CHAPTER -1
INTRODUCTION
1.1 INTRODUCTION OF THE COMPANY
Parle Products has been India's largest manufacturer of biscuits and confectionery,
for almost 80 years. Makers of the world's largest selling biscuit, Parle-G, and a host of
other ery !o!ular brands, the Parle name symboli"es #uality, nutrition and great taste.
$ith a reach s!anning een the remotest illages of India, the com!any has definitely
come a ery long way since its ince!tion.
Many of the Parle !roducts - biscuits or confectioneries, are market leaders in
their category and hae won acclaim at the Monde %election, since &'(&. $ith a )0*
share of the total biscuit market and a &+* share of the total confectionary market in
India, Parle has grown to become a multi-million dollar com!any. $hile to consumers it's
a beacon of faith and trust, com!etitors look u!on Parle as an e,am!le of marketing
brilliance.
-er the decades the efforts of their .esearch and /eelo!ment wing hae made
the re!ertoire of their !roducts grow manifold. In biscuits they hae Glucose, Milk, sweet
and salted, cream, /igestie, cumin seed and cheese categories. In confectionery, they
hae a range of toffees and hard-boiled candies aailable in chocolate, mint, cola, and
tro!ical fruit flaors. %ome of these are double layered toffees and center filled candies
!acked in rolls or !illow !acks, or hae single or double twist wra!!ing.
Parle Products 0td, the findings of a recent study conducted by 123ielsen
afforded the !erfect o!!ortunity to set u! an interface with Indian consumers and s!eak to
them about the !o!ularity of flagshi! glucose biscuit brand, Parle-G. 1n o!!ortunity that
Parle Products and 4erest Integrated 2ommunications - the agency handling the Parle-G
account - grabbed with both hands. 5he result6 1 fie-commercial 7testimonial' cam!aign
that underlines the findings of the 123ielsen study8 that Parle-G has emerged as the
world's largest-selling biscuit brand.
4ery nation dreams of a better tomorrow. 1nd eery nation9s tomorrow lies in
the hands of its children: children who make the nation !roud in eery as!ect: the young
geniuses who sha!e the future of the nation. %o it9s im!ortant to nourish these young
minds, for after all it9s a #uestion of the nation9s future. ;illed with the goodness of milk
and wheat, Parle G is a source of strength for both body and mind. 5reat yourself to a
!acket of Parle-G to e,!erience what has nurtured and strengthened the minds of millions
of genius Indians for oer a!anese technology. 1ll
working !rocedures that from feeding, calendaring, shar!ing, wastage recoering, drying
to cooking can be accom!lished automatically. ?undred of moulds and do"ens of
technology formulas make it !ossible to !roduce arious kinds of !o!ular biscuit such
as cream biscuit, sandwich biscuit, calcium biscuit, chocolate biscuit, soda biscuit, multi-
itamin biscuit, egetable biscuit, etc.
5he Parle brands hae been constantly honored internationally with the awards at
the Monde Selecton.
@ery rightly described as !S"AD SE #HARA$ S"ASTHYA SE #HARA%
means full with taste, full with health A.
1.2 HISTORY OF PARLE COMPANY
In &'B' a small com!any by the name of Parle !roducts emerged in Critish
dominated India. 5he intent was to s!read =oy and cheer to children and adults alike, all
oer the country with its sweets and candies. 5he com!any knew that it wouldn9t be an
easy task, but they decided to take the brae ste!. 1 small factory was set u! in the
suburbs of Mumbai, to manufacture sweets and toffees. 1 decade later it was u!graded to
manufacture biscuits as well. %ince then, the Parle name has grown in all directions, won
international fame and has been sweetening !eo!le's lies all oer India and abroad.
1!art from the factories in Mumbai and Cangalore Parle also has factories in
Cahadurgarh in ?aryana and 3eemrana in .a=asthan, which are the largest biscuit and
confectionery !lants in the country. 1dditionally, Parle Products also has ( manufacturing
units and +& manufacturing units on contract.
1 long time ago, when the Critish ruled India, a small factory was set u! in the
suburbs of Mumbai city, to manufacture sweets and toffees. 5he year was &'B' and the
market was dominated by famous international brands that were im!orted freely. /es!ite
the odds and une#ual com!etition, this com!any called Parle Products, suried and
succeeded, by adhering to high #uality and im!roising from time to time.
1 decade later, in &'D', Parle Products began manufacturing biscuits, in addition
to sweets and toffees. ?aing already established a re!utation for #uality, the Parle brand
name grew in strength with this diersification. Parle Glucose and Parle Monaco were the
first brands of biscuits to be introduced, which later went on to become leading names for
great taste and #uantity.
1.& MISSION AND 'ISION
MISSION(
A$e will be the leaders in our business by- maintaining high #uality, introducing new
and innoatie !roducts, reaching eery !art of India, remaining customer-centric,
constantly u!grading our knowledge and skills.E
'ISION(
A5o be the leaders in our business. $e will stand a!art from the com!etition by being
the first in the market to innoate.E
1.) #OARD OF DIRECTORS OF PAR*E COMPANY
Des+naton Na,e
2hairman and Managing director /heera= Fumar
4,ecutie /irector Guby Fochar
4,ecutie /irector /eendra /ass Fochar
3on 4,ecutie /irector M . %iaraman
3on 4,ecutie /irector %hi % %harma
3on 4,ecutie /irector 5 F 2houdhary
1.- #RAND STORY OF PAR*E .
In the hit Collywood moie $elcome, actor 3ana Patekar, in a !assing reference
to Parle-G, notes that een biscuits command res!ect and hae to be addressed with a =i
Ha term of res!ect in ?indiI. ?is remark, while made in =est, is not far off the mark.
AIt is a heritage brand. $e sell oer B+ crore !ackets eery month. 5hat should reflect the
stature of the brand,E says Praeen Fulkarni, marketing head at Parle Products Pt. 0td.
Parle9s mantra has always been about re!ositioning the brand without tweaking
the look and feel of the !roduct. A5he brand is clearly an Indian brand and it straddles all
economic strata. 5he fact that it is a sta!le for eeryone in the house kee!s it going,E says
3irik %ingh, chairman and !resident, Grey Global Grou!, %outh and %outh-4ast 1sia,
the agency that handles the Parle-G account.
5here was a time when Parle-G9s dominance was threatened by rial brands,
es!ecially the 5iger brand from Critannia. A$e found out that 5iger was getting stronger
in the kids segment, and we decided to change our !ositioning,E says Fulkarni.
0ater, when the com!any s!onsored the teleision show %haktimaan on
/oordarshan, it literally rescued Parle-G. 5he brand also had some innoatie
commercials inoling young children with a new !unchline, G means Genius, which
was an instant hit.
$hile rials hae signed on celebrities, Parle-G has managed to retain its
leadershi! !osition with =ust a sim!le white-and-yellow stri!ed wra!!er with a !icture of
a baby on it. A$e don9t need celebrities as the brand e#uity is so strong,E says Fulkarni.
A5he biggest concern is that the brand shouldn9t become outdated as it is a historic brand.
5he brand has managed to retain its leadershi! !osition because it has eoled its
cam!aign with eery consum!tion trend,E says %ingh. A
1./ COMPETITORS OF PAR*E COMPANY
70%
18%
9%
3%
PARLE
BRITANNIA
ITC
OTHERS
It's a story that has been re!eated any number of times in the cor!orate world8 an
unchallenged market leader rests on its oars: com!etition emerges out of the woodwork:
and almost at the blink of an eyelid, swam!s the cham!ion from all sides. 5hat's !recisely
what's ha!!ening to the .s &,+8(.+-crore Critannia Industries. 5o be fair to the com!any,
it is still holding on to its market leader status, but only ery tenuously. -er the last
cou!le of years, Critannia, which was once considered a generic name for biscuits, has
seen its share of the .s ),+00-crore !er annum market fall from )8 !er cent to )0 !er
cent.
Critannia's loosening gri! on the market has allowed challenger Parle to come
within striking distance of its crown HParle, in fact, is the market leader by olume, but
still trails Critannia marginally in alue termsI: and gien smaller !layers like Cisk ;arm,
Priya Gold, 1nmol, Marico and /uke s!ace to care out regional satra!ies all oer the
country. 5he year B00D marked the infle,ion !oint for the biscuits industry. 5hat was
when I52 entered the market with its %un feast brand and grabbed an 8-&0 !er cent
market share, Parle increased its market share from D) !er cent in B00D to D8 !er cent
now and regional brands and the unorgani"ed sector together wrested about &0 !er cent.
1ll this while, the market grew at a rate of &0 !er cent !er annum een as the market
leader's share dwindled. Critannia brushes aside any suggestion that its !osition is under
siege. J$e beliee that more actiity in the biscuits market creates more o!!ortunities for
us, and we are ery well !laced to ta! it.
Critannia leads the oerall market in terms of alue and, in fact, our brands lead in
si, of the eight market segments,J says @inita Cali, 24- of the com!any. Meanwhile, the
challengers are using different strategies to consolidate their !ositions.
;or Parle, it's !rice. J5he market for biscuits is e,tremely !rice-sensitie,J says
Funal Motwani, an analyst at 4#uitymaster.com, a Mumbai-based research firm. J$ith
Parle holding the !rice of its &00 gram !ack of glucose biscuits at .s ), no com!etitor can
afford to increase !rices by een B+ !aisa. 5his is !utting !ressure on margins and
affecting growth,J he adds. Glucose biscuits account for +( !er cent of the Indian biscuit
market and Parle G commands a +0 !er cent share of this segment. Incidentally, the
brand, which sells ),000 tones !er annum, is the world's largest by tonnage.
1.0 PRODUCTS MANUFACURED #Y PAR*E COMPANY
Parle Products Pt. 0td9s main source of reenue is its brand Parle-G, which is a
brand worth around B0 billion HI3.I, and it contributes more than +0* to the com!any9s
total reenue. 5he confectionery items by Parle fetch around &+* of its total reenue.
5he following are the !roducts offered by Parle based on the market segment.
#ISCUIT%8
Parle biscuits are linked with factors of !ower and wisdom !roiding nutrition
and strength. Parle biscuits are indeed much more than a tea- time snack, they are
considered by many to be an im!ortant !art of their daily food. Parle can treat you with a
basket of biscuits which are not only satisfying but are also of good and reliable #uality.
Parle biscuits cater to all tastes from kids to senior citi"ens. 5hey hae found their way
into the Indian hearts and homes.
Sr.
No.
Prod1ct Sr. No. Prod1ct
&. Parle-G '. Parle Marie
B. ?ide n %eek &0. Freams
D. Frack=ack &&. Milk %hakti
). ?ide and %eek Milano &B. Parle B0-B0 2ookies
+. Magi, &D. Goldenarcs
2oco? and >2ashew?. 5he year B00B also
witnessed the launch of Parle-G Milk %hakti, which has the nourishing combination of
milk and honey, es!ecially launched for the southern market.
;or Parle, adertisements, eents and cam!aigns hae been ma=or channels of
communication. 5he following sections describe such channels in greater detail.
).3 AD'ERTISEMENTS(
5he following are some of themes based on which Parle has been adertising to market
its brand.
Healt8= Prod1cts$ Iconc #rand A,9assadors(
Parle has maintained its brand !osition as a low cost and a healthy !roduct, but in order to
!romote seeral other !roducts it has made seeral ma=or changes in its cam!aign.
.eferring to section ), in !ast few years, like Critannia, Parle a!!roed of cricket !layers
endorsing its !roducts. Parle9s Milk %hakti faces a com!etition from Critannia9s similar
!roduct Milkbikis. In a sna!shot of an adertisement in which the Indian cricket team
ca!tain N M% /honi endorses Parle9s Milk %hakti biscuits.
Prod1ct Meta;8or(
It also !romoted its !roduct by meta!horically claiming its !roducts as a AGenius.E It also
continues to associate its brand with celebrities while asserting its !osition of being
genius.
Cele9rt= Endorsn+(
It continues its association with a celebrity-star like ?rithik .oshan to !romote its
!remium segment !roduct such as Parle ?ide and %eek.
Prod1ct Assocaton wt8 A1dence(
In yet another strategy, it associates its !roduct with famous characters rather than the
celebrity or a cricket !layer. -ne of its ma=or achieements was its association with
%haktimaan, an Indian su!erhero. It also adertises its !roducts by associating them with
indiidual traits.
;or e,am!le, when Parle launched their new !roduct Ha first one thenI Parle Monaco-
0ife 3amkeen Canaye biscuits, in order to attract the audience interest they correlated the
salty !art of the biscuit to an indiidual9s wittiness.
$ith another adertisement on Parle Marie, with the slogan ACaatcheet Cakbak aur Parle
MarieE, it a!!ealed to the family rather than focusing on s!ecific age grou!, unlike what
it used to do initially for Parle-G.
).& E'ENTS AND CAMPAI.NS
Pro,otonal ca,;a+ns - Parle-.ra,n Swast8a Yo@ana
Parle had launched a new scheme called a AParle-Gramin %wastha Lo=ana,E which was a
network of ambulance an isiting rural areas giing basic medical treatments, educating
!eo!le on nutrition deficiency !roblems, and !romoting Parle nutritious !roducts. Rsing
this it !enetrated into those areas where direct !enetration using =ust adertisements was
not !ossible.
Parle-. Mera Sa;na Sac8 Ho+a
In B00B, Parle decided to launch AParle-G Mera %a!na %ach ?ogaE contest to stay as a
!o!ular brand among children. 5his was an initiatie taken after its successful branding
with %haktimaan. 5he national leel !romos run for a !eriod of < months which !romised
free scholarshi! and free tri!s to /isneyland at Paris and %inga!ore. In !ast, it had also
launched 5@ serial called Parle %akthi, mainly oriented towards the women consumers.
Parle-.ol1 .alata Contest
5his eent was s!ecifically focused in 5amil 3adu where household women decorate
clay dolls. 5hen the women dis!lay the dolls on the s!ecially !re!ared Foul!asis or ste!s
made of wood and coered with a thick cloth. 5his was then dis!layed to friends and
relaties. 5his tradition was slowly losing its charm, but Parle saw an o!!ortunity to
reach out to the !eo!le and organi"ed the contest as a noel !romotion strategy. 5hus, it
also !romotes its !roducts at regional leel through traditional actiities.
%ales !romotion consists of actiities that hae the !ur!ose of making other sales
efforts He.g. adertisementI more effectie. %ome !o!ular sales !romotion techni#ues of
Parle are8
a. %!ecial dis!lays
b. -ffering %cholarshi!
c. .unning contest
d. /istribution of free sam!les
e. -ffering free introductory serices
f. /emonstrating !roducts
In s!ite of all efforts s!ent in doing market research, sales forecasting and
adertising and sales !romotion, some one ultimately must do some !ersonal selling of
!roducts or serices.
%elling through 1gent Middlemen
• Selln+ A+ent( 5he selling agents !erform on the basis of e,tended contracts and
negotiate all sales of a s!eciali"ed line of merchandise or the manufacturer9s
entire out!ut. Rsually, the agent has full authority concerning !rices and terms
and is the sole seller for the line re!resented and is not gien market area.
• Man15act1rer?s A+ent( the manufacturer9s agent or re!resentaties is an
inde!endent business !erson who sell a !art of out!ut of two or more client
manufacturers whose !roducts are related but non-com!eting, on a continuous or
contractual basis in a limited or e,clusie territory. Manufacturers use agents
more often than any other ty!e of agent middlemen. 5he agents do not take title to
the goods, are !aid a commission and hae little or no control oer !rices, credit
or other terms of sales.
CHAPTER - -
PRICIN. STRATE.Y
5he Parle marketing !hiloso!hy em!hasi"es catering to the masses. It constantly
endeaors at designing !roducts that !roide nutrition and fun to the common man. Most
Parle offerings are in the low and mid-range !rice segments. 5his is based on its
cultiated understanding of the Indian consumer !syche. 5he alue-for-money
!ositioning hel!s generate large sales olumes for the !roducts.
Parle G has ado!ted the Market Penetration strategy i.e. low !rice along with ca!turing of
a large market 1lso they focus on low !rices and !roide good #uality !roducts at the
same time, which means it uses the alue !ricing method. 5his benefits Parle G by haing
a com!etitie edge in terms of large market share which is around )0*8 both rural and
urban !resently.
;or setting the !rice of Parle hide and seek biscuit, a surey was taken in the urban and
semi-urban markets: on the basis of which hide and seek was introduced. It was found
that the !otential consumers were ready to !ay a !remium !rice for an innoatie !roduct
like chocolate chi! biscuits. 5hus, Parle ado!ted market skimming where the !roduct is
high !riced and also of high #uality. It includes the cost of chocolates, !ackaging and
other !rocessing cost. 1ll these show customer status, which is also one of the reasons for
Parle hide and seek9s high !rice.
1 se!arate e,am!le for e,!laining the !ricing strategy of Parle is its !roduct Parle
2reams
;or this !roduct Parle uses going rate method only as a reference rate. In this case, Parle
2reams were introduced after Critannia9s 2ream 5reats with similar ariants but at .s.+
!er !acket of biscuit and not .s.&0 like that of Critannia9s cream treats.
5he biscuit market in India is e,tremely !rice sensitie. $ith Parle !roiding most of its
biscuits in the range of .s. &to )0, other !layers in the market can9t think of increasing
the !rices.
;or e,am!le,
P.-/R25 P.I2I3GH.s.I
Parle-G &,B,D,),+,&0,B0,D0,)0,+0
?ide and %eek
+,&B,B0,D0,+0
Frack=ack
+,(,&0,&+,B0
?ide and %eek Milano
+,&B,&+,D0,B+
Magi,
INTRODUCTION
1.1 INTRODUCTION OF THE COMPANY
Parle Products has been India's largest manufacturer of biscuits and confectionery,
for almost 80 years. Makers of the world's largest selling biscuit, Parle-G, and a host of
other ery !o!ular brands, the Parle name symboli"es #uality, nutrition and great taste.
$ith a reach s!anning een the remotest illages of India, the com!any has definitely
come a ery long way since its ince!tion.
Many of the Parle !roducts - biscuits or confectioneries, are market leaders in
their category and hae won acclaim at the Monde %election, since &'(&. $ith a )0*
share of the total biscuit market and a &+* share of the total confectionary market in
India, Parle has grown to become a multi-million dollar com!any. $hile to consumers it's
a beacon of faith and trust, com!etitors look u!on Parle as an e,am!le of marketing
brilliance.
-er the decades the efforts of their .esearch and /eelo!ment wing hae made
the re!ertoire of their !roducts grow manifold. In biscuits they hae Glucose, Milk, sweet
and salted, cream, /igestie, cumin seed and cheese categories. In confectionery, they
hae a range of toffees and hard-boiled candies aailable in chocolate, mint, cola, and
tro!ical fruit flaors. %ome of these are double layered toffees and center filled candies
!acked in rolls or !illow !acks, or hae single or double twist wra!!ing.
Parle Products 0td, the findings of a recent study conducted by 123ielsen
afforded the !erfect o!!ortunity to set u! an interface with Indian consumers and s!eak to
them about the !o!ularity of flagshi! glucose biscuit brand, Parle-G. 1n o!!ortunity that
Parle Products and 4erest Integrated 2ommunications - the agency handling the Parle-G
account - grabbed with both hands. 5he result6 1 fie-commercial 7testimonial' cam!aign
that underlines the findings of the 123ielsen study8 that Parle-G has emerged as the
world's largest-selling biscuit brand.
4ery nation dreams of a better tomorrow. 1nd eery nation9s tomorrow lies in
the hands of its children: children who make the nation !roud in eery as!ect: the young
geniuses who sha!e the future of the nation. %o it9s im!ortant to nourish these young
minds, for after all it9s a #uestion of the nation9s future. ;illed with the goodness of milk
and wheat, Parle G is a source of strength for both body and mind. 5reat yourself to a
!acket of Parle-G to e,!erience what has nurtured and strengthened the minds of millions
of genius Indians for oer a!anese technology. 1ll
working !rocedures that from feeding, calendaring, shar!ing, wastage recoering, drying
to cooking can be accom!lished automatically. ?undred of moulds and do"ens of
technology formulas make it !ossible to !roduce arious kinds of !o!ular biscuit such
as cream biscuit, sandwich biscuit, calcium biscuit, chocolate biscuit, soda biscuit, multi-
itamin biscuit, egetable biscuit, etc.
5he Parle brands hae been constantly honored internationally with the awards at
the Monde Selecton.
@ery rightly described as !S"AD SE #HARA$ S"ASTHYA SE #HARA%
means full with taste, full with health A.
1.2 HISTORY OF PARLE COMPANY
In &'B' a small com!any by the name of Parle !roducts emerged in Critish
dominated India. 5he intent was to s!read =oy and cheer to children and adults alike, all
oer the country with its sweets and candies. 5he com!any knew that it wouldn9t be an
easy task, but they decided to take the brae ste!. 1 small factory was set u! in the
suburbs of Mumbai, to manufacture sweets and toffees. 1 decade later it was u!graded to
manufacture biscuits as well. %ince then, the Parle name has grown in all directions, won
international fame and has been sweetening !eo!le's lies all oer India and abroad.
1!art from the factories in Mumbai and Cangalore Parle also has factories in
Cahadurgarh in ?aryana and 3eemrana in .a=asthan, which are the largest biscuit and
confectionery !lants in the country. 1dditionally, Parle Products also has ( manufacturing
units and +& manufacturing units on contract.
1 long time ago, when the Critish ruled India, a small factory was set u! in the
suburbs of Mumbai city, to manufacture sweets and toffees. 5he year was &'B' and the
market was dominated by famous international brands that were im!orted freely. /es!ite
the odds and une#ual com!etition, this com!any called Parle Products, suried and
succeeded, by adhering to high #uality and im!roising from time to time.
1 decade later, in &'D', Parle Products began manufacturing biscuits, in addition
to sweets and toffees. ?aing already established a re!utation for #uality, the Parle brand
name grew in strength with this diersification. Parle Glucose and Parle Monaco were the
first brands of biscuits to be introduced, which later went on to become leading names for
great taste and #uantity.
1.& MISSION AND 'ISION
MISSION(
A$e will be the leaders in our business by- maintaining high #uality, introducing new
and innoatie !roducts, reaching eery !art of India, remaining customer-centric,
constantly u!grading our knowledge and skills.E
'ISION(
A5o be the leaders in our business. $e will stand a!art from the com!etition by being
the first in the market to innoate.E
1.) #OARD OF DIRECTORS OF PAR*E COMPANY
Des+naton Na,e
2hairman and Managing director /heera= Fumar
4,ecutie /irector Guby Fochar
4,ecutie /irector /eendra /ass Fochar
3on 4,ecutie /irector M . %iaraman
3on 4,ecutie /irector %hi % %harma
3on 4,ecutie /irector 5 F 2houdhary
1.- #RAND STORY OF PAR*E .
In the hit Collywood moie $elcome, actor 3ana Patekar, in a !assing reference
to Parle-G, notes that een biscuits command res!ect and hae to be addressed with a =i
Ha term of res!ect in ?indiI. ?is remark, while made in =est, is not far off the mark.
AIt is a heritage brand. $e sell oer B+ crore !ackets eery month. 5hat should reflect the
stature of the brand,E says Praeen Fulkarni, marketing head at Parle Products Pt. 0td.
Parle9s mantra has always been about re!ositioning the brand without tweaking
the look and feel of the !roduct. A5he brand is clearly an Indian brand and it straddles all
economic strata. 5he fact that it is a sta!le for eeryone in the house kee!s it going,E says
3irik %ingh, chairman and !resident, Grey Global Grou!, %outh and %outh-4ast 1sia,
the agency that handles the Parle-G account.
5here was a time when Parle-G9s dominance was threatened by rial brands,
es!ecially the 5iger brand from Critannia. A$e found out that 5iger was getting stronger
in the kids segment, and we decided to change our !ositioning,E says Fulkarni.
0ater, when the com!any s!onsored the teleision show %haktimaan on
/oordarshan, it literally rescued Parle-G. 5he brand also had some innoatie
commercials inoling young children with a new !unchline, G means Genius, which
was an instant hit.
$hile rials hae signed on celebrities, Parle-G has managed to retain its
leadershi! !osition with =ust a sim!le white-and-yellow stri!ed wra!!er with a !icture of
a baby on it. A$e don9t need celebrities as the brand e#uity is so strong,E says Fulkarni.
A5he biggest concern is that the brand shouldn9t become outdated as it is a historic brand.
5he brand has managed to retain its leadershi! !osition because it has eoled its
cam!aign with eery consum!tion trend,E says %ingh. A
1./ COMPETITORS OF PAR*E COMPANY
70%
18%
9%
3%
PARLE
BRITANNIA
ITC
OTHERS
It's a story that has been re!eated any number of times in the cor!orate world8 an
unchallenged market leader rests on its oars: com!etition emerges out of the woodwork:
and almost at the blink of an eyelid, swam!s the cham!ion from all sides. 5hat's !recisely
what's ha!!ening to the .s &,+8(.+-crore Critannia Industries. 5o be fair to the com!any,
it is still holding on to its market leader status, but only ery tenuously. -er the last
cou!le of years, Critannia, which was once considered a generic name for biscuits, has
seen its share of the .s ),+00-crore !er annum market fall from )8 !er cent to )0 !er
cent.
Critannia's loosening gri! on the market has allowed challenger Parle to come
within striking distance of its crown HParle, in fact, is the market leader by olume, but
still trails Critannia marginally in alue termsI: and gien smaller !layers like Cisk ;arm,
Priya Gold, 1nmol, Marico and /uke s!ace to care out regional satra!ies all oer the
country. 5he year B00D marked the infle,ion !oint for the biscuits industry. 5hat was
when I52 entered the market with its %un feast brand and grabbed an 8-&0 !er cent
market share, Parle increased its market share from D) !er cent in B00D to D8 !er cent
now and regional brands and the unorgani"ed sector together wrested about &0 !er cent.
1ll this while, the market grew at a rate of &0 !er cent !er annum een as the market
leader's share dwindled. Critannia brushes aside any suggestion that its !osition is under
siege. J$e beliee that more actiity in the biscuits market creates more o!!ortunities for
us, and we are ery well !laced to ta! it.
Critannia leads the oerall market in terms of alue and, in fact, our brands lead in
si, of the eight market segments,J says @inita Cali, 24- of the com!any. Meanwhile, the
challengers are using different strategies to consolidate their !ositions.
;or Parle, it's !rice. J5he market for biscuits is e,tremely !rice-sensitie,J says
Funal Motwani, an analyst at 4#uitymaster.com, a Mumbai-based research firm. J$ith
Parle holding the !rice of its &00 gram !ack of glucose biscuits at .s ), no com!etitor can
afford to increase !rices by een B+ !aisa. 5his is !utting !ressure on margins and
affecting growth,J he adds. Glucose biscuits account for +( !er cent of the Indian biscuit
market and Parle G commands a +0 !er cent share of this segment. Incidentally, the
brand, which sells ),000 tones !er annum, is the world's largest by tonnage.
1.0 PRODUCTS MANUFACURED #Y PAR*E COMPANY
Parle Products Pt. 0td9s main source of reenue is its brand Parle-G, which is a
brand worth around B0 billion HI3.I, and it contributes more than +0* to the com!any9s
total reenue. 5he confectionery items by Parle fetch around &+* of its total reenue.
5he following are the !roducts offered by Parle based on the market segment.
#ISCUIT%8
Parle biscuits are linked with factors of !ower and wisdom !roiding nutrition
and strength. Parle biscuits are indeed much more than a tea- time snack, they are
considered by many to be an im!ortant !art of their daily food. Parle can treat you with a
basket of biscuits which are not only satisfying but are also of good and reliable #uality.
Parle biscuits cater to all tastes from kids to senior citi"ens. 5hey hae found their way
into the Indian hearts and homes.
Sr.
No.
Prod1ct Sr. No. Prod1ct
&. Parle-G '. Parle Marie
B. ?ide n %eek &0. Freams
D. Frack=ack &&. Milk %hakti
). ?ide and %eek Milano &B. Parle B0-B0 2ookies
+. Magi, &D. Goldenarcs
2oco? and >2ashew?. 5he year B00B also
witnessed the launch of Parle-G Milk %hakti, which has the nourishing combination of
milk and honey, es!ecially launched for the southern market.
;or Parle, adertisements, eents and cam!aigns hae been ma=or channels of
communication. 5he following sections describe such channels in greater detail.
).3 AD'ERTISEMENTS(
5he following are some of themes based on which Parle has been adertising to market
its brand.
Healt8= Prod1cts$ Iconc #rand A,9assadors(
Parle has maintained its brand !osition as a low cost and a healthy !roduct, but in order to
!romote seeral other !roducts it has made seeral ma=or changes in its cam!aign.
.eferring to section ), in !ast few years, like Critannia, Parle a!!roed of cricket !layers
endorsing its !roducts. Parle9s Milk %hakti faces a com!etition from Critannia9s similar
!roduct Milkbikis. In a sna!shot of an adertisement in which the Indian cricket team
ca!tain N M% /honi endorses Parle9s Milk %hakti biscuits.
Prod1ct Meta;8or(
It also !romoted its !roduct by meta!horically claiming its !roducts as a AGenius.E It also
continues to associate its brand with celebrities while asserting its !osition of being
genius.
Cele9rt= Endorsn+(
It continues its association with a celebrity-star like ?rithik .oshan to !romote its
!remium segment !roduct such as Parle ?ide and %eek.
Prod1ct Assocaton wt8 A1dence(
In yet another strategy, it associates its !roduct with famous characters rather than the
celebrity or a cricket !layer. -ne of its ma=or achieements was its association with
%haktimaan, an Indian su!erhero. It also adertises its !roducts by associating them with
indiidual traits.
;or e,am!le, when Parle launched their new !roduct Ha first one thenI Parle Monaco-
0ife 3amkeen Canaye biscuits, in order to attract the audience interest they correlated the
salty !art of the biscuit to an indiidual9s wittiness.
$ith another adertisement on Parle Marie, with the slogan ACaatcheet Cakbak aur Parle
MarieE, it a!!ealed to the family rather than focusing on s!ecific age grou!, unlike what
it used to do initially for Parle-G.
).& E'ENTS AND CAMPAI.NS
Pro,otonal ca,;a+ns - Parle-.ra,n Swast8a Yo@ana
Parle had launched a new scheme called a AParle-Gramin %wastha Lo=ana,E which was a
network of ambulance an isiting rural areas giing basic medical treatments, educating
!eo!le on nutrition deficiency !roblems, and !romoting Parle nutritious !roducts. Rsing
this it !enetrated into those areas where direct !enetration using =ust adertisements was
not !ossible.
Parle-. Mera Sa;na Sac8 Ho+a
In B00B, Parle decided to launch AParle-G Mera %a!na %ach ?ogaE contest to stay as a
!o!ular brand among children. 5his was an initiatie taken after its successful branding
with %haktimaan. 5he national leel !romos run for a !eriod of < months which !romised
free scholarshi! and free tri!s to /isneyland at Paris and %inga!ore. In !ast, it had also
launched 5@ serial called Parle %akthi, mainly oriented towards the women consumers.
Parle-.ol1 .alata Contest
5his eent was s!ecifically focused in 5amil 3adu where household women decorate
clay dolls. 5hen the women dis!lay the dolls on the s!ecially !re!ared Foul!asis or ste!s
made of wood and coered with a thick cloth. 5his was then dis!layed to friends and
relaties. 5his tradition was slowly losing its charm, but Parle saw an o!!ortunity to
reach out to the !eo!le and organi"ed the contest as a noel !romotion strategy. 5hus, it
also !romotes its !roducts at regional leel through traditional actiities.
%ales !romotion consists of actiities that hae the !ur!ose of making other sales
efforts He.g. adertisementI more effectie. %ome !o!ular sales !romotion techni#ues of
Parle are8
a. %!ecial dis!lays
b. -ffering %cholarshi!
c. .unning contest
d. /istribution of free sam!les
e. -ffering free introductory serices
f. /emonstrating !roducts
In s!ite of all efforts s!ent in doing market research, sales forecasting and
adertising and sales !romotion, some one ultimately must do some !ersonal selling of
!roducts or serices.
%elling through 1gent Middlemen
• Selln+ A+ent( 5he selling agents !erform on the basis of e,tended contracts and
negotiate all sales of a s!eciali"ed line of merchandise or the manufacturer9s
entire out!ut. Rsually, the agent has full authority concerning !rices and terms
and is the sole seller for the line re!resented and is not gien market area.
• Man15act1rer?s A+ent( the manufacturer9s agent or re!resentaties is an
inde!endent business !erson who sell a !art of out!ut of two or more client
manufacturers whose !roducts are related but non-com!eting, on a continuous or
contractual basis in a limited or e,clusie territory. Manufacturers use agents
more often than any other ty!e of agent middlemen. 5he agents do not take title to
the goods, are !aid a commission and hae little or no control oer !rices, credit
or other terms of sales.
CHAPTER - -
PRICIN. STRATE.Y
5he Parle marketing !hiloso!hy em!hasi"es catering to the masses. It constantly
endeaors at designing !roducts that !roide nutrition and fun to the common man. Most
Parle offerings are in the low and mid-range !rice segments. 5his is based on its
cultiated understanding of the Indian consumer !syche. 5he alue-for-money
!ositioning hel!s generate large sales olumes for the !roducts.
Parle G has ado!ted the Market Penetration strategy i.e. low !rice along with ca!turing of
a large market 1lso they focus on low !rices and !roide good #uality !roducts at the
same time, which means it uses the alue !ricing method. 5his benefits Parle G by haing
a com!etitie edge in terms of large market share which is around )0*8 both rural and
urban !resently.
;or setting the !rice of Parle hide and seek biscuit, a surey was taken in the urban and
semi-urban markets: on the basis of which hide and seek was introduced. It was found
that the !otential consumers were ready to !ay a !remium !rice for an innoatie !roduct
like chocolate chi! biscuits. 5hus, Parle ado!ted market skimming where the !roduct is
high !riced and also of high #uality. It includes the cost of chocolates, !ackaging and
other !rocessing cost. 1ll these show customer status, which is also one of the reasons for
Parle hide and seek9s high !rice.
1 se!arate e,am!le for e,!laining the !ricing strategy of Parle is its !roduct Parle
2reams
;or this !roduct Parle uses going rate method only as a reference rate. In this case, Parle
2reams were introduced after Critannia9s 2ream 5reats with similar ariants but at .s.+
!er !acket of biscuit and not .s.&0 like that of Critannia9s cream treats.
5he biscuit market in India is e,tremely !rice sensitie. $ith Parle !roiding most of its
biscuits in the range of .s. &to )0, other !layers in the market can9t think of increasing
the !rices.
;or e,am!le,
P.-/R25 P.I2I3GH.s.I
Parle-G &,B,D,),+,&0,B0,D0,)0,+0
?ide and %eek
+,&B,B0,D0,+0
Frack=ack
+,(,&0,&+,B0
?ide and %eek Milano
+,&B,&+,D0,B+
Magi,