Nestle, ITC execs spar over latter's 'safe noodles' ad

Recent ads by ITC's Sunfeat YIPPee! Noodles, depicting the instant-noodles snack as 'safe' and having cleared regulatory permissions seem to have unnerved Nestle a bit, whose Maggi noodles recently ran into a problem with the foods regulator.The ads, which show actual visuals of ITC's manufacturing facilities, are clearly aimed at capitalizing on Maggi's fiasco.Maggi's iconic noodles brand is currently off the shelf after the foods regulator, FSSAI, said some samples had tested for excess levels of MSG and lead and banned it a few months back. The company contested the order in court, which recently lifted the ban subject to further testing.But ITC's ad campaign may not have impressed newly-appointed Nestle India MD Suresh Narayanan who said that while "competition is fully entitled to do what they do", Maggi did not need to "shout from the rooftop to how what quality means to us"."Quality has meant trust to us for 150 years. And every brand has a place in the sun, including, I hope, Maggi." Narayanan was speaking at a function celebrating India's Top Brands, in which Nestle ranked at 15th (a notch higher from last year), showing recent developments have failed to impact the brand's value, according to the study. Also present in the same room was ITC COO Hemant Malik, who did not shy away from targeting Nestle again and said the company was trying to tell customers they could trust YIPPee! Noodles "as our products go through stringent quality protocols".Alluding to the Maggi controversy, Malik said the brand value of the noodles category had got affected."It is also a wake-up. We can argue about why regulations are not correct but if they exist, you have to make sure you are following them," he said.