Parle G clocked record sales in May⁠— it may be because broke and starving migrant labourers could barely afford anything else

• While the lockdown has hit businesses across industries, Parle has seen an “unprecedented” rise in sales.
• This was Parle G’s best sales in eight decades.
• As thousands of migrant workers walked home in May, one of the affordable things for them was the Parle G biscuit. A pack of Parle G costs ₹5.

For Indians, the one biscuit that unites all is the good ol’ Parle G. And while the lockdown has hit businesses across industries, Parle has seen an “unprecedented” rise in sales.

“We’ve grown our overall market share by nearly 5%... And 80– 90% of this growth has come from the Parle-G sales. This is unprecedented,” Mayank Shah, category head at Parle Products told the Economic Times in an interview.

This was Parle G’s best monthly sales in eight decades.

While it’s true that Parle G’s sales could have come from the fact that it is a staple for most homes (to be had with chai, of course), India’s migrant labourers walking back home could have also been the reason for bumped up sales.

As thousands of migrant workers, broke and starving, walked home in May, one of the most affordable things for them was the Parle G biscuit. The smallest pack of Parle G costs ₹5.

Not just that, NGOs and welfare organisations too were distributing Parle G at different centres. With Cyclone Amphan in West Bengal and Odisha, donations included Parle G there too.

“During the lockdown, Parle-G became the comfort food for many; and for several others it was the only food they had on them. This is a common man’s biscuit; people who cannot afford bread – buy Parle-G. We had several state governments requisitioning us for biscuits… they were in constant touch with us, asking about our stock positions. Several NGOs bought humongous quantities from us. We were lucky to have restarted production from March 25 onwards,” Shah said in the interview.

In March, Parle G had also announced that it would donate one crore biscuits every week – but this practice was scheduled for three weeks. Biscuit manufacturers were exempt from the coronavirus lockdown.

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