Maggi Brand Consumer Behaviour Research Essay Example for Free

Maggi Brand Consumer Behaviour Research Essay Well the history of this brand traces back to the 19th century when industrial revolution in Switzerland created factory jobs for women, who were therefore left with very little time to prepare meals. Due to this growing problem Swiss Public Welfare Society asked a miller named Julius Maggi to create a vegetable food product that would be quick to prepare and easy to digest. Julius, the son of an Italian immigrant came up with a formula to bring added taste to meals in 1863. Soon after he was commissioned by the Swiss Public Welfare Society, he came up with two instant pea soups a bean soup- the first launch of Maggi brand of instant foods in 1882-83. Towards the end of the century, Maggi company was producing not just powdered soups, but bouillon cubes, sauces and other flavorings. However in India(the largest consumer of Maggi noodles in the world! ) it was launched in 1980’s by Nestle group of companies. Maggie had merged with Nestle(This company too has a very interesting history which I will discuss in some other review! ) family in 1947. When launched it had to face a stiff competition from the ready to eat snack segments like biscuits, wafers etc. Also it had other competitor the so called ’home made’ snacks which are till today considered healthy and hygienic. Hence to capture the market it was positioned as a hygienic home made snack, a smart move. But still this didn’t work, as it was targeted towards the wrong target group, the working women. Although the product was developed for this particular purpose. After conducting an extensive research, the firm found that the children were the biggest consumers of Maggi noodles. Quickly a strategy was developed to capture the kids segment with various tools of sales promotion like pencils, fun books, maggi clubs which worked wonders for it. No doubt the ads of maggi have shown a hungry kid saying ’’Mummy bhookh lagi hai’’ to which his mom replies ’’Bas do minute! ’’ and soon he is happily eating Maggie noodles. The company could have easily positioned the product as a meal, but did not, as a study had shown that Indian mentality did not accept anything other than rice or roti as meal. They made it a easy to cook snack that could be prepared in just two minutes. The formula clicked well maggi became a brand name. That’s precisely what is required in making a product a brand The brand has grown to an estimated 200 crore contributes to around 10% of Nestle India’s top line. So next time when you are eating this noodles just remember these facts that have gone on to make Maggi a brand. In the early 1980s India was opening up to the world after three and a half decades of self-existence. Till then, the concept of â€Å"fast food† was practically non-existent. Nestle had already been pipped to the post by Cadbury in the milk chocolate segment and it desperately wanted to create a niche for itself in the high potential Indian market. It was then that it realized that it could be a first-mover in the untapped â€Å"instant food† segment. Several years went by and a lot of money was spent and Maggi Noodles was born. The problems had only just begun. The biggest of them was the Indian psyche of the 80s. The conservatism which India showed in their culture boiled down to their palate also. They would rather stick to their Tandoori Chicken or Idli Sambhar than be a little more adventurous in trying a new taste. Maggi Noodles was a new taste from a new culture. It was then that Maggi Noodles became Maggi Instant Two-Minute Noodles. The whole point was to position Maggi as platform of convenience and soul food for the a fast growing section of the Indian population – the working women. Heavy promotion was done on the same lines. But even this did not work. Sales were good but not as good as they wanted it to be. A research was carried out which revealed that the largest consumers of the brand were not the working women but young children in the Indian households. Realizing this, Nestle repositioned their brand using new promotional strategies and smart advertising. Marketing teams were sent out to schools to distribute free Maggi samples to take home. The kids would inevitably take their Maggi packets home and ask their mothers to prepare it for lunch or as a snack. The mothers would find that it took them only two minutes to make a proper hot meal for their children who would love it. They would refer it to their neighbors who would pass it on to distant bachelor cousins who lived alone and had to cook for themselves. Thus, the hugely successful viral campaign ensured that Maggi created a distinct affection in the hearts of its consumers unlike any other proprietary food of its time. But the story was far from over. In 1997, Nissin – the inventor of instant noodles – launched its flagship brand Top Ramen in the Indian market with Shah Rukh Khan – fresh from the success of super hits like Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge – endorsing the brand. It was then that Maggi took its first false step – it changed its taste to align itself with that of Top Ramen’s. The results were disastrous. A generation which had grown up on Maggi could not accept the new taste and would rather give Top Ramen a try. Nestle was fast losing ground to Nissin. It took them two years to work out a new strategy – accept the consumer’s verdict and get back to the basics. In 1999, Maggi relaunched itself with its original taste. It paid off handsomely and the faithfuls returned to their master. Top Ramen could no longer sustain the growth it built up in the two years. The next big hurdle came in 2004. The SARS epidemic of 2003 in South East Asia had led to widespread concerns regarding personal hygiene and health. Mothers were now more concerned regarding what their children were eating and maida in general was always considered to be low on the health aspect. In 2005 Maggi launched Atta Noodles with the tagline â€Å"Taste bhi, health bhi. † Although the advertisements showed Atta Noodles replacing the rotis and chapatis, this was never Maggi’s intention. It knew that thinking about that objective was a far cry and the main purpose was to convince mothers that their children was eating the right thing. In this sense, it scored over the Licia and Bambino semolina-based Macaroni products, which, though being an healthier alternative to Maggi, always tried to position themselves as a substitute for wheat based items of daily consumption. Within 10 months, Maggi Atta Noodles was declared a success and now they are foraying further with the â€Å"Taste bhi, Health bhi† campaign with products such as Multi-Grain Noodles. The above examples show that Maggi as a brand knows the customer and is willing to learn from its mistakes. It knows that its USP is convenience to ake and good to eat and it sticks to that without pushing the envelope further in its campaigns. It has also leveraged its success to other food products – the most notable of which is the Maggi ketchup which has garnered a market leader position of about 45% largely thanks to the Maggi brand and its positioning as a â€Å"Different† product ( Remember the tagline – Its different! ). The savior of many students (and especially the ones staying in hostels), there is little doubt as to why many regard Maggi as the greatest invention since the wheel.

Baby Sitting :: essays research papers

Four-year-olds can be a nightmare or a gold mine if you know what to do. Most of us have had encounters with a few of them whether they be our brother's and sisters or our neighbors' children. Next time you have an encounter with one you might want to consider the following tips. Toddlers have LOTS of energy, they might run you around the table for hours before they tire. I can honestly say that every child has some sort of favorite character from Batman to Barbie to tellietubbies they will always have one. It might help to find in advance what their favorite TV Show is and there favorite characters so you can plan to watch a video or play with some figures of there favorite character. To help the kids to get into their nightclothes you might want to bribe them into it. Like for example you might say "I'll let you have a pop-sickle or some popcorn if you can get ready for bed." But one thing you must ALWAYS remember is to never ever ever under any circumstance give them sugar before bedtime. Now that you understand how to get them calmed down you should relax by letting them watch a Disney movie or a TV show. Kids under five should be in bed by no later than eight thirty no matter what the kids say. I think parents and any experienced baby-sitter will agree this is the most difficult task of the night. Almost all kids will fight to the death to avoid going to sleep. Some methods can vary from child to child depending on the attitude of the kids. First things first to avoid some conflict you should tell them at least an hour in advance when they will be going to bed, this gets rid of the argument "you never told me I had to go to bed at eight o clock." Next as bedtime arrives you should make sure they are ready for bed, teeth brushed, is your bed ready do you have your nightclothes on? Now for the most dreaded thing "Okay Marco and Amy its time for bed," is the way it should sound in a nice calm soothing voice.

Healthy Grief Essay

The loss of a family member and/or loved one can put someone on an emotional roller coaster. Whether it is an expected or unexpected loss, the emotional process of dealing with the grief could be the same. With an expected loss, loved ones are able to prepare themselves for what is to come. An unexpected loss could bring more emotions into the grieving process. This paper will discuss the grieving process by Kubler-Ross, the story of Job, and the way Muslims deal with death and dying. While some people focus on the sadness of losing a loved one, others try and find the positive in the any situation. To grieve the loss of a loved one, many would say that they feel a lot of different indescribable emotions. Shock, disbelief, emotional pain, anger, and sadness are all some emotions that people feel while grieving. Kubler-Ross developed a five step grieving process that one should experience and move through so they can move on to a happy life (Lecture 5 Notes). The process itself is: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance (Lecture 5 Notes). It is easy for a person to not believe that a loved one has passed on as begin the grieving process (Lecture 5 Notes). Once the denial has processed and the loss has become a reality, it is normal to get angry and ask ‘why did this happen?’ Bargaining with God is the next step in the grieving process. Trying to make a deal with God to try and bring back a loved one gives a person hope that their loved one will come back. Once reality has set in, depression is the next step (Lecture 5 Notes). This is when the feelings of hopelessness set in, making it difficult for a person to pass this stage (Lecture 5 Notes). The last stage of the grieving process is acceptance (Lecture 5 Notes). This is the stage that helps a person emotionally move on from grieving the loss of a loved one. Life goes becomes a new type of normal with the memory of the loved one instead of the having the loved one there (Lecture 5 Notes). In the book of Job, Satan challenges Job’s faith and love for God, with God’s permission (Study Bible-NLT, 2008). Satan does everything in his power to get Job to not only doubt God, but to curse him as well (Study Bible-NLT, 2008). Satan killed his ten children and destroyed his livestock and servants (Study Bible-NLT, 2008). Job focused more on God and praised him as he mourned loss of his children and wealth (Study Bible-NLT, 2008). Satan then tried one last time by filling Job’s body with sores (Study Bible-NLT, 2008). The doubt of his wife and the negativity of his colleagues never gave him a change of heart. Job remained faithful to God, never doubted Him (he doubted himself at times), and still praised Him (Study Bible-NLT, 2008). God eventually replenished Job’s wealth and blessed him with more children (Study Bible-NLT, 2008). Job grieved in a very healthy way. He did not blame others and he did not curse God. He tried to find the good in every ba d situation. One religion that differs from Christianity and western civilization’s way of grieving the loss of a loved one is the Islamic religion. With death and dying, Muslims believe that there is life after death (Ross, 2001). It is believed that believers of the religion must practice the five pillars of Islam and live a righteous life on earth in order to have a different afterlife than those ‘unbelievers’ (Ross, 2001). People of the Islamic religion must mourn as they prepare for a quick burial (Ross, 2001). A loved one should be buried the day of death or the day after, not any later (Ross, 2001). In public, it is not of their norm for women to show any emotion at a time like this (Ross, 2001). Finding joy in the midst of losing a loved one can be trying. But like Job in the Bible, joy could come quicker if faith is not lost. Grieving is a challenging time to stay positive. Making the attempt to stay positive helps push one through the grieving process without getting stuck in one of the stages for too long. A good way to find joy is to continue to praise God and not to lose faith in Him. In closing, re-reading the book of Job in the Holy Bible has reminded me of how important it is to praise God in the midst of a storm. The loss of a loved one is tragic for anyone and grieving is a natural process in life. But if the focus stays on praising God and not losing faith, that grieving process can turn into a healing process and it is possible to find peace in the midst of grieving. God always has a rainbow waiting at the end of each storm, it just depends how long it takes for you to play in the rain before you get there.

English Spelling Reform of Walter W. Skeat

Walter Skeat was one of those wonderful people who tried to make everyones life simpler. He did it in his very own way – by proposing a Spelling Reform in 1906. He was not the pioneer – the first request for making the spelling easier was made in 1881. Some linguistic magazines in USA even supported the proposal and printed the papers using â€Å"new orthography†. Inspired by Henry Sweet, Skeat decided to switch from good old complex spelling to phonetic spelling – and well, though his Reform failed, it was a very interesting suggestion indeed. Main Proposals of Spelling Reform Skeats work on Spelling Reform consists of 18 pages and his main point is incredibly simple: spelling should come to the point, where letters directly represent sounds. Back in Skeats times, schoolboys had to study Latin for 6 years and one of his main arguments for the necessity of Spelling Reform was the fact that it would be easier for boys to learn Latin pronunciation without Anglicizing it. This argument does not work now (thanks God, no one makes poor children study the â€Å"dead† language for 6 years), but its absence doesnt make the Spelling Reform any less comfortable. For example, Skeat proposed the following spellings of the words: hav, liv, abov; agreev, aproov, solv, freez, jepardy, bredth; cumfort, tuch, writn; acheev, beleev; num; lookt, honor and etc. Two Biggest â€Å"Acheevments† of It According to Walter Skeat, two very important achievements could be reached by the Spelling Reform: â€Å"The first is that those partial reforms would necessarily involve the disuse of a large number of useless letters. In this way more matter would be got into a page, and some labour in the compositions of the type would be saved; and as this would happen in every case, †¦it might very easily save every printer and publisher a considerable sum of money. It would not be surprising if the aggregate savings, in the course of a year, throughout the British Empire, were to amount to a considerable sum of money. [He projected the economy of thousands of pounds.]†¦ The second is that the task of learning to read would be considerably simplified, and the time taken to achieve that task would be considerably shortened†¦. In this case there can be no doubt at all that the sums thus saved would be very considerable.† So why did the Spelling Reform fail after all? There were two significant causes. Firstly, after learning hard options of how to spell some hard-to-remember words, people simply did not want to give up their accomplishments. They would rather torture their innocent children with horrors of old English grammar than losing their own privileges of knowledge. Secondly, simplified spelling somehow stank of Americanism to English people. So, unfortunately, Spelling Reform was considered a threat to pure English language and therefore got rejected.