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We love to have it as a tea-time snacks or just something to munch on. <keyword id="480300" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Parle-G">Parle G</keyword> biscuits have been loved by generations in India. It was for the first time that a homegrown company called <keyword id="235733" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Parle-Products">Parle Products</keyword>, manufactured affordable but nutritious biscuits specifically for the Indian consumers in the pre-independence era. And the brand has maintained its positioning for over 70 years now. Even today, the biscuits are available at dirt-cheap prices from a street shop to a supermarket in India. So BI India decided to chronicle this company's journey since its inception in 1929. 
 
Image Credit: www.industrialvisit.org

#IndependenceDaySpl: Embark on the journey of Parle Product since 1929

With an aim to create a distinctive identity for its premium products, biscuits and confectionery maker Parle has created a new division <keyword id="4498428" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="parle-platina">Parle Platina</keyword>, and is eyeing a quarter of its revenue from this segment over the next two to three years, according to PTI."Brands like Hide &amp; Seek, Milano, Mexitos and Simply Good are more futuristic and aspirational. These brands are very different from the mother brand, Parle."Hence, we wanted to create a distinct identity for these set of brands, and hence Parle <keyword id="125053" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Platina">Platina</keyword> came about, which will consolidate our premium brands under one division," <keyword id="235733" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Parle-Products">Parle Products</keyword> Category Head <keyword id="120094" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Mayank-Shah">Mayank Shah</keyword> told .The new division will also include the company's gourmet snack offering Parle Mexitos.The premium segment is growing at 15-20 per cent for the company and <keyword id="1858" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Shah">Shah</keyword> said, "there is a huge growth potential for premium products over the next 2-3 years and we see this segment contributing to about a quarter of our revenue."Parle Products enjoys a market share of 15 per cent in the premium biscuit industry and the city-based company is aiming to increase it to 25 per cent in the next two years.The premium biscuit industry stands at Rs 6,500 crore growing at 14-15 per cent, according to Nielsen.The company's mass brands include flagship product Parle G, Parle Marie, KrackJack and <keyword id="3324" type="COUNTRY" weightage="20" keywordseo="monaco">Monaco</keyword>, among others.The biscuit major will invest substantially in Parle Platina and will unveil a new packaging and logo, which will feature prominently for all products under this division. "Going forward, we will be adding new products, new formats and new innovations under the Platina division," Shah said.

Parle is now focussing on premium products

<ul><li><keyword id="29464" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Parle">Parle</keyword>, founded in 1929, has been able to reinvent itself over the years, while keeping its legacy intact.</li><li>We speak to <keyword id="120094" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Mayank-Shah">Mayank Shah</keyword>, Senior Category Head, <keyword id="235733" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Parle-Products">Parle Products</keyword> about all that the brand has been doing, to further grow its presence in the market. </li></ul>Every time someone says Parle-G and we bet you cannot help visualize yourself dunking one in a steaming cup of chai (and at times losing half of it too). For decades now, Parle-G has been our favorite tea-time companion, the most affordable ‘snack’ that got many of us, from the previous generations, through college, and well basically a comfort food, that is so nostalgia-inducing. Much before Oreo popularized dunking it in milk, we had been doing it with Parle-G. <div type="image" title="Parle Products Creative 1" msid="84131808" hostid="261"></div> Parle, founded in 1929, first started manufacturing orange candies. It was only 10 years later that it manufactured its first biscuit, coming up as an alternative to the more elite British biscuits. From there to now, this homegrown brand has come a long way. While entering the premium segment with <keyword id="4498428" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="parle-platina">Parle Platina</keyword> in 2017 that comprises products like Hide &amp; Seek biscuits, Milano cookies, Mexitos nacho chips and Nutricrunch range of nutritious products, it recently further diversified its offering, with the launch of its <keyword id="480300" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Parle-G">Parle G</keyword> Chakki Atta. The aim was to cash in on the momentum that branded atta consumption has been witnessing, since the <keyword id="43587" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="pandemic">pandemic</keyword>. <div type="image" title="Parle Products Creative 5" msid="84131819" hostid="261"></div> Last year, Parle made headlines when they spoke about a surge in sales of Parle-G biscuits during the <keyword id="91743" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="lockdown">lockdown</keyword>. This demand was a result of people stocking up on biscuits. It also became the most affordable ‘meal’ for thousands of migrant workers, who we saw with distress, walking back to their villages. It makes for an interesting case study, to understand how this brand, that was started 82 years ago, has stood the test of time. Despite being eight years short of a century old, Parle has tried to reinvent itself over the years, while keeping its legacy alive. A lot of the love for the brand comes from nostalgia, and also from the fact that despite entering newer categories, launching premium products, it is still looked at as an aam-aadmi product. How they react during a crisis also says a lot about the ethos of brands. The pandemic and Parle Last year, even before the pandemic hit India in full force and the government announced its first rounds of lockdown, Parle was prepared. Observing how things were in other countries, it had increased its production, just to make sure that the market never ran out of its biscuits. “What happened after the pandemic was something completely unprecedented, but we had been studying what was happening in neighboring countries, or in Europe, and we decided to double down on our production,” shared Mayank Shah, Senior Category Head, Parle Products. They also started shipping the products, keeping the stocks closer to the market, to minimize supply chain disruptions. As a result, when the lockdown was announced, and most brands were caught unprepared, Parle had its products, and especially Parle-G, in shops across the country. Having said that, Parle did meet with its fair share of troubles. With the sudden lockdown and with uncertainty looming large, there was a shortage of labor which the company was able to tackle by prioritizing its production; it stopped producing many of its offerings that were more labor-intensive. “As a result of this prioritizing, we were able to meet maximum demand. If at normal times, the demand is at 100%, during this time we saw between 160-170% demand, firstly because people were pantry-loading and secondly because of speculative buying,” explained Shah. However, this was also the time for the brand to give back to the society. The brand won a lot of love when it donated close to 3 crore biscuit packets to the government and NGOs. “Parle G is a brand that stands for goodness, in all senses, and we are more than just a corporate brand that is only interested in profits. We have always been a brand for the common man. Last year, raw material prices were going up and we could have easily taken a price hike, we never did that. I have been a part of this company for 20 years and I was surprised when my management came and told me we should be helping people. So each and every employee in the company lives by the philosophy of doing something for the greater good. Parle was launched as a Swadeshi brand to take on global biscuit brands, and this was during this last one year that I saw those philosophies come in play,” said Shah. “We saw so many posts on social media talking about us saying they were proud to see a brand go out and service consumers in the time of their need, it was a very moving experience for us,” he added. Entry into newer segments Over the years, we have seen Parle innovate and expand its portfolio to enter premium segments too. But why did the company, which primarily produces biscuits, decide to launch an atta brand? Shah said that the company has been producing atta for years now, but the product was exported to markets like the Middle East, UK and USA. “The packaged atta segment in India is worth around Rs 20,000 crore and only Rs 10,000 crore out of that is for branded packaged atta, which are either national or regional brands. But the overall atta market is much larger, and that is mostly people going out, buying wheat and getting it milled. During the pandemic however, we observed that people wanted to buy products that they thought were safer and we saw many switching to packaged atta. Penetration of packaged atta in the market is still very low and there is a huge opportunity for growth, so we thought this was the ideal time for us to launch it here,” explained Shah. He is not even worried about the more established players as he feels there is a huge, unpenetrated market for the brand to capture where people who used to buy loose atta are now converting to packaged, trusted brands. Parle had launched its premium range Platina three year back and now wants to focus on it to grow its market share, and to build relevance. “There has been a bit of a slowdown in the growth of our premium products in the last 1.5 years, so we will renew our focus on the segment with the opening up of markets,” explained Shah. <keyword id="6354839" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="marketing">Marketing</keyword> during the pandemic During times of crisis, marketing budgets are usually the first to get slashed.While Parle did not cut down majorly on its spends in the last 1.5 years, it did rationalize its spends, shared Shah. “During the pandemic, we did two things, firstly, we increased our digital spends, which helped us a lot, while also continuing to advertise on TV. Secondly, we also tweaked our creatives. Our communication in the last one year has been very different from what we usually do. All our communication has been about what has been happening around us. We paid tribute to the known and unknown frontline workers. That communication also sent a strong signal to our internal stakeholders that its our responsibility to rise to the occasion because so many of them were risking their lives in working during those times, and we wanted to acknowledge that.” Meanwhile, brands like Parle G also gain a lot from nostalgia. The last year has seen people take to social media to talk about their love for the brand, come up with content using the product and also coming up with innovative recipes using the biscuits. “That’s the thing about Parle G asa brand, everybody has their own way of eating the biscuit and they have their own stories. I have my Parle G story too; I stayed in a hostel for about 10 years. For anybody who has stayed in hostels knows how the food is. So we would eat the hostel food at 10 and then get hungry by 12. So we had a routine of having chilled milk from Aarey at 1 pm, we used to add a packet of Parle G to it, mix it and have it as a slurry. That was our lunch for 10 years. It was not just me, I know many people who did it. So we have always had a lot of user-generated content but the pandemic took it to a whole different level. It was heartening to see that kind of response from consumers,” he added. On where the next phase of growth for Parle as a brand will come from, Shah said, “It will come both from our biscuits and non-biscuits portfolios. While the penetration of biscuits is high, the per capita consumption is still lower, compared to Western markets. So I feel there’s still a scope of growth in the <keyword id="11569298" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="biscuits-segment">biscuits segment</keyword>.”

How Parle has stood the test of time

<ul><li>Parle is considering laying off 10,000 employees, thanks to the significant slump in sales, according to an ET report. </li><li>The auto industry has already laid off nearly 350,000 employees in the last four months. </li><li>Rural wages hit the lowest level in the last three years in May 2018. </li></ul>Every economic slowdown hurts the poorer people the most. It’s no different this time. The cash crunch rising out of a slowing economy and rising unemployment is biting budget households in India so bad that they are cutting back on biscuits and that is leading to more job losses at manufacturing plants. India’s largest biscuit maker, Parle is considering laying off 10,000 employees, thanks to the significant slump in sales, <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/jobs/drop-in-demand-may-force-parle-to-lay-off-up-to-10000-employees/articleshow/70763132.cms?from=mdr">according to</a> an ET report. Parle’s products are mostly consumed by people in the lower rungs of India’s economic pyramid, people in smaller towns and villages. Parle, which makes Parle-G, Monaco and Marie biscuits records an average sale of over ₹10,000 crore annually with over 100,000 employees. “The number of shops stocking these products is the same, but the number of products being sold from these shops is going down due to weakening consumer demand,” Mayank Shah, category heads at <keyword id="235733" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Parle-Products">Parle Products</keyword> <a href="https://www.nationalheraldindia.com/india/after-britannia-now-parle-hit-by-slowdown-says-gst-responsible-for-it">told </a>National Herald. Higher tax and lower incomes It doesn’t help that biscuits are taxed at 12-18% in the goods and services tax regime. ““These biscuits were taxed at only 12-14 per cent under the previous excise and value added tax regime. Under GST, they are priced at 18%. This forces companies to increase prices, impacting sales,” Shah had added. The slowdown is getting increasingly visible in consumption. It started with trucks followed <a href="https://www.business-standard.com/article/companies/hul-volume-growth-slowest-in-7-quarters-q1-profit-in-line-with-estimates-119072400067_1.html">by car sales</a> and then two wheelers and now it has hit even products <a href="https://www.business-standard.com/article/companies/hul-volume-growth-slowest-in-7-quarters-q1-profit-in-line-with-estimates-119072400067_1.html">of daily consumption</a>. The auto industry has already <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/indian-auto-manufacturers-have-laid-off-350000-jobs-in-four-months/articleshow/70563890.cms">laid off nearly 350,000 employees </a>in the last four months. Job cuts in companies like Parle will only make the situation worse. People are increasingly worried about the prospects in the coming as signalled by the Reserve Bank of India’s co<a href="https://www.livemint.com/news/india/consumer-confidence-for-the-month-of-june-drops-thomson-reuters-ipsos-survey-1563012458113.html">nsumer confidence index </a>that fell sharply in June 2019 and has stayed near that level since then. The falling biscuit sales only confirm that the country’s rural distress is far from abating. Rural wages hit the lowest level in the last three years in May 2018. “The turmoil is in rural, the turmoil is related to agriculture, so because of that the issues are happening in the value segment, right. So obviously it's affecting every segment but the biggest issue is happening in the value segment because that's what sells in those markets,” Varun Berry, the MD of Brittania said adding that people are shying away from buying <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/Forget-cars-Indian-consumers-are-wary-of-buying-a-5-biscuit-packet/articleshow/70638256.cms">biscuits packs that are worth a mere ₹5</a>. Richer the better However, the richer Indians may be shelving plans for a new car but they aren’t cutting down on biscuits yet. So, the more expensive packs of biscuits are still selling well and that’s where <keyword id="6359432" type="DOMAIN" weightage="20" keywordseo="britannia">Britannia</keyword> has not had to resort to job cuts yet but Parle has. “With around 65-70% of the portfolio in the premium space, the company plans to introduce variants with protein, gluten free, whole wheat, seed, nuts, etc., and also a niche offering catering to modern trade and e-commerce channels,” said report on consumer sentiment by SBI Caps. See also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/britannia-md-says-consumers-think-twice-before-buying-a-5-biscuit-raises-concerns-about-indian-economy/articleshow/70638256.cms">Forget cars, Indian consumers are wary of buying a ₹5 biscuit packet</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/kishore-biyanis-big-bazaar-wants-to-take-hindustan-unilever-and-procter-gamble-to-the-cleaners-with-its-own-laundry-brands/articleshow/70173836.cms">Kishore Biyani’s Big Bazaar wants to take Hindustan Unilever and Procter &amp; Gamble to the cleaners, with its own laundry brands</a>

India’s biscuit crisis shows slowdown is hurting the poor more — and job losses are making it worse

<ul><li><keyword id="29464" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="parle" source="Orion">Parle</keyword> Products has launched its latest ad campaign comprising 3 ad films for <keyword id="99340" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="hide-seek" source="Orion">Hide &amp; Seek</keyword>.</li><li>The campaign highlights feelings of teenage romance that are often felt during adolescence and Hide &amp; Seek is helping their audience to get those special conversations started. </li><li>The films, conceptualized by <keyword id="12984575" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="brand-league-partners" source="Orion">Brand League Partners</keyword>, will focus on television <keyword id="35666" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="advertising" source="Orion">advertising</keyword> across genres through TV commercials (TVCs) and digital channels.</li><li>Parle Products will be releasing TVCs in seven languages including Hindi, Bengali, Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam, Oriya, Assamese and Tamil.</li></ul>Parle Products has launched its latest advertising campaign for chocolate chip cookie brand Hide &amp; Seek with a sharp focus on establishing its identity as an enabler of first -time conversations. The campaign highlights feelings of teenage romance that are often felt during adolescence and Hide &amp; Seek is helping their audience to get those special conversations started. The films, conceptualized by Brand League Partners, will focus on television advertising across genres through TV commercials (TVCs) and digital channels. <div type="Youtube" id="LSaBRMQ4XKY" title="Parle Platina | Start Your Story With Hide &amp; Seek | Flower Shop" thumbUrl="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/LSaBRMQ4XKY/mqdefault.jpg"></div> <div type="Youtube" id="cQIkmcqeF0E" title="Parle Platina | Start Your Story With Hide &amp; Seek | Fashion Show" thumbUrl="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/cQIkmcqeF0E/mqdefault.jpg"></div> <div type="Youtube" id="ZUHpNfowC50" title="Parle Platina | Start Your Story With Hide &amp; Seek | Ferry" thumbUrl="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ZUHpNfowC50/mqdefault.jpg"></div> The Hide &amp; Seek brand is synonymous with ‘innocent love’ through its consistent brand communication from the past 25 years, thus making Valentine's Day an ideal time to remind consumers to express themselves since it is just around the corner. The campaign ‘Start your story with Hide &amp; Seek’, features three distinct ad-films that demonstrate how Hide &amp; Seek plays a catalyst in expressing affection between teenagers. The ad-films features young people in different scenarios to depict ‘first glance of attraction’ - a young woman enters a florist’s shop and sees the owner’s son, two people seeing each other for the first time on a ferry, and a fashion show event where a designer mistakes the photographer for the model. All 3 films showcase youngsters creating their own new language through sweet gestures wherein Parle Hide &amp; Seek plays their wingman/cupid. The TVC’s are tailored to connect with teenagers and young adults (15 - 25 year olds), who are conscious about striking a conversation with someone they like as they lack the courage to make the first move or even ask someone out for the first time. <keyword id="120094" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Mayank-Shah" source="Orion">Mayank Shah</keyword>, Senior Category Head at Parle Products says, “We, at Parle Products, realize how important it is for a brand to be a part of a customer's journey. There are certain moments that we all face while growing up as teenagers and we understand the significance of these changes and decisions we make at that time. All of us have come across that time in adolescent years when the fear of rejection keeps us away from initiating conversation with that special someone. Our premium brand Hide &amp; Seek resonates with young and innocent love while acting as an enabler to ignite a spark in situations wherein people feel hesitant to express themselves freely or directly. Our brand plays the role of breaking the ice so the first-time conversations between two young people are comfortable and relaxed. Since the campaign is targeted towards teenagers, it's not about intense love but about innocent attraction &amp; young playful chemistry. The campaign is light-hearted and at the same time builds our brand so that we achieve top-of-mind recall among consumers and continue our brand narrative. With this TV and digital campaign, we aim to strengthen our position in the chocolate cookies category.” <keyword id="4108006" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="samir-chonkar" source="Orion">Samir Chonkar</keyword>, Head at Brand League Partners said, “We wanted to create something special for consumers and we are happy to be able to create a theme for Parle’s Hide &amp; Seek brand - ‘Start your story with Hide &amp; Seek’, which will bring forth something relatable, fun and engaging experience for everyone! The films showcase cute and innocent interaction between couples designed to appeal to customers’ lovestruck-side and get some attention directed towards the brand.” With the aim of celebrating the event that is immensely popular among young adults, Parle Products will be releasing TVCs in seven languages including Hindi, Bengali, Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam, Oriya, Assamese and Tamil and will be sustained through a digital campaign. For social media amplification, Parle plans to create Instagram filter for couples, launch reels challenge and gift contests.

Parle Products launches a series of ads for Hide & Seek to establish the brand's identity as an enabler of first-time conversations

<ul><li>Parle-G registered its best sales figures in over eight decades during the COVID-19 lockdown period. </li><li>We caught up with Mayank Shah, Sr. Category Head, Parle Products to understand how the brand managed to meet the ever-increasing demand, secret behind hike in sales, its shifting focus on digital mediums and overall marketing strategy. </li></ul>We all have grown up munching on Parle-G, dunking it in our chai and savouring the half-tea-soaked cookie everyday before rushing to school. The five-rupees pack came to the rescue yet again, cured the lockdown blues when our migrants trekked hundreds of kilometers back home. As a result, while many businesses struggled to survive, this home-grown glucose biscuit hasn’t seen its sales dip even for a day. In fact, Parle-G broke its own sales record by selling the maximum number of biscuits during lockdown in eight decades. Parle saw its overall market share increasing by nearly 5% in May and 80-90% of this growth came from Parle-G sales. “We have witnessed that during natural calamities and during COVID, there is an urgent need to supply rations to people and Parle-G has always been the go-to product and comfort food in any situation or location. It has a longer shelf life and the packaging keeps the biscuits fresh, thereby making it an ideal storage item,” said Mayank Shah, Sr. Category Head, Parle Products. Various NGOs and welfare organizations included Parle-G in their donation kits when Cyclone Amphan hit West Bengal and Odisha. Many people stocked it at home for emergencies. Another reason why Parle-G saw an uptick in sales is because the whole country was home and needed something healthy to snack on. “Today, most spending is happening on food and given the behavior, we are noticing people buying all sorts of biscuits, not just for snacking but for preparing various dishes. This is one reason why the demand went up. The second reason being staying at home has increased the consumption drastically. Typically, at the workplace the focus remains at work, at school focus is on studying but at home 24x7, consumption of food and snacking goes up. This is the reason why we saw uptick in consumption and we expect that this momentum will continue going forward as long as there are some or the other form of restrictions and also because of the concerns that people have in consuming outside food,” tells Shah. Challenges of meeting the market demand But how did Parle manage to meet this ever-increasing demand with scarcity of labor? “Right from day one, we were on the job in terms of ensuring that we get permissions to operate our plant, to ensure that the people are taking care of supply chains so any issues coming at any local level, there was a team that was functioning and taking care of those things to ensure smooth operation. Right from sourcing to manufacturing and supply chain, there were partners and teams already taking care of it. A big challenge was, a paucity of labor and the government additionally declared that offices will not operate with more than 50 percent capacity, which has changed today, initially it was even less than that,” said Shah. He added, “Depending on how a particular zone is affected, we probably have 20-40% labourers. To inspire and get laborers on board, we had to make them understand that it was not just a commercial activity rather it was food security of the country because of the sheer volume and consumption by people.” Shifting focus on digital mediums The lockdown has pushed even a traditional brand like Parle to embrace digital and explore the options available to reach out to its customers. While its ‘G Maane Genius’ iconic tagline continues to be a part of popular culture, to make it more relevant today and increase its recall value, Parle recently partnered with Amazon Prime Video for Shakuntala Devi. Talking about this partnership, Shah said, “This partnership celebrates what sets us apart, which is the generations of children that go above and beyond exploring possibilities in a way that makes their little world and imagination better.” Shah told us that the brand shifted its lion’s share from TV to digital during the lockdown because there was no fresh content on TV and on the other hand, there was a disproportionately higher rate on digital. “We would be investing a good amount of our budget into digital. Pre-COVID, the investments were typically 10 to 12% of the budget. During the initial part of the COVID, not just ours but many companies invested almost one third of the budget spent on digital. Now within a year or two, we will see almost about 20-25% of the total advertising spend happening on digital. Secondly, associations on OTT or TV only if we see a good synergy with our brand. So unless and until there is no great synergy in between our brand communication or brand proposition and the medium or rather the property with which we are associated, we normally don't associate,” said he. Tweaking marketing strategy to stay relevant This 82-year-old brand has grown to become a feeling in our country, it is not just any a cookie you dip in your chai. There is immense nostalgia associated with it. And to resonate with its consumers in gloomy times, Parle tweaked its overall marketing strategy. “We ensured that Parle remained part of consumers' life. Although we observed advertising by many brands, we opted to stay relevant and sometimes out of it. Rather, we continued talking to consumers about inspiring in these times, making them appreciate the role of the frontline workers and ensuring that they understand how the lockdown is beneficial to everybody. So they were not only public service ads which we executed, but ads of our products which talked about how we are part of their life by sharing their concerns. So, most of our communication was topical in nature.” When asked what keeps Shah motivated and at it, he said, “Today we are seeing many companies in the same category, same sector, who are giving up saying that it's the time of lockdown and nothing can be done. On the other hand and extreme, we can see companies that view this as an opportunity to rise up and go all out and carve out an opportunity out of constraint. We have seen both sides of the spectrum. A positive frame of mind, a positive bent of mind and a motivated team is something that makes all the difference.”

How Parle-G continues to exceed its sales record despite a recession

New Delhi, Mar 25 () Biscuits major Parle Products on Wednesday said it will donate three crore packs of biscuits in the next three weeks, specially to the needy people through government agencies with the country going for a 21-day lockdown due to coronavirus pandemic. The company said its manufacturing units are functioning with 50 per cent of workforce keeping with government advisories to curb escalation of the coronavirus outbreak, but it is working to ensure that sufficient quantity of its products are available in the market. "We have decided to work with government, donate through government agency three crore packs of biscuits -- one crore each in the next three weeks -- specially for people in need...We will be donating one crore packs of Parle-G biscuits every week for the next three weeks, effectively about three crore packs of biscuits," Parle Products Senior Senior Category Head Mayank Shah told . He further said, "We are also looking at ensuring that those who need food right now -- there will be many people whose livelihood will be hampered, we will work very closely with the government to ensure that they don't go hungry." Shah said, "As a result of lockdown there is a huge amount of panic buying and hoarding is happening. People are going out and buying everytihng that's available in terms of food, including biscuits which is ideal for this kind of situation because they have a longer shelf life and retain freshness for a longer period of time." Shah said although the factories of the company and third party vendors are working with an average of 50 workforce, Parle Products is "going all out and ensuring that we are available in the market in sufficient quantity so that there is no panic" "We have seen a lot of buying happening in processed food as well, including biscuits, which is the top item to be stocked up during this kind of of lockdown. We have ensured that supplies are continuous and are not interrupted." Shah said while the Centre has exempted biscuit manufacturers from the restrictions of the lockdown, the company is facing issues in some pockets as local authorities have not allowed transport of raw materials and finished products. RKL MKJ

Lockdown: Parle to donate 3 crore packs Parle G biscuits through government agencies

New Delhi, May 24 () Restrictions on number of workers in factories located in green and amber zones, specially for food products companies, need to be relaxed as meeting demand will become difficult and can lead to scarcity, according to a senior official of biscuits major Parle Products. With availability of labour still a challenge due to large scale migration in the wake of coronavirus induced lockdown, the government must give relaxation to food firms to even use up to 100 per cent workforce in factories which are not in containment or red zones under strict standard operating procedures, said Parle Products Senior Category Head Mayank Shah. "On one front migrant labour is not available. In some zones, like green and amber zones labour is not an issue. The issue there is the government diktat of not using more than 50 per cent workforce," Shah told . Stating that many companies are unable to ramp up capacity in factories in green and amber zones due to the labour restriction of 50 per cent, he said,"While that is perfectly fine and we have no issue with that, what we are requesting the government is at least in food industry start giving a little bit of relaxation there because we are a labour intensive industry." Underlining the significance of the issue, Shah said,"With labour restriction of 50 per cent we are operating at around 60-65 per cent of our production capacity. We will continue working on that as beyond this we won't be able to make it more efficient because we are labour intensive." He further said,"Then that would have a direct impact on availability of food in market. If you don't allow us to operate at 80, 90 or 100 per cent of our capacity, you will not find products as on one side demand has gone up. We are seeing that in many categories." Citing Parle Products' own case he said,"Even for us the products that are available in the market are hand to mouth. You will find a product in the morning and by mid-day or evening it is over. There should be enough production happening so that at no point in time there is scarcity of product in the market." He said food products companies through industry chamber CII have "requested the government that in zones which are not containment or red zones, give relaxation to companies to operate with higher labour force." Shah also said supply chain issues that were prevalent in the beginning of the lockdown have been sorted out. "The only challenge ahead of the entire industry today is that of labour. The migrant labours who have gone back to their villages is the only challenge...We are a labour intensive industry and we have a sizeable amount of migrant labour in our workforce," he said. The matter is not restricted just to the company but it also affects "our distributors, who also employ migrant labours", Shah said. In terms of permission and government approvals, and transportation through trucks there are no issues at present, he added. RKL ANU RAM

Allow higher workforce for factories in green, amber zones to meet rising demand: Parle Products

<ul><li>Dabur, Vim, Sunfeast, <keyword id="9551690" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="brooke-bond-patanjali">Brooke Bond &amp; Patanjali</keyword> join <keyword id="9551688" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="the-billion-crp-club">the Billion CRP club</keyword> this year.</li><li>COVID- 19 does not upset the top brands’ growth</li><li>Only 6 global brands among the top 25 brands in India.</li></ul><keyword id="9551689" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="worldpanel-division-of-kantar">Worldpanel Division of Kantar</keyword>, released its report, Brand Footprint 2020. The report is an annual ranking of FMCG brands based on the Consumer Reach Points the brands scored in a year. The report is in its 8th edition this year. Key findings: <ol><li>Scoring the highest CRP (mn) at 6029/ +12% <keyword id="29464" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Parle">Parle</keyword>, ranks first followed by Amul at 4,632 CRP (mn)/ +17%, Amul at 4,632 CRP (mn)/ +17%, Clinic Plus at 4,514 CRP (mn)/ +32%, Britannia at 4,215 CRP (mn)/ +29% and Ghari at 2,438 CRP (mn)/ +12%</li><li>Five new brands joined the Billion CRP Club this year Dabur, Vim, Sunfeast, Brooke Bond &amp; Patanjali. 21 brands made it to this group in 2019 compared to 16 in both 2018 and 2017.</li><li>Over 2/3rd of the top 50 brands are Indian Origin brands (36) while global stands at 14.</li><li>Global brands (29 %) show 1.8x growth compared to Indian Origin brands (16%). Global brands are growing almost twice as fast at 29% compared to Indian Origin brands at 16%.</li><li>Consumers make significantly more choices this year leading to a significantly better CRP performance by brands- 57 % brands record growing CRPs.</li><li>Bigger brands find better growth and follow the Golden Rule, brands grow faster by growing penetration</li><li>Colgate stands at the highest penetrated brand at 88%</li><li>Surf excel remains marks a consistent CRP growth rate at +20% scoring 1566 mn CRP.</li><li>58 brands saw a penetration gain of 1% or more. Leading the category is Ponds at 5.8% followed by Harpic (4.8%), Comfort (4.5%). 1% penetration gain adds an extra 2.9mn shoppers to the brand. </li><li>In the foods category Britannia clearly charts out a success story as the 2nd most chosen brand, 7th highest penetrated brand with a household penetration at 67.6%. While Aashirvaad saw a surge with 4% penetration increase and +55% CRP growth. </li><li>Within homecare surf excel marks +48% CRP growth while recording +3.4% penetration increase, closely followed by Vim at +44% CRP growth and +3.2% penetration.</li><li>Dabur comes out strong in the personal care &amp; foods category with +34% CRP growth, making it the 5th most chosen beauty &amp; health brand in India with a 70.0% household penetration.</li></ol>Impact of Covid-19: <ul><li>Food &amp; Beverage brands get picked up more often except Parle and Tata due to drop in frequency. For example, Amul is chosen over 100,000 additional times during the COVID months of March-May. </li><li>While personal and home care brands drop CRPs</li><li>Despite CRPs, trip size increases causing top brands to grow volume</li></ul>“Consumer Reach Points are a great way to measure and rank brands as it is a measure of the number of opportunities a brand has, to interact with a consumer. It is great to see consistent validation for the fact that if you build penetration, frequency and growth follow. This has really been a year of global brands in terms of their higher growth than others. Like these, this year’s report has a lot of interesting nuggets to derive a lot of information and insights on top the behaviour of consumers towards brands in the last year”- K. Ramakrishnan, MD- South Asia, Worldpanel Division, Kantar. Top 10- Brand Footprint Most Chosen Consumer Brands <table style="border-width: initial; border-style: none;"></colgroup><tbody><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.5pt;vertical-align:top;padding:0pt 5.4pt 0pt 5.4pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">RANK </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.5pt;vertical-align:top;padding:0pt 5.4pt 0pt 5.4pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">BRAND </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.5pt;vertical-align:top;padding:0pt 5.4pt 0pt 5.4pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">CRP(m) </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.5pt;vertical-align:top;padding:0pt 5.4pt 0pt 5.4pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">1 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.5pt;vertical-align:top;padding:0pt 5.4pt 0pt 5.4pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Parle </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.5pt;vertical-align:top;padding:0pt 5.4pt 0pt 5.4pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">6,079 CRP (mn) +12% </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.5pt;vertical-align:top;padding:0pt 5.4pt 0pt 5.4pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">2 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.5pt;vertical-align:top;padding:0pt 5.4pt 0pt 5.4pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Amul </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.5pt;vertical-align:top;padding:0pt 5.4pt 0pt 5.4pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">4,632 CRP (mn) +17% </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.5pt;vertical-align:top;padding:0pt 5.4pt 0pt 5.4pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">3 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.5pt;vertical-align:top;padding:0pt 5.4pt 0pt 5.4pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Clinic Plus </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.5pt;vertical-align:top;padding:0pt 5.4pt 0pt 5.4pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">4,514 CRP (mn) +32% </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.5pt;vertical-align:top;padding:0pt 5.4pt 0pt 5.4pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">4 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.5pt;vertical-align:top;padding:0pt 5.4pt 0pt 5.4pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Britannia </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.5pt;vertical-align:top;padding:0pt 5.4pt 0pt 5.4pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">4,215 CRP (mn) +29% </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.5pt;vertical-align:top;padding:0pt 5.4pt 0pt 5.4pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">5 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.5pt;vertical-align:top;padding:0pt 5.4pt 0pt 5.4pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Ghari </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.5pt;vertical-align:top;padding:0pt 5.4pt 0pt 5.4pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">2,438 CRP (mn) +12% </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.5pt;vertical-align:top;padding:0pt 5.4pt 0pt 5.4pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">6 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.5pt;vertical-align:top;padding:0pt 5.4pt 0pt 5.4pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Tata </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.5pt;vertical-align:top;padding:0pt 5.4pt 0pt 5.4pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">2,212 CRP (mn) +16% </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.5pt;vertical-align:top;padding:0pt 5.4pt 0pt 5.4pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">7 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.5pt;vertical-align:top;padding:0pt 5.4pt 0pt 5.4pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Aavin </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.5pt;vertical-align:top;padding:0pt 5.4pt 0pt 5.4pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">2,080 CRP (mn) -10% </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.5pt;vertical-align:top;padding:0pt 5.4pt 0pt 5.4pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">8 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.5pt;vertical-align:top;padding:0pt 5.4pt 0pt 5.4pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Nandini </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.5pt;vertical-align:top;padding:0pt 5.4pt 0pt 5.4pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">2,025 CRP (mn) -2% </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.5pt;vertical-align:top;padding:0pt 5.4pt 0pt 5.4pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">9 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.5pt;vertical-align:top;padding:0pt 5.4pt 0pt 5.4pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Colgate </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.5pt;vertical-align:top;padding:0pt 5.4pt 0pt 5.4pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">1,868 CRP (mn) +23% </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.5pt;vertical-align:top;padding:0pt 5.4pt 0pt 5.4pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">10 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.5pt;vertical-align:top;padding:0pt 5.4pt 0pt 5.4pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Wheel </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.5pt;vertical-align:top;padding:0pt 5.4pt 0pt 5.4pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">1,630 CRP (mn) +14% </td></tr></tbody></table>

Parle is the most chosen brand in India: Report

<ul><li><keyword id="1199021" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Kantar">Kantar</keyword> India released the 9th edition of its annual <keyword id="11748120" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="brand-footprint">Brand Footprint</keyword> report today.</li><li> The report ranks the <keyword id="11748540" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="most-chosen-fmcg-brands">Most Chosen FMCG Brands</keyword> based on Consumer Reach Points (CRP’s). </li><li>Parle Products, Amul, Britannia, Clinic Plus and <keyword id="7636498" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="tata-consumer-products">Tata Consumer Products</keyword> were the top 5 most chosen brands in 2020.</li></ul> Parle Products, Amul and Britannia were India's Most Chosen FMCG Brands based on Consumer Reach Points according to Kantar India's Brand Footprint report. CRP considers the actual purchase made by consumers and the frequency at which these purchases are made in a calendar year. The top three brands are followed by Clinic Plus and Tata Consumer Products. With a CRP score of 5715 (Mn), Parle holds the top spot for a record 9th year in a row. In a year dominated by health &amp; hygiene, <keyword id="6488831" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Dettol">Dettol</keyword> unsurprisingly grew a whopping 48% in CRP’s (923 Mn) and entered the top 25 brand list. Dettol was followed by Lifebuoy with a growth of 25% CRP’s (1798 Mn), Vim at 21% CRP’s (1454 Mn), Dabur at 14% CRP’s (1458 Mn) and Britannia at 11% CRP’s (4694 Mn). <div type="image" title="Kantar most chosen" msid="84857770" hostid="261"></div> Key highlights from the report: <ul><li>Higher the CRPs, higher the opportunity for brand growth.</li><li>Overall consumer reach points (CRP’s) have increased from 86 Bn to 89 Bn however, the rate of growth has come down to 4% (from 18% in 2019).</li><li>COVID impacted the frequency of purchase as average trips made to purchase grocery reduced but more purchases per trip were recorded in 2020. Purchase frequency reduced by 1% but spend per trip grew by 5%. This resulted in a lower number of brands (50%) growing in terms of CRP as compared to 2019 (72%).</li><li>Growth in CRP is directly proportional to the brand hierarchy in the ranking. Across board, the percentage of brands growing fell by 22% however brands in the top 50 only fell by 14% (over 2019).</li><li>Penetration continues to remain the driving force. High penetrated brands still manage to grow faster. Low penetrated brands showcase a CRP growth of 3% while high penetrated brands show a 4.5 % growth.</li><li>At 88%, <keyword id="73802" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Colgate">Colgate</keyword> (including all brands like Dental Cream, Cibaca, Active Salt, Gel etc) recorded the highest household penetration in 2020.</li><li>Overall brand gains (in terms of penetration) are led by health and hygiene brands like Dettol (13.3%), Lifebuoy (6.3%), <keyword id="2725285" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Savlon">Savlon</keyword> (5.4%) and Harpic (4.3%).</li></ul> Speaking about this year’s report and rankings, <keyword id="793916" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="K-Ramakrishnan">K Ramakrishnan</keyword>, Managing Director- South Asia, Worldpanel Division at Kantar said, “Brand footprint is a great way of measuring and rewarding brands by the extent to which they are chosen by consumers. Choice is a function of penetration and frequency. However, we always year after year find that brands grow a lot more on account of penetration gain than frequency gain. The biggest gainers in brand footprint 2020 were expectedly the hygiene brands. That said, the traditional leaders also held their positions by ensuring penetration growths even during the pandemic.”

Parle, Amul and Britannia were India's top most chosen brands in 2020: Kantar

<ul><li><keyword id="133159" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Parle-Agro">Parle Agro</keyword> launched a new product this week called <keyword id="10127022" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="B-Fizz">B-Fizz</keyword> and earmarked Rs 40 crore for its marketing campaign solely for this calendar year. </li><li>On the back of a strong marketing and pricing strategy, Parle Argo is aiming to make B-Fizz a ₹1000-crore-brand in the next couple of years.</li><li><keyword id="235731" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Nadia-Chauhan">Nadia Chauhan</keyword>, Joint Managing Director and CMO, Parle Agro spoke to us about the whole process of launching a product from researching to shelving, idea behind on-boarding two different brand endorsers for different markets, target audience, larger vision for the company and much more. </li></ul>When it comes to coming up with innovative, industry-first beverages, Parle Agro has been the frontrunner. With its latest launch, B-Fizz, a malt-flavoured carbonated apple drink, the company envisions becoming the number one beverage player in India eventually. Parle Agro currently dominates the fruit plus <keyword id="10153209" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="fizz-drink-category">fizz drink category</keyword> by over 90% market share with its flagship brand <keyword id="6374490" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Appy-Fizz">Appy Fizz</keyword> and now, with its foray into malt-flavoured drinks, it is confident that it will be able to accelerate the category’s growth significantly and bring it to up to Rs 10,000 crore from Rs 1,500 crore in 10 years. In the past, the brand has tried to expand its presence with Mango <keyword id="10153208" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="flavoured-frooti-fizz">Flavoured Frooti Fizz</keyword> and Grappo Fizz, which did not last for too long. So, this time, the brand is playing safe and smart by piggybacking on the popularity of Appy Fizz for the newly-launched B-Fizz, which is a marriage between apple and malt. Another reason why the brand believes in this category is because it has seen a consistently increasing trend of consumers moving away from synthetic beverages towards fruit-based beverages. Parle Agro is therefore going all out to promote its new product launch. It has invested Rs 40 crore in a high-decibel 360 degree campaign, on-boarded Priyanka Chopra Jonas for the Indian market and Jr. NTR for the Southern India. B-Fizz will also be the sponsor for a few select marquee television properties and air its TVC during IPL to get the ball rolling. In just two weeks since its launch, the drink is already present in 500,000+ outlets. With a uniquely positioned product and strong marketing strategy, Parle Agro is confident of making B-Fizz a ₹1000-crore-brand in the next couple of years. We caught up with Nadia Chauhan, Joint Managing Director and CMO, Parle Agro, to understand the research process, pricing strategy and goals for this calendar year. Excerpts: Q. What were some of the factors that pushed you/influenced you to launch B-Fizz? As part of our growth strategy, we invest in R&amp;D to introduce innovative new products to the market; products that will appeal to consumers and take our business further. B-Fizz is one such product that our team developed a few years back. After conducting successful trials we were waiting for the right moment to launch it. As we went through various phases of unlock, we noticed a phenomenal performance in our sparkling fruit-based drink category with our brand, Appy Fizz. We thought it was a great opportunity to expand that category further with the launch of B-Fizz which is a sparkling malt flavoured drink with apple juice. We were able to commercialize B-Fizz in less than 30 days from the time we made the decision to launch it. The timing of the launch worked perfectly for us in several ways. As the country underwent the last few phases of unlock, retailers who were earlier operating under numerous constraints during the lockdown, have now opened up and are operating at almost 100%. Consumers are also getting back to some sense of normalcy. Additionally, the second half of the year is not just the festive period where there is typically an upswing in demand, but it also sees a second summer in the month of October across the country. Since the season also plays a large role in the <keyword id="1453601" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="beverage-industry">beverage industry</keyword> it was a great time for us to launch B-Fizz. Q. What is the marketing strategy for your new product launch? What is the marketing investment going to be? We are investing Rs 40 cores in a high-decibel 360 degree campaign across various media for B-Fizz. We have launched two new TVCs, one featuring global icon, Priyanka Chopra for national media and the other featuring Jr. NTR exclusively for southern markets. The TVC campaign will be supported by innovative print, mobile and digital activations. B-Fizz will also be the sponsor for select marquee television properties. The campaign will also be aggressively promoted across IPL on Hotstar and YouTube. We have also been looking to deploy OOH for higher impact across 96 cities as of now. Q. What would your distribution and pricing strategy be? Will it be available on e-commerce and delivery platforms? B-Fizz is a product that we have launched with a mass distribution strategy in place. We’re today at 500,000 outlets with more than 3000 towns covered. We have launched B-Fizz at a competitive price point of Rs. 10 which is a critical part of our strategy. We believe this price point will enable us to scale up distribution for the brand across both rural and urban markets and make it more accessible to consumers. And yes, we will be available across various platforms, not just traditional retail but also modern trade and e-commerce. We expect B-Fizz to become a ₹1000-crore brand in the next couple of years. Q. The product is priced at Rs. 10 for 160 ml SKU, so how environmental-friendly is the product's packaging? Or will that be a focus later on in brand's journey? It’s an incorrect assumption to say a product available at a lower price point is indicative of a compromise in the quality of packaging. Parle Agro has a reputation built on quality, trust and has always ensured products which are best in class to deliver a superior consumer experience. Our ability to price a product at 10 rupees, an extremely competitive price point, is based on our strategy of creating economies through scale. The 160 ml packaging is a pack that is manufactured on a mass scale for Appy Fizz, the same is being applied for B-Fizz through various technological innovations in designing the preforms. These innovations are created and manufactured in-house as well, which is also how we’re able to achieve this kind of competitive price point. Q. Since the packaging and TVC is quite bold and colourful and positioned as a drink 'for the bold', are you looking at targeting millennials? Who will be the core target for B-Fizz? We are primarily targeting the youth between the age groups of 15-30 years for B-Fizz. Nevertheless, the unique taste of B-Fizz will appeal to all age groups. Q. Since consumers are becoming very conscious of their health and avoiding cola-based drinks and people are still at home and snacking more, have you seen an increase in demand of your products in the last few months? Our entire product portfolio focuses on fruit based beverages and has gained huge traction over the years. We have seen a consistently increasing trend of consumers moving away from synthetic beverages and more towards fruit-based beverages. This is perhaps, one of the big growth drivers for our category as well and a reason for why we have grown as much as we have. Q. What kind of trends did you witness during the lockdown? Did you cut down on your ad spends for this year? What will your larger marketing strategy be for the rest of the year? When it comes to business trends during the lockdown, companies had to adapt, on a daily basis, to the constantly changing rules and regulations being implemented across different parts of the country. Pro-active planning became a critical approach to maintain continuity of supply and distribution to tackle the challenges in mobility that emerged during the pandemic. We also witnessed the growth of the ecommerce platform. Though the e-commerce channel is still very small for the FMCG industry, there has been an acceleration in the adoption of this channel by consumers and brands alike. We have also on-boarded numerous ecommerce players and are continuing to do so. With regard to consumer trends, the lockdown has led consumers to become more conscious about their food and beverage choices. We foresee consumers spending a lot more on products that are natural versus those that are synthetic. For instance, fruit-based drinks like our products with natural ingredients, will be the preferred choice of drink over synthetic ones. Through the lockdown, we halted most of our marketing spends since majority of the retail stores were shut and with restrictions in mobility, people weren’t allowed to go out unless absolutely necessary. But now, as we move towards the last few phases of unlock, our budget allocations are back on track. We are investing Rs 40 crores for the marketing of B-Fizz which is until the end of the calendar year for 2020. Next year, we will be back on track with our regular marketing budgets of about Rs 250 to 300 crores across all our existing brands. Q. Why did you decide to get a separate brand face for the southern market? Is that one of your strongest markets? In southern markets, the influence and affinity for regional cinema and celebrities is very strong. Thus, to drive greater brand resonance with the audiences in the south as well as generate higher brand recall for B-Fizz, we chose a separate ambassador for the southern markets. Jr. NTR is a great brand fit and just like for Frooti we have Allu Arjun, we have Jr. NTR for B-Fizz in the south. Q. Parle Agro currently has a brand turnover of Rs. 6500 Cr. With a new addition, what are revenue goals for FY 2021-22? Parle Agro currently dominates the fruit plus fizz drink category with Appy Fizz with over 90% market share. With the launch of B Fizz, the target is to build the Fruit plus Fizz category to Rs 10,000 Cr. by 2030. We believe we will end the calendar year with 5-10 per cent growth over the previous year with B-Fizz being one of the contributors to that growth. Q. What is your overall vision for Parle Agro? Our vision is to make Parle Agro the No. 1 Beverage Company in India.

Parle Agro is confident of making B-Fizz a ₹1000-crore-brand in a few years

<ul><li>2021 is going to be one of the biggest growth years for <keyword id="133159" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Parle-Agro">Parle Agro</keyword> as it is set to release two high impact campaigns for its power brands Frooti, Appy Fizz and B-Fizz simultaneously.</li><li>With combined spends of Rs 240 crore for Frooti and Fizz portfolio, Parle Agro is aiming to dominate the beverage category this summer.</li><li>Nadia Chauhan, Joint Managing Director and CMO, Parle Agro tells us how the brand aims to beat the cola category with its strong marketing strategy and how it would go about spending the earmarked marketing budget of Rs 240 crore.</li></ul>Last week, Mumbai recorded its hottest day of this season and the India Meteorological Department issued a yellow alert with a warning of heat wave. Mercury in Odisha has crossed 44.6 degrees, the highest so far. IMD predicts this year to be the hottest summer in India and it’s only April! To beat this heat, consumers turn to refreshing cold beverages and ice-creams and naturally, summer is the peak season for those categories. For Parle Agro that houses drinks like Frooti, Appy Fizz and B-Fizz, 40% of its overall annual sales come from the summers. Last year, the beverage industry’s business plateaued due to the lockdown. Parle Agro decided to curtail its 360-degree media spends until October and started working on its comeback marketing strategy. So, 2021 is going to be an important year for the conglomerate to revive its business. Sharing her expectations for summer 2021, Nadia Chauhan, Joint Managing Director and CMO, Parle Agro said, “The summer months alone from March to May account for approximately 40% of our overall annual sales. We have witnessed a higher consumption in mango drinks over the Fizz category in summers because Mango is a seasonal fruit hence, a higher intake over the Fizz category which is evenly balanced out year-round.” While the beverage category was struggling in the first quarter of 2020, once the market opened up, Parle Agro launched an innovative product ‘B-Fizz’ and expanded its market share strategically. It is now aiming to grow by 50% over 2019. “Looking at the past year, the lockdown had an immense impact on the beverage and FMCG segment as a whole. Due to mobility restrictions, we focused on reinventing our sales and distribution strategy to cater to the market effectively despite the lockdown. This helped us gain an 8% market share within the category. We avoided a 360-degree brand campaign during the summer months of 2020 as it would not serve the desired purpose due to mobility restrictions. Subsequently, we invested in a strategic marketing strategy in September 2020 when we launched B-Fizz. This year, for 2021, with increased mobility and rise in temperatures during summer months, we are expecting a boom in consumption and are targeting a 50% growth in 2021 over 2019 across all brands,” said Chauhan. However, the lockdown did have a silver lining for Parle Agro after all. The consumer pattern changed and they started preferring fruit-based beverages. Chauhan said, “We have witnessed a consistent increase in consumers moving away from synthetic beverages and more towards fruit-based beverages. Along with that, we also see a demand in products under the good-for-you category. The lockdown has also given consumers an opportunity to spend more time with family and friends. This has resulted in a boost for larger packs for in-home consumption.” <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Marketing campaigns for 2021" text="Marketing campaigns for 2021">Marketing campaigns for 2021</cmsannotation> Parle Agro has launched its summer campaign starring brand ambassadors Priyanka Chopra Jonas and <a href="https://youtu.be/Tmy9ViY2qR8">Jr. NTR</a> for B-Fizz. With marketing investments of Rs 120 crores for the Fizz portfolio this summer, Parle Agro plans on generating tremendous buzz with a multimedia campaign. The TVC will be aired across national and regional channels. <div type="Youtube" id="8X1DT09Je7A" title="All new 2021 Be.Feel.Fizz advertisement with Priyanka Chopra Jonas.#befeelfizz#bethefizz#feelthefizz" thumbUrl="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/8X1DT09Je7A/mqdefault.jpg"></div> On the other hand, its new summer campaign for Frooti starring Alia Bhatt, <a href="https://youtu.be/mfq51l5Auwk">Allu Arjun</a> and <a href="https://youtu.be/oz0_585h1DE">Varun Dhawan</a> aims to accelerate growth and strengthen brand equity. Parle Agro has earmarked Rs 120 as marketing budget for Frooti and Rs 120 for Fizz category. <div type="Youtube" id="kopcKizsMIY" title="Watch Alia Bhatt get her favourite drink in the new 2021 Frooti advertisement. #livethefrootilife" thumbUrl="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/kopcKizsMIY/mqdefault.jpg"></div> The beverage company has increased its marketing budget every year since 2019. Chauhan shared, “Our overall marketing spends for 2019 amounted to Rs 220 crore while our summer spends for 2021 is Rs 240 crores.” Telling us more about the media spends, Chauhan added, “We have an aggressive multimedia campaign charted out for 2021 with the objective of boosting consumption patterns, gaining substantial market share and driving significant growth for Parle Agro in the beverage industry. Our plan includes using strategic mediums and touch points to ensure impactful reach and visibility for our brands via the right audience. This includes Television, Digital and OOH mediums.” To further break through the clutter, the Indian beverage giant will look at enhancing visibility via on-ground branding opportunities at retail outlets, kirana stores and continue investing in e-commerce. A significant amount of its marketing budget will also be spent on the biggest event of the summer season - IPL. Frooti is the official on-air sponsor for IPL in the mango drink category and B-Fizz is the beverage partner for IPL on Disney+ Hotstar. Telling us how important IPL has grown to be for the brand, Chauhan shared, “IPL has been a game-changer for Frooti and our FIZZ range. We started advertising with IPL for Frooti in the summer of 2014 since most of the investment for the brand happens in this season. IPL being the biggest event of the summer months has helped propel visibility for Frooti during this period, ever since we started advertising with the property. The year 2021 is a big year for Parle Agro. To further drive high SOV for our brands during the high consumption summer season, we have associated with IPL. Frooti shall be the on-air sponsor on TV on Star Sports Network. While in the digital space, B-Fizz will be the associate sponsor for IPL on Disney HotStar. If we go by numbers, just these two platforms will drive a reach of over 500 million people.” With combined spends of Rs 240 crores for Frooti and FIZZ portfolio campaigns, Parle Agro is set to dominate the beverage category this summer. It has the lion’s share of fruit plus fizz category and Frooti, too, ranks among the top two mango drinks in India. Elaborating on the beverage company’s expansion plan and current market share, Chauhan said, “For Frooti we have 28% market share in the mango drink category. In the apple-based drink category, Appy holds the largest share with 61% and in the sparkling fruit drink category, our FIZZ portfolio i.e. Appy Fizz and B-Fizz combined, holds the highest market share of over 90%. We are looking to further grow market share and target new consumers by increasing our reach and market penetration. We are already witnessing a massive boom in consumption this season after a slow 2020. Frooti is part of every household, for every social occasion, these indications instil confidence that the product will become a dominant player soon. And with our aggressive plans for Frooti and FIZZ portfolio this year, we aim to further boost consumption and drive significant growth for Parle Agro in the beverage industry.” Apart from spearheading an aggressive marketing campaign this year, Chauhan will also prepare every level of leadership across all teams in her organization who have all been impacted in different ways by the pandemic, to be really prepared and maintain a very positive mindset.

Parle Agro targets a 50% growth in 2021 over 2019 as India prepares for its hottest summer; sets aside Rs 240 crore for marketing activities

Days after Maggi fiasco, other food manufacturers like <keyword id="29464" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Parle">Parle</keyword>, KFC, Wendy’s and many others are being dragged into parallel issues by the consumers. A report circulated by the Economic Times suggests that the age-old biscuit maker Parle is receiving a minimum of 5 phone calls each day by its fuming customers. 
 
The calls, as mentioned in the report, are by and large about the contaminants being found in the food products. Not just this, but demands of compensation from Rs 5,000 to 5 lakh has also emerged as a matter of concern. What adds more to one’s surprise is the fact that some has also threatened the country’s largest food maker saying that if it doesn't cough up, they'll go to the media and even the regulator. 
 <keyword id="115414" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ramesh-Chauhan">Ramesh Chauhan</keyword>, a member of the family that runs Parle and also the chairman of <keyword id="140687" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Bisleri-International">Bisleri International</keyword>, said, "Consumers are panicking. Some are raising genuine issues, which is good. But some are taking advantage of the existing environment." 
 <keyword id="120094" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Mayank-Shah">Mayank Shah</keyword>, the company’s deputy marketing manager, also came-up to cover the matter. Shah said, "There are customers who are getting overtly concerned and some want to use the opportunity to make a quick buck." 
 Other food manufacturers like <keyword id="268892" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Yum-Brands">Yum Brands</keyword>, Pepsi, Wendy's, Mondelez and Dabur too are facing similar issues and are fielding alike calls from consumers. 
 There have also been reports that some of the companies have used ‘Make in India’ platform to get their unregulated products passed by the <keyword id="109212" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Food-Safety">Food Safety</keyword> &amp; <keyword id="179673" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Standards-Authority-of-India">Standards Authority of India</keyword> (FSSAI). Those manufacturers who have made it to this list are: Tata Starbucks, Ferrero SpA, Field Fresh Foods, Kellogg's and McCain. 
 
Nadia Chauhan, a member of the Chauhan family and also the joint managing director Parle Agro, which has brands like Frooti and Appy, said, "Companies can only put themselves to ransom by panicking. Globally, no one would entertain such stuff because the awareness level is so high. As a company, you need to settle the matter but paying up is just out of the question."

Indian consumers might prefer to stay away from packaged food. Here is why

(Eds: Adding inputs from Parle Products ) New Delhi, Mar 30 () Availability of workers at factories and trucks for transportation remain key challenges to meet demand for essential items during the lockdown due to coronavirus pandemic, according to FMCG majors ITC, Dabur India and Parle Products. The companies, however, said the approvals for plant operations and transportation of goods have eased difficulties in movement of raw materials and finished products, assuring steady supply of essential items. Addressing of local issues in many states that have hindered movement of goods would certainly help in kick-starting the functioning of the supply chain, they said. "But, the key issue that still remains is the availability of manpower and workers to run these operations. With most workers either leaving for their hometowns or staying at home during the lockdown, it would be a challenge to ensure smooth functioning," Dabur India Executive Director (Operations) Shahrukh Khan told . Sharing similar experience, an ITC spokesperson said, "While we have progressively obtained permissions in some states, availability of trucks continues to be the biggest challenge at the moment. Interstate and local truck movement has been severely impacted together with the challenge of shortage of manpower in factories." Expressing similar views, Parle Products Senior Senior Category Head Mayank Shah said, "The biggest challenge today is manpower... The new challenge facing the companies now is how to continue running their plants in absence of labour." Most of the labours in manufacturing plant are migrant workers. With they moving back to native places, there is going to be a huge challenge, he added. On the ability of companies to produce to meet demand, Shah said that with 50 per cent of workers allowed, production is being managed through shift systems. "Quantum of production would go down substantially but the idea is to ensure that at least there is food available on the shelves and at no point in time there should be any panic in the market," he said adding that there would not be complete absence of food for 5-6 days, even if any shop runs out of stick it would be available the next day. Commenting on how soon the situation is likely to stabilise, the ITC spokesperson said, "We believe it will take a few more days for the entire ecosystem and processes to be streamlined for movement of essential goods." On the movement of goods, Khan said the situation has eased a bit with approvals for plant operations and movement of trucks coming in. "These have eased some of the big bottlenecks that the industry was facing for movement of raw materials, packing materials and finished products. It would certainly help in kick-starting the functioning of the supply chain," Khan added. When specifically asked about stock situation, the ITC spokesperson said, "In these trying times, it is critical to ensure adequate availability of essential food and hygiene products in the country. We have been working closely with state authorities and local administration to ensure that manufacturing and distribution activities continue uninterrupted with minimum people." The company's effort is to ensure that consumers during these trying times are not inconvenienced on account of shortages and unavailability of essential products, the spokesperson added. "We have redoubled our efforts to ensure a heightened level of precaution and have implemented strict protocols for safety, personal hygiene and sanitation in these select factories and for our salesmen and value chain partners," the ITC spokesperson added. KRH RKL HRS

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