Coming soon: Massive Maggi PR blitz headed by Nestle's star exec Shivani Hegde

Nestle, the multinational consumer goods company now in the eye of a storm over excessive lead content in its Maggi noodles, has kickstarted its damage control exercise roping in US-based public relations firm APCO Worldwide and also bringing back Shivani Hegde, who now heads its Sri Lankan operations, to India, say media reports. The move comes in the wake of the criticism that the controversy was an epic PR disaster for the company, which has been in India for many decades now, and more states banning the product. After the controversy broke out on 30 April, with authorities in Lucknow asking the company to recall Maggi noodles after tests revealed excessive lead content and MSG, the company’s first direct interaction with the media happened only yesterday, after more than a month. [caption id=“attachment_2282270” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  AFP[/caption] “We were engaging with the authorities,” Nestle CEO Paul Bulcke said at a press conference yesterday when asked about the company’s delayed response to the controversy. It had earlier in the day withdrawn its product from the market, blaming the environment of confusion prevailing in India with various tests showing varying results. It also insisted that the product is safe to be consumed. Despite Bulcke’s insistence, more state governments have banned the product. Maharashtra, a state which had earlier found it safe, banned Maggi yesterday saying the latest results have shown high lead content in the noodles. Madhya Pradesh too banned the product in that state after lab tests it spotted monosodium glutamate or MSG in the samples tested. However, the company seems to be preparing for a massive PR exercise with a report in The Economic Times on Saturday saying it has appointed APCO Worldwide to assist it in getting over the negative publicity for the Maggi brand and create a positive opinion among stakeholders. APCO was the agency that helped Narendra Modi win over the investor community by changing the image of the Gujarat government post the 2002 communal riots. According to the report, citing a person privy to the development, it was APCO that organised Nestle’s press conference on Friday. Another report in the same newspaper has said the company has also brought back Shivani Hegde, a Nestle veteran for about 30 years, to India from Sri Lanka where she is now the in-charge of operations. According to the report, it was Hegde who took Maggi to such highs through brand extensions and right marketing strategy. She was posted in Sri Lank only four months back. Nestle introduced various ad campaigns for Maggi, like ‘Taste Bhi, Health Bhi’ and ‘Me Aur Meri Maggi’ featuring Amitabh Bachchan, under her. “We wanted Maggi to be a mother’s ally. Give her a tasty snack she could whip up for her famished child in two minutes,” Hegde, GM - Foods at Nestle India, was quoted as saying in an interview in The Economic Times in October 2014. Hegde had also been a proponent of digital route to reach out to consumers. She had once told ET that creating conversations on the digital platform forms a part of the company’s strategy for Maggi. “Our object is to create relevant content for our consumers. Everything we do on digital is mostly earned media as opposed to paid media,” she had told the newspaper. With the enormous influence social media has among the new generation, Hegde is likely to tap this potential to engage with the consumers as she starts her brand rebuilding efforts for Maggi. Meanwhile, various news reports have said the company has started suspending noodles production at its units. A report in The Hindu said the company has temporarily stopped noodles production at its Nanjungud plant in Karnataka. The plant employs about 300 workers and also manufactures instant coffee, the report said. Another report in The Hindustan Times said, officials from the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India have started collecting samples from the Una plant in Himachal Pradesh. Investors continued to be wary despite the company’s clarifications at the press conference on Friday as the stock ended 0.2 percent from its previous close. More brokerages have joined the bandwagon to downgrade the stock and cut its price target. Various estimates have suggested the company will have to take about 20 percent hit on profit after tax as part of its brand re-building efforts.