Exclusive | Parle; 80 years and growing stronger every year

Parle Product’s, a company which began operations in India in the year 1929 when the British dominated the country has been one of the oldest players in the biscuits and confectionery market in the country. The brand has spread joy and cheer to all age groups from children to adults all over the country with its sweets and candies.

Many of Parle’s products, biscuits or confectioneries, are market leaders in their category and have won acclaim at the Monde Selection, since 1971. With a 40% share of the total biscuit market and a 15% share of the total confectionery market in India, Parle has grown to become a multi-million dollar company.

To talk about the new & past product launches, market trends, and what sets Parle apart from its competitors, Adgully caught up with Pravin Kulkarni, General Manager Marketing - Parle Products.

Speaking about the year gone by, he stated that the year paid off really well for the brand. Some of niche products performed really well in their favour including Milano and Hide-Seek. He said, “The category itself is growing at a rapid pace. Mainly the chocolate flavour products have been performing extremely well for us.”

With such a great response to their products the brand is expecting high from 2015. “There will be a lot more focus on each product in terms of strengthening its position in its respective markets. We will be heavily using all forma of advertising mediums depending upon the core essence of each product.”

Today digital medium is gaining prominence day by day so when asked Kulkarni about how do they utilize the same, he said, “We have appointed a digital agency for the last 3-4 years, Digital LabCare. They are focusing on those efforts. They are a specialist in this medium, so whenever any new campaign comes, we brief them on the record for digital media and then they come up with a solution for addressing that problem.”

Speaking about the engagements and campaigns, he said, “Sometimes it has rich media like Yahoo, MSN, Google. Sometimes we take engagement based media like social media. We have Facebook pages for different brands and we also take Twitter based activity. These are two social media vehicles we use in our digital campaign.”

Today, the great strength of Parle Products lies in its extremely widespread distribution network. Even at the remotest places, one can buy Parle biscuits and sweets from the local grocer. It has taken years to create this extensive network. Currently, Parle Products has over 33, 00,000 distribution outlets. He stated, "We work really hard towards strengthening our distribution network."

Parle that has been synonymous to Parle G and biscuits has been growing and evolving since its inception and has been experimenting in both glucose and niche biscuit category whether it’s through launching new products under its Milano brand or any other. “Concentrating on consumer tastes and preferences, the Parle brand has grown from strength to strength ever since its inception. New formats, new flavours, new products under all the categories (biscuits and confectionary) performed really well. Consumers are getting demanded and expect a variety from our brand. Our focus has always been to cater to the growing needs and demands of our consumers,” he added.

With over 15 years of experience in the domain of sales and marketing management across various leading companies such as Blow Plast, Pidilite and Parle, Kulkarni's responsibility includes corporate strategy, business profitability, product portfolio management, strategic brand management, advertising and promotion for all Parle brands in the country. Having given more than a decade to the marketing and sales industry, when asked him to elaborate on the evolution of the marketing space, he said, “Today marketing plays a vital role in every category. A brand needs to have a strong communication strategy to as to spread the core message of the brand and that to the right target audiences.”

Parle's product range include, Parle Rusk; Parle Hide & Seek; Parle Happy Happy Cream; Parle Happy Happy Dual Cream; Parle Milano Centre Filled Cookies; Parle Top Spin; Parle Tom & jerry Milk Shakti Milky Sandwich; Parle Namkeen- Tasty peanuts; Parle Namkeen- Aloo Laccha and Parle Simply Good Digestive Cookie. When asked out of all these which has given best results, he said, “The premium brands have performed well but last two years have seen our super premium category including Hide and Seek, Chocolate chip varieties, Milano Cookies also picking up well in the market.”

According to him, the biscuits category is growing at a rapid space and Parle holds around 30 to 34 percent of the market share in the whole pie.

He said, “An in-depth understanding of the Indian consumer psyche has helped Parle develop a marketing philosophy that reflects the needs of the Indian masses. With products created bearing in mind both health and taste, Parle products equally appeal to fun loving kids & youth. Even today, the great tradition of taste and nutrition is consistent in every pack on the store shelves. The value-for-money positioning allows people from all classes and age groups to enjoy Parle products to the fullest.”

The brand has had a long and amazing legacy of catering the needs and demands of its consumers in the best possible way. When asked about what matters, quality or quantity, he said, “Quality is the priority and

Hygiene is the precursor to every process at Parle. From husking the wheat and melting the sugar to delivering the final products to supermarkets and store shelves nationwide, care is taken at every step to ensure the best product of long-lasting freshness. Every batch of biscuits, confectioneries & snacks are thoroughly checked by expert staff, using the most modern equipment. This ensures consistent and perfect quality across the nation and abroad.”

Parle Product’s fame and familiarity is undeniable. Considering its extensive reach, the brand Parle is known and recognized by everyone. Over the years, Parle’s sweets and biscuits have become a household name. From kids to adults, everyone loves and cherishes these treats. It gives us great pleasure to see our consumers enjoy and embrace Parle products on daily basis. Our confectioners and chefs have the utmost authority at Parle. Had it not been so, the beginning of Parle would have been quite different.

In terms of milestones, Kulkarni said, “1929: The first year of operation is one of the remarkable milestones for the company. Our only assets were hard work and hope. 1939: Ten years of determined effort brought results and that was the time when things began to take shape. And we tried even harder. 1949: The formative years were over and we had come of age. 1974: was the first evidence of Parle as it is today.”

In 1929 a small company by the name of Parle products emerged in British dominated India. The goal was to spread joy and cheer to children and adults alike, all over the country with its sweets and candies.

Although, the company knew that it wouldn’t be an easy task, they decided to take the brave step. A small factory was set up in the suburbs of Mumbai to manufacture confectionery products. A decade later this factory was upgraded to manufacture biscuits as well. Since then, the Parle name has spread in all directions and has won international fame.