Making noodles for everyone, Wai Wai

CG Corp Global, a 140 years old conglomerate with 160 companies and 123 brands across the world. And it is the only billionaire company from Nepal. CG Foods, the FMCG vertical of multinational conglomerate CG Corp Global is the manufacturer of the iconic noodle brand WAI WAI. 

Wai Wai’s market is poised to attain its target of Rs 1000 crore by end of this financial year and is positive to enhance its market position in India. Currently, CG Foods has manufacturing footprints across India with seven plants in Rudrapur (Uttarakhand), Chittoor (Andhra Pradesh), Purnea (Bihar), Roopangarh (Rajasthan), and three plants in North East India at Chhaygaon, Silchar, and Sikkim.

 Wai Wai has a range of noodles that fall under the Instant Ready-to-Eat category, where you open the pack and have the noodles directly, with no cooking required. Wai Wai offers a vast product portfolio ranging from - Multigrain, Spicy, Hakka, Sauces, Pasta, and Bhujiya. And recently, Wai Wai has launched its Spicy Korean-style hot noodles inspired by rapidly growing Korean Culture in India, which contains Bhut Jolokia, the hottest chilly on earth. This premium range of spicy Wai Wai instant noodles has been launched in three flavors: akbare, dynamite, and pyro in Northeast India. Wai Wai is a market leader or differentiator in customizing noodles to people’s tastes, preferences, and even nutritional requirements. And if this isn’t enough, Wai Wai also offers fish-flavored noodles and Jain noodles in regions where it is most preferred.

 The people-customized, well-within-all-segment’s reach without compromising on quality standards, Wai Wai, is food in Nepal and many parts of India where accessibility and price considerations matter. Wai Wai is the market leader in the brown noodles category.

Offering myriad options for everyone

CG Foods has announced a capacity expansion in five factories and has furthermore created robust new product launch plans with an investment of 120 cr., which will make it no longer a noodle brand. The expansion will lead to an increase of 35% from the current operations and also help generate 1000+ job opportunities. The first set of new products launched is the WAI WAI sauces.

Wai Wai is continuously evolving its product range and delving into products. As far as innovation is concerned. 

 Elaborating in detail, Varun Chaudhary, managing director of CG Foods, the FMCG arm of CG Corp Global, proudly shares, “We have a noodle for everyone. From our famous market leader RTE for someone who wants to snack on the noodle to the conventional cook-in-boil water instant noodle that is prevalent in the market, we are everywhere. Then we have a wide range of noodles ranging from Chicken and Fish flavored to even Jain Masala noodles, we honor eating sentiments. Then we have the international tastes ranging from European Peri-Peri to hot & spicy Korean style Dynamite noodles there is a noodles flavor for everyone. We have further spread the range by foraying into sauces, pastes, and snacks including traditional Bhujias. At Wai Wai, every day we search for new ways and tastes to keep you hooked.”

 Analyzing India’s breakthrough in food manufacturing

The industry is headed for a transformation with digitization at its core. Services will grow to become more personalized and customer-centric. Chaudhary believes, “With the increased appreciation towards home projects, we expect more people to cook at home than in pre-COVID times. Improving eCommerce channels and offline-to-online services will be important to meet the needs of consumers in the future. F&B retailers will need to up their e-commerce game.”

 Keeping the increasing consumer demands and the market trends in mind, it’s also a huge possibility that not only ready-to-eat and ready-to-cook are going to stay in India but also develop immensely. In a country where every other person is passionate about their work to the point of being a workaholic, they often don’t have the time or the will to cook time take dishes, ready-to-eat food provides a healthy, convenient alternative with a variety.

Wai Wai at Annapoorna-ANUFOOD India 2022

The Wai Wai team participating in ANUFOOD is displaying its range of products for visitors. Elaborating further, Chaudhary says, “Annapoorna - ANUFOOD India is the most important B2B platform for the food & beverage trade and retail market in the Indian subcontinent. The 15th edition of Annapoorna - ANUFOOD India, by its increasing quality in the exhibitors and visitors, has paved its way as the most sought-after trade fair in India and the neighboring region.

 Wai Wai is focused on building relationships with retail buyers, potential distributors, and HoReCa Clients to drive profitable sales via direct sampling of products and the innovative recipes of Wai Wai, as we are the only brand that offers supreme quality brown noodles.

 Emphasizing their expectation from the exhibition, Chaudhary says, “Platforms like these serve as an opportunity to reach new markets. It can serve as a chance to connect with existing customers and make long-lasting impressions on potential customers. It can be done by engaging them with free samples, fun Q&A about your industry, or small gamified competitions.”

 “Even if these prospects aren’t ready to buy during the event, one would have done a great job positioning itself at the top of their mind; meaning our brand will be the first they’ll consider when they are ready to make a purchase or when their friends ask them for a recommendation. While to some, that may not seem as important as on-the-spot selling, market research, and customer insights, rest assured that in the long run proper positioning pays off more than making a few quick bucks. It helps you spread awareness about your brand and groom new prospects into making repeat purchases in the future,” he adds.

Wai Wai as a brand has thought through what it is that they want from this exhibition, that is:

- Gathering Insights

Data is required to make data-driven decisions and events like this can be a gold mine for gathering valuable data. In the middle of a giant focus group that is ready to fuel business with valuable insights. It can be used as feedback regarding new products being launched, existing recipes, how to refine them and to validate which of the items are best or worst sellers and why that is.

- Keeping an eye on the competitors

Having competing businesses alongside at such events can be a blessing in disguise. The reason is that it allows one to keep an eye on them and their activities. One can use this as an opportunity to get relevant updates about existing competitors and get to know new ones on the rise in your area. When passing by their booths, try to explore their products, offerings, and the promotions they’re using to attract customers. Competitors can act as a source of inspiration for future events by helping you discover what works and what doesn’t without having to learn each time at the expense of your pocket.

- Building Partnerships

While it may be necessary to treat some businesses as competitors, keep in mind that not all of them should be viewed that way. Some can act as valuable allies to business. Find businesses whose products don’t directly compete with yours but greatly compliment them.

- Easy Marketing

Events like this allocate a big chunk of their budget to marketing to ensure a successful turnout. Plan and network well in advance to piggyback your way onto the organizer’s marketing campaign without spending too much of your own money and resources.

Taking one step at a time toward the future

In the latest and trending spicy noodle range – Dynamite is the first noodle in India to come with Bhut Jholokiya seasoning. Further expansion to the Spicy Noodle range with the introduction of Pyro – a Nepalese best-seller with the tongue-tingling spice level.

The plant construction in Egypt, commissioned in June 2022, will serve east Africa and parts of the Middle East. A state-of-the-art Wai Wai plant will be built in the next few months. Production’s first phase is to commence by June 2023. Which will involve exports of more than 50% of the production.

“Today, we have manufacturing plants based in Nepal, India, Serbia, Kazakhstan, and Bangladesh and own around 3% of the global market share in the noodle segment as we work towards becoming a leader in the segment,” Chaudhary wraps up.