By Preetika Rana
NEW DELHI-- Nestlé SA will use advertising and social media, as
well as the courts, to try to repair the damage done to its
reputation by a recent food scare in India, said the
newly-appointed head of the company's Indian arm.
While Nestlé has been in India for more than 100 years, it has
never faced a challenge as big as Indian food regulators' decision
last month to block the sale of its popular instant noodles,
alleging they contained illegally high levels of lead, said Suresh
Narayanan, who flew into India on Friday to become Nestlé India's
next managing director.
Mr. Narayanan said his immediate goal is to rebuild the
company's brand "brick-by-brick, consumer-by-consumer and
employee-by-employee."
"We can overcome," Mr. Narayanan said over a cup of Nescafé
coffee, just a few hours after he landed in India. "We want to say
this to the millions of consumers."
The 55-year-old company veteran--who until last week headed
Nestlé's operations in the Philippines--replaces Etienne Benet.
The world's biggest food company is fighting Indian regulators
in court after food-safety inspectors said they found high traces
of lead in its Maggi 2-Minute Noodles and blocked the sale of the
product last month.
The instant noodles are Nestlé's best-selling product and used
to account for one in every five dollars the company made in
India.
Even though Nestlé disputes the regulators' findings, it has
spent the past month pulling millions of packets of instant noodles
from store shelves and destroying them, costing the company $50
million in lost sales.
Mr. Narayanan said his job is to regain consumer trust and
revive confidence of Nestlé employees, who have been disheartened
by the hit to the brand's reputation. At the same time, he said he
wants to reinvigorate Nestlé's business in India, which was
struggling even before the noodle recall. Last year, the company's
Indian arm recorded its lowest growth in more than a decade.
Mr. Narayanan's approach may be bit more aggressive than his
predecessor's, as he wants Nestlé to directly communicate more with
consumers.
The company was initially mostly silent as the food scare
unfolded. There were weeks of regulator reports about possible
contamination of the noodles before Chief Executive Paul Bulcke
flew into New Delhi for a news conference. Some analysts at the
time said it was too little too late.
A court ruling on Nestlé's challenge to the noodle ban and a
decision on whether Nestlé can start selling its noodles again
could happen as soon as this week.
Mr. Narayanan said the company plans to drive home the message
that its products are safe by using commercials as well as social
media. He also plans to reach out to other company stakeholders,
including workers at now shuttered noodle factories and suppliers
and distributors who were left jobless without Maggi noodles.
Mr. Narayanan, who is from India, said his Indian roots could
work to his advantage, as he will be able hit the ground running as
he won't need time to get used to local conditions. Analysts say
sometimes an Indian-born leader can communicate better with
government regulators, who can be deeply suspicious of foreign
companies.
"I have some creditability" in India, said Mr. Narayanan. "I
know I belong."
Write to Preetika Rana at preetika.rana@wsj.com
Access Investor Kit for NESTLE SA ORD REG
Visit
http://www.companyspotlight.com/partner?cp_code=P479&isin=CH0038863350
Access Investor Kit for Nestlé India Ltd.
Visit
http://www.companyspotlight.com/partner?cp_code=P479&isin=INE239A01016
Access Investor Kit for NESTLE SA ORD REG
Visit
http://www.companyspotlight.com/partner?cp_code=P479&isin=US6410694060
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires