Cookbooks and ingredients on retail shelves

Its a great idea on the part of Nestle' to bring out a cookbook with recipes that require Nestle products be used. But then, it isn't a great idea if Nestle' can't stock up shop shelves with those products.

The other day Alphy bought a Nestle' cook book and embarked on changing our gastronomic lives by attempting to prepare the Indonesian Fish curry. Now the recipe required her to use Nestle's 'Maggi Lemon masala cubes' in its preparation. She rummaged high and low across grocery stores in Bangalore, but there was no sign of the damn 'cube'. The Fish curry now stands abandoned and we are back out to our staple fare.

The cook book's a great idea. It even sells at a price. But not backing up recipes with products on the shelves, marketers disappoint consumers who would have readied up for the use of such products. Imagine, if the curry were a success? You would have had a convert who could spread the good word about your 'cubes'! Soon, the cubes could fly off retail shelves!

But now all I can do is sigh over what may have been a gastronomic delight, or an unparalleled disaster. I may never know. :) :(