 60,000 Maggi Welcome Kits within five minutes of Maggi Flash Sale going live today. There has been much anticipation for the return of one of the favourite Indian brands and we have witnessed a phenomenal response to this sale from customers across the country,” Tony Navin, Snapdeal Senior Vice President (Partnerships and Strategic initiatives) said in an official release.
Flash sales or deal-of-the-day is an e-commerce business model in which a website offers a single product for sale for a limited period of time. Potential customers have to register to avail the deal.
A new batch of Maggi WelcomeKits will be on sale from November 16
While Snapdeal teased consumers through flash sales, hyperlocal grocery firm Grofers gave away free packets of Maggi on November 10, even before the Snapdeal started sales.
Grofers said it had stocked nearly 10,000 packets of Maggi from their merchants for free delivery. The offer was valid in selected cities like Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Kolkata, Mumbai, Nagpur, Nashik, Pune, Surat and Vadodara.
Maggi has been relaunched in 100 towns through 300-odd distributors and is being rolled out in a staggered manner across the country, except in eight states where it is still not allowed.
The popular brand of noodles had passed tests by three government-accredited laboratories, as ordered by the Bombay High Court which in August had lifted ban on the instant noodles that was imposed by food safety regulators.
Maggi was banned in June by Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) which stated that it was “unsafe and hazardous” for consumption due to presence of lead beyond permissible limits. The company had withdrawn the noodles brand from the market.