Nestle’s “Simply Good” Initiative Set to Transform Maggi Range by 2020

30 May 2017 --- In line with Nestlé’s commitment to enable healthier and happier lives and an ever-growing trend towards health-focused cooking the company are aiming to transform the Maggi range globally by 2020, removing ingredients that consumers do not easily recognize and adding more of those that they do, including vegetables and original flavors from vegetables, herbs and spices, grains and other nutrient-rich ingredients. 

The iconic Maggi brand is on a mission to champion the goodness of home cooking, renewing its global product portfolio with simple, recognizable ingredients that people are familiar with, like those they might find in their kitchen cupboard. 

The move is part of the new Maggi “Simply Good” initiative to inspire and offer tastier and healthier choices to consumers. 

It includes a strong contribution of Maggi to the Nestlé commitment to add at least 750 million portions of vegetables and at least 300 million portions of fiber-rich grains as well as pulses, nuts and seeds worldwide by 2020. With an ever-growing trend towards health-focused cooking, the Simply Good plan will also continue to lower salt in the Maggi range, with an average sodium reduction of 10% between now and 2020. 

Fortification is another important element of Maggi’s commitment to good nutrition, especially in countries where daily consumption of essential micronutrients is lacking. In 2015, Maggi delivered 110 billion servings fortified with iodine, iron or Vitamin A. The goal is to increase that to 120 billion servings per year by 2020. 

Along with changes to the products, Maggi Simply Good is also encouraging food habits that have a positive impact. On-pack and online advice and recipes, as well as local events such as cooking academies, will help people cook healthily on a budget and reduce food waste. 

The Simply Good initiative has already kicked off in Central and West Africa, where fortified Maggi stock cubes and other products are a staple for many households. In addition to the strong commitments on ingredients, Nestlé is highlighting nutritional challenges by engaging with government authorities, civil society and consumers. 

Patrice Bula, Executive Vice President at Nestlé, said: “Home cooking has a positive impact on our lives. The Maggi commitment is to inspire and help people to cook good food with fresh ingredients. That is why we are transforming our products using ingredients everyone knows and loves.” 

New and improved Maggi products are already on shelves in many markets, for instance a new range of sauce mixes in the Middle East, recipe bases in Australia, the “Mélanges Parfaits” seasonings in France, and vegetable broth and sauce mixes in Germany. 
 
Simply Good: Examples From Around the World 

Maggi Simply Good has already kicked off in the Central and West Africa region. 100% of Maggi products will be made with more common and familiar ingredients that consumers love and suiting local tastes and food cultures. 

In 2016, Nestlé sold 65 billion fortified servings in Central and West Africa, and Maggi delivers over 100 million iron fortified cubes daily to 78 million households in the region. Maggi will also reduce the salt content by 22% in its Maggi tablets and cubes in the region. 

Maggi has launched a new range of Maggi Mixes in the Middle East, made solely of ingredients that people know and love, and are likely to find at home. The new Maggi Mixes use a blend of natural spices and herbs benchmarked to homemade tastes, fused together for the cooking of a range of dishes as diverse as Shawarma, Kabsa, Masala, and Bechamel, accenting all with such flavors as Hot & Spicy, Coriander & Garlic, or Zaatar & Lemon Pepper. 

Maggi in Australia has made significant changes to the brand’s dry Recipe Bases range, removing ingredients unfamiliar to consumers such as emulsifiers, and replacing these with everyday ingredients including vegetable powders, herbs and spices. To help Australians make quick and informed decisions about what goes into their home cooked meals, Maggi reformulated the majority of its dry Recipe Base products in the range, including Satay Chicken, Butter Chicken, Chilli con Carne, Mexican Nachos, Beef Stroganoff and Devilled Sausages. 

In India the Simply Good journey has started as well. Maggi Masala Noodles are fortified with iron, as iron deficiency is high in the country. They provide 15% of the recommended daily intake of iron to help close the gap. Maggi has also brought down sodium levels in the portfolio in India. Over the last 10 years, sodium per serve has been brought down by 32.7% and the commitment is to further reduce it by 10% by 2020.