Maggi, a subsidiary of the Nestlé group, is set to lose over $200 million in brand value following a ban imposed by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), according to experts.

Maggi’s brand was valued at $2.4 billion prior to the food safety ban, which ranked the noodle manufacturer as the 23rd most valuable food brand in the world, according to Brand Finance, one of the world’s leading brand valuation and strategy consultancy.

Maggi will be destroying $50 million worth of noodles which have been branded “unsafe and hazardous” after the FSSAI discovered “higher-than-allowed levels of lead” in some noodle packets.

This combined with a damaged brand will result in a reduced brand value of $2.2 billion, stated the Brand Finance analysts.

"Any health concerns raised by a credible source such as the FSSAI will most certainly damage customer loyalty and consideration of a food brand," explained Brand Finance CEO, David Haigh.

"As Maggi’s parent company, Nestlé will have to turn around swiftly to ensure that the brand can retain its dominance in the Indian market. If not, the Nestlé brand itself could be at risk as the Nestlé logo prominently features on the back of Maggi noodles packaging, making it synonymous with the Maggi brand," he noted.

Nestlé has decided to challenge the high court whilst also raising “issues of interpretation” of India's food safety laws.-TradeArabia News Service