Papers presented by Barkha Kagliwal since 2019

2023 Detroit, MI, United States

"To Eat Maggi or Not to Eat Maggi: How an MNC Branded Itself out of a Controversy"

Barkha Kagliwal, Cornell University

Abstract:

Nestle’s Maggi noodles were launched in 1983 in India and they have been popular with middle-class mothers, children, students and street food vendors, especially for their ‘Indian’ spice mix. Maggi enjoyed a share of about 80% of the noodles market until 1st of May 2015, when a government laboratory claimed there was 7 times the permissible amount of lead in a packet of Maggi, resulting in a nation-wide ban on Maggi and enraged consumers. Yet Maggi has almost recaptured the market share. How did Maggi bounce back from this controversy? This paper analyzes how the government, legal system, and businesses (both MNCs and domestic corporations) articulated the Maggi controversy and what role technological expertise played in resolving this highly politicized battle. In doing so, it explores the contestation over brand legitimacy between a Multinational Corporation and domestic stakeholders. Moreover, the paper examines the Indian consumer as a case study for understanding how national identity can be linked to a product developed and branded by a Multinational Corporation.

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