How Parle-G Became India's Favorite Biscuit Empire

Curious Rincy

28 Sept 202409:49

Summary

TLDRThe video explores the success and legacy of Parle-G biscuits, highlighting how the brand has maintained its dominance in India's biscuit market for over 80 years. It discusses the company's innovative strategies, including its focus on affordability, emotional branding, and product diversification. Parle-G's ability to adapt while keeping prices stable and staying connected with Indian consumers' emotions has helped it thrive amidst competition. The video also contrasts Parle-G's approach with competitors like Britannia, emphasizing the differences in business strategies and market positioning.

Takeaways

🍪 Parle-G produces 4,551 biscuits per second and 27,300 biscuits per minute, highlighting its massive production scale.
🏭 Parle Products, which owns Parle-G, started with orange and white candies, not biscuits. The company was established during the Swadeshi movement in India.
🇮🇳 The company's first biscuit factory was opened in Vile Parle village, where Parle-G biscuits became famous as 'Glucose Biscuits'.
👨‍👩‍👦 Parle split into three business entities: Parle Products (biscuits like Parle-G), Parle Agro (beverages like Frooti), and Parle Bisleri (water and soft drinks).
💸 Despite rising costs, Parle-G has maintained its affordable pricing by reducing product quantity gradually through a strategy called 'shrinkflation'.
👶 Parle-G’s branding transitioned from 'Glucose Biscuits' to 'G for Genius' to appeal to parents and connect emotionally with the idea of childhood development.
🏆 Parle-G remains India’s top glucose biscuit brand with a strong emotional connection to consumers, especially for its association with Indian tea culture.
🛍 Parle's focus on high-volume, low-margin sales in the mass market helped it dominate the low-priced biscuit category in India.
🌎 Parle's vast distribution network includes over 7,000 distributors, ensuring its presence in every corner of the country, from small towns to major cities.
🚀 Parle’s success is also due to its diversification into candies, cookies, and other products, contributing to significant revenue from non-biscuit products.

Q & A

How many biscuits does Parle Company produce in a second?
-Parle Company produces 4,551 biscuits in a second.
What is the annual production of Parle Company's biscuits in terms of distance covered if laid end to end?
-If you were to lay out Parle Company's biscuits end to end, they would cover the distance around the world 192 times in a year.
Who are the brand ambassadors for Parle's Tiger biscuits in Britain?
-Salman Khan is the brand ambassador for Parle's Tiger biscuits in Britain.
What was the initial product of Parle Products Company before they started making Parle G biscuits?
-The initial product of Parle Products Company was Orange White Candy, not Parle G biscuits.
How many biscuits does Parle Company produce in a second at their factory in Vile Parle village?
-Parle Company produces over 4,000 biscuits per second at their factory in Vile Parle village.
What was the original name of the biscuits that Parle Company brought to the market?
-The original name of the biscuits that Parle Company brought to the market was not Parle G; they were known simply as 'glucose biscuits'.
Why did Parle Products Company decide to name their biscuits 'Parle G'?
-Parle Products Company decided to name their biscuits 'Parle G' because that's what the market was referring to them as, based on the popular glucose biscuits they were known for.
How has Parle Products Company managed to not increase the price of Parle G biscuits for over 80 years?
-Parle Products Company has managed to not increase the price of Parle G biscuits by gradually reducing the quantity of biscuits in each packet while keeping the price the same.
What is the current weight of Parle G biscuits in a ₹10 packet?
-The current weight of Parle G biscuits in a ₹10 packet is 100 grams, which was previously the weight of a ₹5 packet.
What is the market share of Parle Company in the glucose biscuit category?
-Parle Company has a market share of over 40% in the glucose biscuit category.
How has Parle Company diversified its product line beyond Parle G biscuits?
-Parle Company has diversified its product line by introducing various categories such as Parle Agro, which handles fruit drinks and smoothies, and Parle Biscuits, which manages the liquid beverages.

Outlines

00:00

🍪 Incredible Biscuit Production and the Legacy of Parle-G

The Parle-G biscuit is produced at an astonishing rate, with over 4,551 biscuits made every second, accumulating to 27,300 biscuits every minute. Parle Products, a brand synonymous with Indian households, has outlasted changing governments and maintained its No. 1 spot as a glucose biscuit brand for over 80 years. Unlike brands such as Britannia and Sunfeast, Parle-G owes much of its early success to its unique positioning, with no celebrity endorsements, relying instead on cultural icons like Shaktimaan. Founder Mohanlal Dayal, inspired by the Swadeshi movement, established Parle-G to counter foreign biscuit brands, beginning with the production of orange-white candies before shifting to biscuits in 1939. Despite other brands mimicking Parle's success, Parle remained distinctive, eventually naming their biscuit Parle-G based on what people commonly referred to it as.

05:00

📉 The Strategy Behind Parle-G's Unchanging Price

Parle-G has maintained the same price point for decades despite inflation, using a strategy called 'shrinkflation,' where the product quantity is reduced while the price remains constant. Initially, Parle-G’s small packs contained 100 grams, which has since been reduced to 50 grams for the same price. Despite this, Parle-G continues to outsell competitors like Britannia and ITC. Over the years, Parle-G has mastered the low-price biscuit category, where high volume sales compensate for low margins. The brand’s sales reach ₹17,233 crores annually, with production so fast that millions of biscuits are made within minutes. Its unbeatable value for money and market penetration, even with price changes, remains unparalleled.

Mindmap

Keywords

💡Biscuits

Biscuits are a type of baked good that are typically flat, soft in the middle, and crisp around the edges. In the context of the video, biscuits serve as the central product around which the narrative revolves. The video discusses the production capacity of a company that can make thousands of biscuits per minute, highlighting the scale of the biscuit industry and its significance in the market.

💡Parle

Parle is a prominent Indian multinational food company that specializes in biscuits, confectionery, and other food products. The video focuses on Parle's dominance in the biscuit industry, discussing its production capabilities, brand positioning, and market strategies. Parle's biscuits, such as Parle-G, are deeply ingrained in Indian culture and are often associated with childhood memories and emotional connections.

💡Production Capacity

Production capacity refers to the maximum amount of output that can be produced by a company or industry during a specific period. The video emphasizes Parle's impressive production capacity, noting that it can produce thousands of biscuits per second. This highlights the company's efficiency and scale, which are key factors in its success and market leadership.

💡Brand Ambassadors

A brand ambassador is a person who represents a brand publicly, often being associated with the brand's image and values. The video mentions celebrities like Salman Khan and Shah Rukh Khan as brand ambassadors for Parle, indicating the company's strategic use of celebrity endorsements to enhance brand recognition and appeal.

💡Market Share

Market share is the percentage of the total market demand for a particular product or service that is captured by a single company or brand. The video discusses Parle's significant market share in the biscuit category, particularly in the glucose biscuits segment, which demonstrates its strong presence and influence in the industry.

💡Packaging

Packaging refers to the process of enclosing or protecting products for distribution, storage, sale, and use. The video highlights the importance of packaging in brand recognition and customer appeal. It mentions the iconic yellow packaging of Parle-G biscuits, which has remained consistent for decades, contributing to the brand's identity and recall value.

💡Price Strategy

Price strategy is a marketing tool used by companies to set the price of a product or service, taking into account factors such as production costs, market demand, and competition. The video discusses Parle's pricing strategy, noting that despite inflation and increased production costs, the company has not increased the price of its biscuits, instead opting to reduce packet size while maintaining the same price point.

💡Inflation

Inflation is the rate at which the general level of prices for goods and services is rising, and subsequently, purchasing power is falling. The video touches on the impact of inflation on the biscuit industry, explaining how Parle has managed to maintain its prices despite rising costs, which is a strategic move to retain customer loyalty and market share.

💡Diversification

Diversification is a business strategy where a company expands its operations into different markets or product lines. The video mentions Parle's diversification into various food categories beyond biscuits, such as confectionery and beverages, which has allowed the company to grow and spread its revenue across different segments, reducing risk and increasing market reach.

💡Direct-to-Consumer

Direct-to-consumer (D2C) is a distribution strategy where products are sold directly to consumers without going through traditional retail channels. The video discusses the importance of D2C in the biscuit industry, particularly in rural areas, where Parle ensures its products are available through a vast network of distributors, reaching even the smallest of villages.

💡Brand Positioning

Brand positioning is the process of creating a unique identity for a brand in the minds of consumers. The video explains how Parle has positioned its brand to evoke nostalgia and a sense of trust among Indian consumers, making Parle-G biscuits a staple in many households. The brand's positioning as a reliable and affordable option has contributed to its enduring popularity.

Highlights

Parle G produces 4,551 biscuits every second and 27,300 biscuits per minute.

In a year, if you line up all the Parle G biscuits produced, they can cover the world’s distance 192 times.

Parle G has remained the number one glucose biscuit brand for over 80 years, despite changes in government and market conditions.

Parle Products started by manufacturing orange and white candies before entering the biscuit market in 1939.

Parle's success is attributed to its low price strategy, selling high volumes with lower margins, primarily targeting the glucose biscuit category.

In the past, other companies like Britannia and smaller brands tried to copy Parle by introducing their glucose biscuits, but Parle maintained dominance.

Parle's brand name originated from customer demand for 'Parle's glucose biscuits', which prompted the company to officially name it Parle G.

Parle G’s price hasn’t increased much over the years due to the strategy of 'shrinkflation', where the quantity is gradually reduced but the price remains the same.

Parle’s diversification includes products like Melody, Kismi, Rusk, 20-20 biscuits, and Frooti under different company segments formed after family business splits.

The company has a market share of over 40% in the glucose biscuit category, largely driven by rural demand.

Parle's emotional connection with consumers, reinforced by consistent packaging and brand recall, has made it a household name for over 80 years.

The brand’s positioning appeals to both parents and children by associating the product with the idea of intelligence, using the term 'G for Genius'.

Parle’s wide distribution network, with over 7,000 distributors across India, ensures its presence from small lanes to bus and railway stations.

Britannia's success in premiumization with Good Day biscuits allowed it to capture over 60% of the premium biscuit market, outpacing Parle in this segment.

Britannia’s Direct-to-Consumer (D2C) approach, targeting rural markets and online platforms for home delivery, has helped increase its market share.