Sandwich makers & bread were biggest gainers from Maggi ban

Sandwich makers, popcorn makers and bread were the big gainers from the Maggi ban, and now, as Maggi returns to store shelves, these categories might return to their traditional rates of growth. 

Data shared by e-tailer Flipkart showed that sales of snack makers — products like toasters, sandwich makers, popcorn makers and other small kitchen appliances — rose 50% month-on-month from June, a huge leap from the 10% month-on-month growth in the one year prior to June Stock Market Trading Tips

The Maggi ban started taking effect from June 5, after food regulator Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) ordered the company to withdraw all variants of the brand, calling them unsafe for human consumption. 

Flipkart's data also showed that while the unprecedented growth in snack makers was visible across the country, student towns like Manipal and Vellore and hill stations like Dehradun, Shimla and Ooty were the biggest sales drivers. Maggi was known to be enormously popular in colder climes, and with college students, especially those that stayed in hostels. 

"Every noon I used to have a bowl of Maggi in the college canteen. After it went out of the shelves in May, I switched to sandwiches," says Valida Mendonca, final year student of radiation therapy in Manipal, a university town that is home to nearly 11,000 students from around the world Himanshu Tiwari Astrologer Blog

Anant A, a civil engineering student at the Manipal Insitute of Technology, said that several of his friends had bought sandwich makers following the Maggi ban. "Since we study late into the night, some light snacks or food is necessary to keep us awake," he says. 

Information from online grocer Bigbasket appeared to corroborate this trend. On a request from TOI, the e-tailer did some data crunching of 500 big Maggi consuming households. The analysis found that bread and eggs were among the three items that saw an increase during the period for those customers who sharply reduced their purchase of Maggi and similar products. The third item was fruits. Bigbasket said the demand for these products grew 8-10% by volume. "None of the adjoining categories like oats, macaroni or pasta saw a simultaneous rise during the ban period," it said Indian stock market astrology prediction

Bigbasket said the ban of Maggi resulted in sales of the noodles category nose-diving by 75%. However, within the overall shrunk market, ITC's Sunfeast Yippee noodles brand was a gainer, commanding a 66% market share. Prior to the ban, Nestle-owned Maggi commanded an 85% market share among Bigbasket's consumers. Yippee had a 6% market share while Indonissin's Top Ramen held another 6%, and other smaller brands had 3% market share. 

The manager of a More supermarket in Bengaluru also said Yippee was a gainer. "Sales of bread and biscuits too went up," he said. 

With Maggi now back in stores in some states, will the growth in these other products slow down? "It might be tough for Maggi to grow the overall noodles category sales to the level that existed before the ban during this calendar year. Similarly it might take some time before Maggi regains its previous sales and market share," said Hari Menon, co-founder & CEO of Bigbasket Commodity Market Astrology Tips