Nestlé tweaks Maggi, KitKat, Nescafe, Everyday packaging to remind buyers to wear masks

Nearly a year-and-a-half into the COVID pandemic, Nestlé is using the tweaked packs to send out a message. It's part of the ‘Face of hope’ initiative.

Nestlé India has tweaked the packaging of four of its popular products – Maggi, KitKat, Nescafe and Everyday. A mask is now a part of the packaging. It's part of the ‘Face of hope’ initiative, and the brand aims to spread awareness about COVID and remind individuals to wear masks.

Conceptualised by Wunderman Thompsom, the campaign will be backed by print and digital activations. In a statement, the brand said, “Nestlé India understands the ‘need of the hour’ and wants to sensitise each and every individual about the one basic practice that we must all follow – masking up. To remind all of us and create awareness on this very important safeguard, we have commenced work towards tweaking our product packaging that will see our iconic brands ‘masked up’. Our aim is to ensure that this important message gets reinforced every time consumers look at our products.”

Nestlé undertook packaging changes in the past too to reflect societal messages, such as educating the girl child.

Suresh Narayanan, chairman and MD, Nestlé India, shared his thoughts about this initiative in a LinkedIn post. “As you and I go through the COVID pandemic, we grapple with the death, destruction and sadness this virus has caused. None of us has been spared the misery unleashed by COVID. Everyone knows a friend, a family, a relative, a colleague, a city, a town, a village that has suffered and continues to feel the pain. Science has taught us that using a ‘mask’ and social distancing are amongst the few precautions we can take, in addition to, of course, vaccination. At Nestlé India, we see our brands to not just give moments of happiness, nourishment and pleasure to you, but also stand up to help society in times of acute stress…”

Rajat Kumar Jain, director – foods, Nestlé, posted this on LinkedIn:

afaqs! asked Ashwini Deshpande, co-founder-director, Elephant Design, about the brand’s initiative and its new packaging. “Every move to remind people to wear a mask, wash hands or maintain social distance is welcome.”

She says that while the idea is not original, the brand’s good intent should go a long way.

“During the first wave of the pandemic, dozens of brands were quick to display masks on their logos and app icons. Dunzo, Zomato, Subway, Vodafone and even Radio Mirchi donned masks as far back as May/June last year. Make My Trip, Urban Clap and Red Bus did that too. Interestingly, Ghadi detergent covered the logo on packaging with a mask in December last year. Putting a mask on a logo or packaging is a tactical strategy. It carries a good message and, undeniably, gives the brands a talking point,” adds Deshpande.