Quite frankly I am a Jawani Deewani fan. For all the fancy setting and faulty storyline, Deepika’s mini skirt and the bollywoodness borrowed from DDLJ, I choose to ignore them. Because there are things which are ‘far beyond to be seen’ in that movie. There are emptions which can be felt only when you have been there. There are lessons which can’t be taught in management schools.
For the past few days, Nestle's flagship instant noodles brand "Maggi" has been in the news for all the wrong reasons. No doubt the brand's reputation has taken a serious hit and it takes some time for the brand to regain the trust of consumers. (Reputation Vs. Reality – How Brand Maggi can Sail Through The Controversy). As the controversy snowballed, the company did the right thing (in the interest of the brand or consumer's safety) by pulling the brand off the shelves to prevent further damage to the brand's reputation . ( Nestle takes Maggi off the shelves, says 'will be back in markets soon'). This is similar to what J&J did to Tylenol brand back in 1982. (Tylenol made a hero of Johnson & Johnson : The recall that started them all) Let me run some numbers for you to decipher the implications of this controversy on brand Maggi (at least in the short term). The instant noodles market is estimated at about INR 3000 crore. According to euro monitor report Noodles in India, Maggi is still the market leader with a market value share of 63 per cent. A report of World Instant Noodles Association says, India is the world's fifth largest consumer of Instant noodles. The category has also seen the entry of newer players (HUL's Knorr Soupy Noodles, IndoNissin's Top Ramen, GSK's Horlicks Foodles and ITC's Yippe! instant noodles ) intensifying the competition and some even challenging Maggi's market leadership position. For instance, Indian conglomerate ITC which launched its Instant noodles brand Sunfeast Yippe! in the year 2010 garnered an impressive 15 per cent market share in just few years of its launch. (ITC’s premium gallery) Will there be a shift in the loyalty of consumers to Yippe! brand or any other brand for that matter? All these years Maggi had successfully defended its turf. Will the current controversy shift the equation? Might be.... only if the brand is not prepared to fight back and win customers trust back. By the way all is not lost for the Maggi brand as I still see lot of support from hard core brand loyalist even after the controversy. It would be mighty interesting to do a sensitivity analysis and see how the numbers pan out under different scenarios. According to analysts, Maggi contributes over 20 per cent to Nestle's revenues.What might be the impact of 2 or 3 per cent loss of market share on the revenue? (at least in the short term, hoping that Nestle would soon overcome this controversy) Now a complete U turn. The whole issue boils down to health and safety. MSG and Lead is the major culprit here. I was going through US FDA ( (Food and Drug Administration ) website and found this. Questions and Answers on Monosodium glutamate (MSG) Is MSG safe to eat? FDA considers the addition of MSG to foods to be “generally recognized as safe” (GRAS). Although many people identify themselves as sensitive to MSG, in studies with such individuals given MSG or a placebo, scientists have not been able to consistently trigger reactions. How is it made? MSG occurs naturally in many foods, such as tomatoes and cheeses. People around the world have eaten glutamate-rich foods throughout history. For example, a historical dish in the Asian community is a glutamate-rich seaweed broth. In 1908, a Japanese professor named Kikunae Ikeda was able to extract glutamate from this broth and determined that glutamate provided the savory taste to the soup. Professor Ikeda then filed a patent to produce MSG and commercial production started the following year. Today, instead of extracting and crystallizing MSG from seaweed broth, MSG is produced by the fermentation of starch, sugar beets, sugar cane or molasses. This fermentation process is similar to that used to make yogurt, vinegar and wine. Hang on! Don't bash me. I am not looking for confirmatory evidence to back my belief on MSG or support adding MSG beyond permissible limits. My intention is only to dispel some of our misconceptions about MSG. A study commissioned by International Food Information Council Foundation says that Consumers prefer taste over health in foods (Consumers Prefer Taste Over Health in Foods.) Another study says that health campaign fails to help obesity cases as people make their eating choices based on taste and tend to avoid healthy food due to the same. Obesity campaigns fail because people choose taste over health. I am not suggestive of prioritizing taste over health by any means. But i strongly believe that labeling should have better information about the product and its ingredients so that people can make informed decisions about what they consume and its effects. Nestle's Maggi row makes me think....... What about Indian cars? Are they safe for us or our family members? Test results of some popular cars in India selected by Global NCAP (New Car Assessment Programme) have shown high level of life threatening injuries. Most of the popular cars fail the crash test. As the report says, Indian government does not require vehicles to meet UN regulations for occupant's protection in frontal crashes and side impacts. Read IIHS Status Report: tests show how cars sold in India fall short on safety. The report went on to say that structural integrity of some of the cars are so bad that even putting an airbag would not be effective. This is just one among many in the list ............ Let us begin cleansing........
Now that the month of June has come, many of you would be awakening from your deep slumber and “thinking” of doing an MBA. The reasons can be many fold – some of you are tired of your mundane “IT job”, while few of you are struck at your current level in the organization for quite some time now and want to progress. There are also many of you who are just coming out of your degree colleges (be it Engg., Arts, Science or anything else for that matter). No matter what your reasons are to do an MBA or what your academic background is, the one thing common for all of you is the entrance exam(s).
Education, the word that makes this article possible. It’s one of the greatest gift human’s possesses, it standardizes common practices, it enables people to think far and big; in a single word it’s what drives an economy. The world knows and agrees education is important but sometimes we become so biased and relaxed with what is assumed to be the norm we fail to deliberate on an issue and fail to make it better and that’s what I will try to do. I shall begin by saying that I am for pro-education for all person, living in a third world country where still millions of people are uneducated, I have seen through my very own eyes what education does to a person’s outlook, his ability and more importantly to the society in and around him. Education as a single instrument can be the cause of upliftment for an entire economy, the developed nations of the world as we know such as Germany and Japan is built on a solid foundation of knowledge and skills which is obtained through education. So, there is no denying the far reaching impacts of education on a society and this basic fact in known to all of us. The problem that I wanted to emphasize is very India specific, it affect our country more than any developing nation. As we already know we are a developing economy with thousands of people uneducated and living under poverty. The education system of India is still in a developing stage with many of the people being first generations of school and college goers. The reason why I say that education in India is very different can be explained by the following reasons.
One of the worst nightmares that can happen for any brand be it a corporate brand, people brand or a product/service brand is when its reputation takes a beating. The significance of building and managing reputation of a brand cannot be undermined as good reputation of a brand (through the eyes of stakeholders) affects company's profitability, sustainability and loyalty.
This week on Shreyas recommends - Why India arrested Pakistan's spy pigeon, The FIFA Saga and the life and work of John Nash. Also, read about India TV News channel and how cigarette butts can help store energy and also cure dengue.
Womens' view about themselves is changing at a brisk pace. They are confident & desire to be their real self all the time. Regrettably many brands are not keeping pace with this reality. Result: women are rejecting these insensitive brands resulting in loss of business for them.
"He not busy being born, is busy dying" - Bob Dylan
Quite frankly I am a Jawani Deewani fan. For all the fancy setting and faulty storyline, Deepika’s mini skirt and the bollywoodness borrowed from DDLJ, I choose to ignore them. Because there are things which are ‘far beyond to be seen’ in that movie. There are emptions which can be felt only when you have been there. There are lessons which can’t be taught in management schools.
For the past few days, Nestle's flagship instant noodles brand "Maggi" has been in the news for all the wrong reasons. No doubt the brand's reputation has taken a serious hit and it takes some time for the brand to regain the trust of consumers. (Reputation Vs. Reality – How Brand Maggi can Sail Through The Controversy). As the controversy snowballed, the company did the right thing (in the interest of the brand or consumer's safety) by pulling the brand off the shelves to prevent further damage to the brand's reputation . ( Nestle takes Maggi off the shelves, says 'will be back in markets soon'). This is similar to what J&J did to Tylenol brand back in 1982. (Tylenol made a hero of Johnson & Johnson : The recall that started them all) Let me run some numbers for you to decipher the implications of this controversy on brand Maggi (at least in the short term). The instant noodles market is estimated at about INR 3000 crore. According to euro monitor report Noodles in India, Maggi is still the market leader with a market value share of 63 per cent. A report of World Instant Noodles Association says, India is the world's fifth largest consumer of Instant noodles. The category has also seen the entry of newer players (HUL's Knorr Soupy Noodles, IndoNissin's Top Ramen, GSK's Horlicks Foodles and ITC's Yippe! instant noodles ) intensifying the competition and some even challenging Maggi's market leadership position. For instance, Indian conglomerate ITC which launched its Instant noodles brand Sunfeast Yippe! in the year 2010 garnered an impressive 15 per cent market share in just few years of its launch. (ITC’s premium gallery) Will there be a shift in the loyalty of consumers to Yippe! brand or any other brand for that matter? All these years Maggi had successfully defended its turf. Will the current controversy shift the equation? Might be.... only if the brand is not prepared to fight back and win customers trust back. By the way all is not lost for the Maggi brand as I still see lot of support from hard core brand loyalist even after the controversy. It would be mighty interesting to do a sensitivity analysis and see how the numbers pan out under different scenarios. According to analysts, Maggi contributes over 20 per cent to Nestle's revenues.What might be the impact of 2 or 3 per cent loss of market share on the revenue? (at least in the short term, hoping that Nestle would soon overcome this controversy) Now a complete U turn. The whole issue boils down to health and safety. MSG and Lead is the major culprit here. I was going through US FDA ( (Food and Drug Administration ) website and found this. Questions and Answers on Monosodium glutamate (MSG) Is MSG safe to eat? FDA considers the addition of MSG to foods to be “generally recognized as safe” (GRAS). Although many people identify themselves as sensitive to MSG, in studies with such individuals given MSG or a placebo, scientists have not been able to consistently trigger reactions. How is it made? MSG occurs naturally in many foods, such as tomatoes and cheeses. People around the world have eaten glutamate-rich foods throughout history. For example, a historical dish in the Asian community is a glutamate-rich seaweed broth. In 1908, a Japanese professor named Kikunae Ikeda was able to extract glutamate from this broth and determined that glutamate provided the savory taste to the soup. Professor Ikeda then filed a patent to produce MSG and commercial production started the following year. Today, instead of extracting and crystallizing MSG from seaweed broth, MSG is produced by the fermentation of starch, sugar beets, sugar cane or molasses. This fermentation process is similar to that used to make yogurt, vinegar and wine. Hang on! Don't bash me. I am not looking for confirmatory evidence to back my belief on MSG or support adding MSG beyond permissible limits. My intention is only to dispel some of our misconceptions about MSG. A study commissioned by International Food Information Council Foundation says that Consumers prefer taste over health in foods (Consumers Prefer Taste Over Health in Foods.) Another study says that health campaign fails to help obesity cases as people make their eating choices based on taste and tend to avoid healthy food due to the same. Obesity campaigns fail because people choose taste over health. I am not suggestive of prioritizing taste over health by any means. But i strongly believe that labeling should have better information about the product and its ingredients so that people can make informed decisions about what they consume and its effects. Nestle's Maggi row makes me think....... What about Indian cars? Are they safe for us or our family members? Test results of some popular cars in India selected by Global NCAP (New Car Assessment Programme) have shown high level of life threatening injuries. Most of the popular cars fail the crash test. As the report says, Indian government does not require vehicles to meet UN regulations for occupant's protection in frontal crashes and side impacts. Read IIHS Status Report: tests show how cars sold in India fall short on safety. The report went on to say that structural integrity of some of the cars are so bad that even putting an airbag would not be effective. This is just one among many in the list ............ Let us begin cleansing........
Now that the month of June has come, many of you would be awakening from your deep slumber and “thinking” of doing an MBA. The reasons can be many fold – some of you are tired of your mundane “IT job”, while few of you are struck at your current level in the organization for quite some time now and want to progress. There are also many of you who are just coming out of your degree colleges (be it Engg., Arts, Science or anything else for that matter). No matter what your reasons are to do an MBA or what your academic background is, the one thing common for all of you is the entrance exam(s).
Education, the word that makes this article possible. It’s one of the greatest gift human’s possesses, it standardizes common practices, it enables people to think far and big; in a single word it’s what drives an economy. The world knows and agrees education is important but sometimes we become so biased and relaxed with what is assumed to be the norm we fail to deliberate on an issue and fail to make it better and that’s what I will try to do. I shall begin by saying that I am for pro-education for all person, living in a third world country where still millions of people are uneducated, I have seen through my very own eyes what education does to a person’s outlook, his ability and more importantly to the society in and around him. Education as a single instrument can be the cause of upliftment for an entire economy, the developed nations of the world as we know such as Germany and Japan is built on a solid foundation of knowledge and skills which is obtained through education. So, there is no denying the far reaching impacts of education on a society and this basic fact in known to all of us. The problem that I wanted to emphasize is very India specific, it affect our country more than any developing nation. As we already know we are a developing economy with thousands of people uneducated and living under poverty. The education system of India is still in a developing stage with many of the people being first generations of school and college goers. The reason why I say that education in India is very different can be explained by the following reasons.
One of the worst nightmares that can happen for any brand be it a corporate brand, people brand or a product/service brand is when its reputation takes a beating. The significance of building and managing reputation of a brand cannot be undermined as good reputation of a brand (through the eyes of stakeholders) affects company's profitability, sustainability and loyalty.
This week on Shreyas recommends - Why India arrested Pakistan's spy pigeon, The FIFA Saga and the life and work of John Nash. Also, read about India TV News channel and how cigarette butts can help store energy and also cure dengue.
Womens' view about themselves is changing at a brisk pace. They are confident & desire to be their real self all the time. Regrettably many brands are not keeping pace with this reality. Result: women are rejecting these insensitive brands resulting in loss of business for them.
"He not busy being born, is busy dying" - Bob Dylan
