Are you munching on a biscuit as you read this article? Eating biscuits any time is such a habit now that one doesn’t even stop to think about it.
Indians are great biscuit-eaters. Step into any department store or even a corner shop and you will find a wall full of shelves dedicated to a variety of biscuit brands — Indian and foreign — on offer. But this was not always the case. When the British ruled India, imported brands like Jacob’s, Huntley & Palmers, Britannia and Glaxo were practically the only choices available to consumers. And many people — both in urban and rural areas — could not afford them.
In 1929, Mohanlal Dayal Chauhan set up a small factory in the suburbs of Bombay to manufacture confectionery. The factory was named after the suburban rail station ‘Vile Parle’ (village Parle in the olden days).
A decade later, the factory started making biscuits. It was a bold decision to take on the then freely available imported brands; though it was done not just with an eye on the market, but also with the generous impulse of bringing tasty, nutritious biscuits to the common man. With one salesman in Mumbai and a few agents in other cities, Parle tested the waters with its Parle Gluco (Glucose) and Parle Monaco biscuits.
Inexpensive, nutritious
It was a boon to the common man: a packet of Parle Gluco biscuits could actually act as a substitute for a meal — it was filling, nutritious and cheap. As sales picked up, Parle products were sent by rail to Madras, Delhi, Calcutta and other major Indian cities. Special branded packets and large tins for festivals were introduced.
There was a setback during World War II due to the increased demand for and resultant short supply of wheat. However, this was turned into an advantage as the company started producing biscuits with less wheat content. This ability to improvise is still one of Parle’s distinguishing characteristics.
Soon, imitations of the brand started emerging, and illiterate people would simply ask for and get any glucose biscuit packet. Britannia entered the fray with ‘Glucose D’. Parle responded by changing the name of its glucose biscuit to simply ‘Parle-G’ with the ‘G’ standing for ‘Glucose’ (now it stands for ‘Genius’). It came up with the catchy tagline ‘Always imitated, never equalled’ and made itself instantly recognisable with its distinctive white and yellow packing with the picture of the little girl (it has retained the same illustration by Maganlal Daiya since the 1960s). Pricing was kept under control despite increase in raw material costs.
Advertising on trains
Though Parle Gluco was the first brand to be introduced, it started advertising only in the 1980s. When Indian Railways started allowing advertisements on train compartments, Parle was one of the first to take advantage of it, with its catchy ads.
The first factories in Mumbai and Bangalore were followed by two more factories at Bahadurgarh in Haryana and Neemrana in Rajasthan (the last two are the largest biscuit and confectionery plants in the country). Apart from these, 10 manufacturing units (for biscuits) and 75 on contract (for confectionery) are strategically located to provide a steady output and facilitate distribution.
The product diversification that began out of necessity saw the portfolio expanding over the years. Each new biscuit brand introduced in the market saw sales shoot up. Quality and consistency were maintained by placing emphasis on hygiene at every step and by having regular checks conducted by expert staff.
Parle-G, with a 70 per cent market share in the glucose biscuit category in India, contributes more than 50 per cent of the company’s turnover. By 2013, it had crossed ₹5,000 crore in retail sales, making it India’s first domestic FMCG product to achieve that mark. It is the world’s largest selling biscuit (Nielsen survey 2011).
In premium market too
Parle’s focus on affordability helped its brands capture and retain the market even amid stiff competition. Most of the biscuits are in the low- or mid-price range. But Parle has also entered the premium segment successfully with cookies and cream biscuits, in which it is second to Britannia and ITC, respectively.
Krackjack, introduced in 1972, was a trend-setter in many ways: it was India’s first sweet-and- salt(y) biscuit and was advertised innovatively (initially) and intriguingly (recently). It won 14 international awards and inspired several similar brands among competitors, most notably Britannia’s 50-50, which ate into its market share. Monaco remains, for people of my generation, the original salt biscuit. Hide & Seek with its lingering taste, the inimitable Top, Parle Marie and confectionary items like Melody, Poppins, Kaccha Mango bite have their own dedicated following.
Parle forayed into the snacks (wafers and chips) category with Mexitos, Namkeen, Munchies and Cheeselings. But its ‘non-fried’ Monaco Smartchips failed due to its overemphasis on ‘health’ and not enough on the ‘fun’ aspect. Its Musst Chips & Musst Sticks also did not fare well as the names put people off with their association with the Hindi word ‘mast’. (They were reintroduced as Parle Wafers and Full Toss.)
Since 1971, Parle Products has won more than 100 gold, silver and bronze Monde Selection Medals on its brands.
Market share
Today, Parle has a 40 per cent share of the total biscuit market in the country, and a 15 per cent share of the confectionery market, emerging as India’s largest manufacturer of biscuits and confectionary. In 2014-15, sales of Parle Products amounted to more than ₹8,300 crore. Of its total sales, biscuits account for 80 per cent, confectionery 17 per cent and snacks 3 per cent.
Having everything from procurement to packaging in-house helped, but its greatest strength is its massive distribution network: a mind-boggling 33 lakh distribution outlets ensure that Parle Products’ brands reach the remotest corners of the country. It is a fact that Parle biscuits can be found even in the smallest petty shops in the most inaccessible regions of India!
Parle has faced its share of controversies. The original Parle company was split into three entities — Parle Products, Parle Agro (Frooti, Appy) and Parle Bisleri — each headed by different Chauhan family members. And there have been disputes over the use of the ‘Parle’ brand name.
There was also a dispute in 2012 over the use of lactic acid in its ‘Kaccha Mango bite’, which Parle won when the Bombay High Court ruled (the same year) that the amount of lactic acid in the sweet was safe for human consumption.
Parle’s founder, Mohanlal Dayal Chauhan, was not just a good businessman but a philanthropist with a deep sense of commitment towards social causes. Taking a leaf from its founder’s book, Parle has taken corporate social responsibility seriously. It has set up a Parle Centre of Excellence, promoted a My Green Planet initiative to conserve the ecosystem and conducted tree-planting drives. It also organises ‘Saraswati Vandana’ during Saraswati Puja in West Bengal and ‘Golu Galata’ during Navaratri in the South.
Parle is one of the few FMCG brands in the country with customers across various income segments. Despite its resounding success, it is still an unlisted company!