BRAND CRISIS MANAGEMENT IN THE AGE OF SOCIAL MEDIA (A STUDY OF NESTLE MAGGI NOODLE CRISIS)

ABSTRACT The project work title “Crisis Management and Consumer Trust: A Case Study of Nestlé's Response to the Maggi Noodle Crisis." The main objective of this project was to examine how Nestlé managed the Maggi noodle crisis in India and its impact on consumer trust. Utilizing the Situational Crisis Communication Theory (SCCT), Social Penetration Theory, the study explored the effectiveness of Nestlé's crisis communication strategies across various platforms, including traditional and social media. The population for this study is 211, 538.642 with a sample size of 399. The findings revealed that a consistent and transparent communication strategy significantly contributed to restoring consumer trust, with 75% of respondents acknowledging an improvement in trust a year after the crisis. It is recommended that companies facing similar crises adopt a proactive and culturally sensitive communication approach to mitigate damage. Further studies could explore the role of regional differences in crisis communication effectiveness across different global markets.