About the Company

A cream colored yellow stripped wrapper with a cute baby photo containing
10 – 12 biscuits with the company’s name printed in Red and you know these are
Parle G biscuits. Times changed, variety of biscuits did come and go but nothing
has changed with these biscuits. Yes, the size of their packing has definitely
changed but for the consumers good as these are money savers pack.
The Parle name conjures up fond memories across the length and breadth of the
country. After all, since 1929, the people of India have been growing up on Parle
biscuits & sweets.

Initially a small factory was set up in the suburbs of Mumbai city, to

manufacture sweets and toffees. The year was 1929 and the market was dominated
by famous international brands that were imported freely. Despite the odds and
unequal competition, this company called Parle Products, survived and succeeded,
by adhering to high quality and improvising from time to time.

A decade later, in 1939, Parle Products began manufacturing biscuits, in

addition to sweets and toffees. Having already established a reputation for quality,
the Parle brand name grew in strength with this diversification. 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 quality.

For around 75 years, Parle have been manufacturing quality biscuits and
confectionery products. Over the years Parle has grown to become a multi million-
dollar company with many of the products as market leaders in their category. The
recent introduction of Hide & Seek chocolate chip biscuits is a product of
innovation and caters to a new taste, being India’s first ever chocolate-chip
biscuits.

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 All Parle products are manufactured under most hygienic conditions. Great
care is exercised in the selection and quality control of raw material and standards
ensured at every stage of the manufacturing process.

Parle Products has 4 manufacturing units for biscuits and confectionaries at

Mumbai, Haryana, Rajasthan and Karnataka. It also has 14 manufacturing units
for biscuits & 5 manufacturing units for confectioneries, on contract.

All these factories are located at strategic locations, so as to ensure a

constant output & easy distribution.

Today, Parle enjoys a 40% share of the total biscuit market and a 15% share
of the total confectionary market, in India.

The marketing mix of Parle for this project has been studied from the point of
view of Parle biscuits; mainly Parle-G and Parle hide & seek.

PARLE G - THE EVOLUTION !!!

Parle-G has been a strong household name across India. The great
taste, high nutrition, and the international quality, makes Parle-G a winner.
No wonder, it's the undisputed leader in the biscuit category for decades.
Parle-G is consumed by people of all ages, from the rich to the poor, living in
cities & in villages. While some have it for breakfast, for others it is a
complete wholesome meal. For some it's the best accompaniment for chai,
while for some it's a way of getting charged whenever they are low on energy.
Because of this, Parle-G is the world's largest selling brand of biscuits.

Launched in the year 1939, it was one of the first brands of Parle
Products. It was called Parle Glucose Biscuits mainly to cue that it was a
glucose biscuit. It was manufactured at the Mumbai factory, Vile Parle and
sold in units of half and quarter pound packs.

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 The incredible demand led Parle to introduce the brand in special
branded packs and in larger festive tin packs. By the year 1949, Parle
Glucose biscuits were available not just in Mumbai but also across the
state. It was also sold in parts of North India. The early 50s produced over
150 tones of biscuits produced in the Mumbai factory. Looking at the
success of Parle-G, a lot of other me-too brands were introduced in the
market. And these brands had names that were similar to Parle Glucose
Biscuits so that if not by anything else, the consumer would err in picking
the brand. This forced Parle to change the name from Parle Glucose Biscuits
to Parle-G.
Originally packed in the wax paper pack, today it is available in a
contemporary, premium BOPP pack with attractive side fins. The new
airtight pack helps to keep the biscuits fresh and tastier for a longer period.
Parle-G was the only biscuit brand that was always in short supply. It
was heading towards becoming an all-time great brand of biscuit. Parle-G
started being advertised in the 80's. It was advertised mainly through press
ads. The communication spoke about the basic benefits of energy and
nutrition. In 1989, Parle-G released its Dadaji commercial, which went on to
become one of the most popular commercials for Parle-G. The commercial
was run for a period of 6 years.
Parle-G grew bigger by the minute. Be it the packs sold, the areas
covered or the number of consumers. It became a part of the daily lives of
many Indians. It wasn't a biscuit any more. It had become an icon. The next
level of communication associated the brand with the positive values of life
like honesty, sharing and caring.
In the year 1997, Parle-G sponsored the tele-serial of the Indian
superhero, Shaktimaan that went on to become a huge success. The
personality of the superhero matched the overall superb benefits of the
brand. Parle extended this association with Shaktimaan and gave away a lot
of merchandise of Shaktimaan, which was supported by POS and press
communication. The children just could not get enough of Parle-G and
Shaktimaan.
In the year 2002, it was decided to bring the brand closer to the child

3
who is a major consumer. A national level promo - `Parle-G Mera Sapna
Sach Hoga' was run for a period of 6 months. The promo was all about
fulfilling the dreams of children. There were over 5 lakh responses and of
that, over 300 dreams were fulfilled.
Dreams that were fulfilled ranged from trips to Disneyland at Paris &
Singapore; free ride on a chartered plane; 20 scholarships worth Rs 50,000;
a special cricket coaching etc.
The year 2002 will go down as a special year in Parle-G's advertising
history. A year that saw the birth of G-Man - a new ambassador for Parle-G.
Not just a hero but also a super-hero that saves the entire world, especially
children from all the evil forces. A campaign that is not just new to the
audiences but one that involves a completely new way of execution that is
loved by children all over the world – Animation

To make the brand much more interesting and exciting with children, it
was decided to launch a premium version of Parle-G called Parle-G Magix in
the year 2002. Parle-G Magix is available in two exciting tastes - ‘Cocoh’ and
‘Cashew’. The year 2002 also witnessed the launch of Parle-G Milk Shakti,
which has the nourishing combination of milk and honey, especially launched
for the southern market.

PARLE GOLU GALATA CONTEST – 2007

India's favourite biscuits & confectionery maker turns India's

corporate partner. As part of its corporate social responsibility to give back
to the very country that built it, Parle Products introduced the now famed
Golu Galata contest in 2005. First a little bit about the practice.

An old tradition from the households of Tamil Nadu, the kolu is the
essence of Navaratri celebrations. It is also followed in many Asian
countries, especially Sri Lanka and Japan. The Japanese version is known
as Hina Masturi.

In Tamil Nadu, on the Amavasya day, women first finish the ritual

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'tarpana' - keep the Kalash filled with rice, toor dal haldi sticks, betel leaves
and nuts or mango leaves with a coconut on it.

The right muhurtam is chosen before placing the Kalash and the dolls
for worship, with which the Kollu festival begins. The dolls are given to the
girl from her parents during her marriage and are called "Marapachi
Bommai" (wooden dolls). From this day she starts collecting dolls and
observes the ceremony annually.

The household women also decorate clay dolls (gods and goddesses
painted in bright colours) and display them on the specially prepared
kolupadis or steps made of wood and covered with a thick cloth. The
number of steps was always an odd number - three, five, seven or nine. The
more the steps, the merrier! Often a variety of dolls are displayed artistically
and arranged beautifully on the steps.

A well decorated tableau, often this display is enjoyed by friends and

relatives. However a recent study found that due to hectic schedules, this
tradition is slowly getting restricted to a select few households.

Thus, to revive a grand tradition, Parle created a novel promotion

called Parle Golu Galata contest. Golu means Doll & Galata means
Dhammal.

In 2005, 5000 households participated and in 2006, it was 10,000

households who participated. This year we hope to see over 10,000
households, across 7 cities join in this joyous occasion.

At the end of the celebration, the winners will be felicitated at a gala

prize distribution ceremony.

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THE MARKETING STRENGTH

The extensive distribution network, built over the years, is a major

strength for Parle Products. Parle biscuits & sweets are available to
consumers, even in the most remote places and in the smallest of villages
with a population of just 500.
Parle has nearly 1,500 wholesalers, catering to 4,25,000 retail outlets
directly or indirectly. A two hundred strong dedicated field force services
these wholesalers & retailers. Additionally, there are 31 depots and C&F
agents supplying goods to the wide distribution network.
The Parle marketing philosophy emphasizes catering to the masses. They
constantly endeavor at designing products that provide nutrition & fun to
the common man. Most Parle offerings are in the low & mid-range price
segments. This is based on their understanding of the Indian consumer
psyche. The value-for-money positioning helps generate large sales
volumes for the products.

However, Parle Products also manufactures a variety of premium

products for the up-market, urban consumers. And in this way, caters a
range of products to a variety of consumers.

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Marketing Mix of Parle Products Limited

Product strategy

Product Levels
1) Core benefit- the core benefit of biscuits is to satisfy hunger of the consumer
2) Basic product- in the second level, the basic product is biscuits.
3) Expected product- the consumers expect the product to have a good taste and
also give nutrition.
4) Augmented product- parle biscuits increase a person’s energy levels. This is not
always expected by the consumers and hence exceeds customer’s expectations.
5) Potential product- in the future parle could come up with different products such
as a snack which could be a combo of chocolate and biscuit.

Classification of products
1) Based on tangibility- Parle biscuits are tangible, i.e. one can see and touch them.
2) Based on functional life- Parle biscuits are consumables since biscuits form a
part of food and have a short life.
3) Based on price and quality- most of Parle biscuits such as Parle-G, Monaco,
Krackjack are mass products but a few Parle biscuits such as Parle hide and seek
and Milano are premium or prestige products.
4) Based on utility- Parle biscuits are convenience goods. They are staples since
they are bought by consumers regularly. Also they are partly impulse products.

Product mix
• Width- Parle produces biscuits, snacks and confectionaries. So the width is 3.
• Length- the length of Parle products is as below:
Biscuits Snacks
Confectionaries

Parle-G Jeffs Melody

Milk Shakti Sixer Poppins
Magix- choco and cashew Musst bytes-tangy tomato Mango byte

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Krackjack and garden green Kismi toffee
bar
Monaco Rol-a-cola
Marie Choice Orange
candy
Hide and seek Chox

Fun centre- chocolate, butterscotch, strawberry, milk cream Nimkin

Parle cream- mango, orange, elaichi, pineapple, bourbon
Digestive Marie
Krackjack cream
Mayfair
• Depth
- For Parle-G:
Parle-G comes in 8 different sizes: 25gms, 44gms, 93.5gms, 231gms,
340.5gms, 462gms, 577.5gms and 1000gms. Hence the depth of parle-G is 8.

- For variants of Parle-G:

Parle-G magix has 2 flavors- choco and cashew and comes only in one size i.e.
75gms. Hence its depth is 2. Parle milk shakti has no favors and comes in just
one size i.e. 150gms.

So the depth of Parle-G is 8+2+1= 11

- For Parle hide & seek and Milano:

Parle hide & seek comes in 2 sizes- 25gms and 100gms. Hence its depth is 2.
Parle hide & seek Milano has no flavors and comes only in one size i.e. 100gms.
So the depth of Parle hide & seek is 2+1= 3

• Consistency
The product consistency generally depends on 3 parameters
1. Production
2. Distribution

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3. Consumer end-use

The production process of every parle biscuit follows some basic

ingredients like wheat flour, vegetable oil, inverted syrups, skimmed milk
powder, etc. then depending upon the product, extra ingredients are
added for e.g. in Monaco there might be an extra amount of salt put in to
give it that prominent salt taste, to hide & seek, chocolate chips are
added. Etc.
Parle uses the same distribution channels for selling all its products
under the biscuit category i.e. 1st, 2nd & the 3rd level of the distribution
channels.
The basic end use of all parle products remains the same – eating it
simply to satisfy hunger. Products like parle-g may also be consumed for
the intake of high glucose levels for immediate strength & energy.

Brand
The Parle Biscuit brands, such as, Parle-G, Monaco and Krackjack enjoy a
strong imagery and appeal amongst consumers. Be it a big city or a remote
village of India, the Parle name symbolizes quality, health and great taste. And
yet, this reputation has been built, by constantly innovating and catering to new
tastes. This can be seen by the success of new brands, such as, Hide & Seek and
Hide & Seek Milano.

• Brand name strategy

Parle follows company brand name strategy, since all its products are named
using the company’s name as a prefix such as Parle-G, Parle- Monaco, Parle
hide&seek, Parle digestive Marie, etc.

• Brand strategy decision:

Product category

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 Old New

Old

Line Extension Brand extension

Brand name

New

Multi- brand New brand

Parle follows both line extension and brand extension for its products.
For a product like Parle-G it followed line extension with the introduction of
Parle-G milk Shakti and Parle-G magix which has 2 flavors- choco and cashew.
For Parle Monaco too it followed line extension when a new favor Monaco jeera
was introduced. Similarly when it introduces any new product in the biscuit
category, it follows line extension.
Initially Parle used to produce only confectionaries. Parle followed brand
extension with the introduction of products in the biscuits and snacks category.
In this way, by concentrating on consumer tastes and preferences and
emphasizing Research & Development, the Parle brand grows from strength to
strength.

Product Life Cycle

For Parle:

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 Maturity
Decline
Growth
Introductio
n Sale
s

Profits

Parle as a company has reached the maturity stage in its products life cycle; since
products such as parle-G, parle Monaco, parle Krackjack which form a major part
of parle products’ sales have captured most of India’s market.

But for its premium biscuits parle hide and seek and parle hide and seek Milano
the products are in the growth and introduction stages respectively.
For parle hide and seek:

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 Maturity
Decline
Growth
Introductio
n
Sale

Profits

Parle hide and seek was introduced in 1998 with favors such as mint, orange and
chocolate. But it did not really succeed in capturing the consumer’s attention. So
after a few years it was re launched with just one flavor i.e. chocolate flavor with
new packaging. After the re-launch it has started gaining attention of its potential
buyers and hence is in the growth stage of its life cycle. It has to fight for its stand
in the market since it faces competition from Britannia’s good-day choco nuts.

Packaging and Labeling

 Packaging:
The time spent by a customer for picking up a product from a retail outlet is a few
seconds; therefore a package should appeal to a customer within such a small
interval of time. In this, both packaging & labeling play an important role in
attracting customers both visually & psychologically.

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For Parle G: Parle G was initially recognized by its iconic white and yellow stripped
wax paper wrapper with the baby face on it. Many competitors have tried to sell
their lower quality products by copying the packaging, trying to sell their biscuits as
Parel-G; Parle-Jee etc. Due to increasing competition Parle G now uses plastic
wrappers for its packaging. Parle-G comes in 8 different sizes: 25gms, 44gms,
93.5gms, 231gms, 340.5gms, 462gms, 577.5gms and a 1kg pack just for Rs.30
which is not usually offered by other brands.

Parle Hide & Seek: It initially came out with 3 variants: Mint, Orange & Chocolate
which wasn’t accepted by the masses. However, the production of Mint & orange
flavors was stopped. Chocolate is the only flavor that is running successfully since
it is India’s first chocolate chip biscuit. . Hide & seek biscuit's current
packaging has been modified along with lower prices & better affordability rates.
Thus there is a change in size of the product which is prevalent in the ads. One of
the advertisements shows movie actor, Hrithik Roshan walking with a pack of hide
& seek biscuits in the back pocket of his jeans emphasizing on the small size of the
product.

Parle hide & seek Milano: This product of Parle has a flashy purple coloured
packing which attracts customers with the whole look of Italian chocolate chip
cookies.

 Labeling:
Consumers are becoming increasingly health conscious. So it is essential to display
the contents of every product. Every packet of Parle G, Parle hide & seek, Parle hide
& seek Milano has information about the ingredients used, nutrition facts, mailing
& emailing addresses asking for feedback, phone number, packaging date etc. All
this along with the brand name and directions are printed in Hindi too.

Price Mix

Pricing Strategies

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The Parle marketing philosophy emphasizes catering to the masses. It constantly
endeavors at designing products that provide nutrition & fun to the common man.
Most Parle offerings are in the low & mid-range price segments. This is based on its
cultivated understanding of the Indian consumer psyche. The value-for-money
positioning helps generate large sales volumes for the products.

Parle G has adopted the Market Penetration strategy i.e. low price along with capturing
of a large market Also they focus on low prices and provide good quality products at
the same time, which means it uses the value pricing method. This benefits Parle G by
having a competitive edge in terms of large market share which is around 40%: both
rural and urban presently.

For setting the price of Parle hide & seek biscuit, a survey was taken in the urban &
semi-urban markets; on the basis of which hide & seek was introduced. It was found
that the potential consumers were ready to pay a premium price for an innovative
product like chocolate chip biscuits. Thus, Parle adopted market skimming where the
product is high priced and also of high quality. It includes the cost of chocolates,
packaging & other processing cost. All these show customer status, which is also one
of the reasons for parle hide & seek’s high price.

A separate example for explaining the pricing strategy of Parle is its product Parle
Creams
For this product Parle uses going rate method only as a reference rate. In this case,
Parle Creams were introduced after Britannia’s Cream Treats with similar variants but
at Rs.5 per packet of biscuit and not Rs.10 like that of Britannia’s cream treats.

Place Mix

The extensive distribution network, built over the years, is a major strength for
Parle Products. Parle biscuits & sweets are available to consumers, even in the most
remote places and in the smallest of villages with a population of just 500.

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Channel levels:
Parle has nearly 1,500 wholesalers, catering to 4, 25,000 retail outlets directly or
indirectly. A two hundred strong dedicated field force services these wholesalers &
retailers. Additionally, there are 31 depots and C&F agents supplying goods to the
wide distribution network.
So it is seen that Parle has 1 level, 2 level & 3 level distribution channels levels.

Level 1 - availability to all departmental stores.

Level 2 – Since it’s an FMCG product this channel exists for customers scattered
throughout the country.
Level 3 – Mass consumption & suitable for national & international coverage. For
e.g. Parle’s international operations consist of serving markets in the Middle East,
Africa, South America, Sri Lanka, Australia and North America for which the 3 level
distribution channel exists.

Channel dynamics:
Parle has a multi-channel marketing system since it uses more than two marketing
channels to reach all its customer segments.
Promotion Mix

The marketing mix tools used by Parle are Advertising, Sales promotion and Public
relations.

Advertising
Parle-G started being advertised in the 80's. It was advertised mainly through press
ads. The communication spoke about the basic benefits of energy and nutrition. In
1989, Parle-G released its Dadaji commercial (link for the ad:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5D4PBN0OzuE), which went on to become one
of the most popular commercials for Parle-G. The commercial was run for a period
of 6 years. Parle-G grew bigger by the minute. Be it the packs sold, the areas
covered or the number of consumers. It became a part of the daily lives of many
Indians. It wasn't a biscuit any more. It had become an icon. The next level of
communication associated the brand with the positive values of life like honesty,

15
sharing and caring.
The year 2002 went down as a special year in Parle-G's advertising history. A year
that saw the birth of G-Man - a new ambassador for Parle-G. Not just a hero but
also a super-hero that saves the entire world, especially children from all the evil
forces. A campaign that was not just new to the audiences but one that involved a
completely new way of execution that was loved by children all over the world -
Animation. A TV commercial that showed G-Man saving the children from the evil
force called Terrolene launched this campaign. It was also supported by print
medium through posters and streamers put up at the retail outlets.
Another campaign that was launched by Parle for Parle-G was - ’G’ maane
’GENIUS’’. For this a series of ads were shown in which a little kid eats Parle G and
tricks the wise and experienced people.
Just a few months back a reminder TV commercial was launched for Parle-G where
the product is being called ‘hindustan ki takat’ ( link for the ad:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kxb4bLq35mg ). Most of the Parle-G TV
commercials tell us that brand awareness is being done by capturing consumer
emotion.

Heavy promotion plays a major role in creating brand awareness. Such is the case
of Parle hide & seek biscuit’s television advertisements. The ads of parle hide and
seek are portraying actor Hrithik Roshan. This tells us that the product is being
promoted by celebrity endorsement to increase awareness of this product and help
capture the consumers’ attention.

Sales Promotion
Parle uses the Sales force promotion tool for all its employees.
Every year it holds day fairs at branded venues where games and fun events are
organised for the employees of Parle and their families; where Parle products are
giveaway prizes.

Public Relations
Parle has done the following for enhancing public relations:

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In the year 1997, Parle-G sponsored the tele-serial of the Indian superhero,
Shaktimaan that went on to become a huge success. The personality of the
superhero matched the overall superb benefits of the brand. Parle extended this
association with Shaktimaan and gave away a lot of merchandise of Shaktimaan.
The children just could not get enough of Parle-G and Shaktimaan.
In the year 2002, it was decided to bring the brand closer to the child who is a
major consumer. A national level promo - `Parle-G Mera Sapna Sach Hoga' was
run for a period of 6 months. The promo was all about fulfilling the dreams of
children. There were over 5 lakh responses and of that, over 300 dreams were
fulfilled. Dreams that were fulfilled ranged from trips to Disneyland at Paris &
Singapore; meeting their favorite film star Hrithik Roshan; free ride on a chartered
plane; 20 scholarships worth Rs 50,000; a special cricket coaching camp with the
Australian cricketer - Ricky Ponting; etc.

Golu Galata contest- In Tamil Nadu, traditionally, women decorate various dolls
made of clay during Navaratri celebrations by setting up 7-9 steps. This display is
well decorated and friends and relatives are invited to witness the same. Through a
detailed research, Parle found that due to time pressures, this tradition is slowly
dying and is getting restricted to a select few households.
Thus, to revive the fading event, Parle had introduced the novel promotion called
Parle Golu Galata contest in 2005. After the encouraging response and resounding
success of the 2005 Golu Galata contest, in 2006 Parle Products Pvt. Ltd took the
contest to Chennai, Madurai, Trichy, & Kumbakonam. (Golu means Doll & Galata
means Dhammal.)

Consumer behavior

For Parle-G:
In India it is a habit to have biscuits along with chai or tea - Parle G is referred to as
"biskut" in rural areas - thus when asked for biskut to a shopkeeper it simply means
Parle-G biscuit in rural areas.
Understanding consumer behavior is tough. The study of consumer behavior
includes the knowledge about the consumer, his buying motives & buying habits.

17
Keeping all this in mind, the factors influencing the buying behaviour of consumers
are:

Parle-G being a consumable product is not influenced by factors like cultural

factors. As shown above, social factors are further sub divided into 3 parts namely
reference groups, family & social role & status.

1) Reference Group
People, especially kids are always influenced by the people around them.
They are influenced by friends, relatives, family members specially elder siblings,
etc. so if they see anyone around them having parle-G biscuit, they too want to eat
it.

2) Family
In his case also, if it’s a usual habit of the family members to have pale-G
with tea or coffee, the kids in the growing stage or any new member joining the
family for tea will form a similar habit or the later will be offered the same biscuit.

Personal Factors

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 The factors whose intensity differs from person to person are together termed as
personal factors. They are as follows: -

1) Age
Parle-g is consumed maximum by the kids in the age group of 5-10 years i.e.
the growing age group. Kids, who have formed the habit of having Parle-G in
their early stages of life, continue this practice even after growing up. They
continue their consumption of Parle-G even after they grow up.
2) Occupation
The buying behavior of the consumer is influenced also by the occupation he
or she belongs to. In case of Parle-G, the purpose for buying the product varies
from a person with a high post in a M.N.C. to a poor laborer. For the executive
employee, he may or may not buy the product. He may buy a more expensive or
an imported biscuit brand because he can afford it. Also he may buy it only to be
one of the many snacks available to him. On the other hand, a poor laborer
would buy a packet of Parle-G simply to satisfy his hunger. For him, it is not
matter of choice or luxury, but a necessity because it’s the easiest & the
cheapest he can get.
3) Income
Income of a person decides its core expenditure segment. If a laborer earns a
fixed amount & if a biscuit like parle-g which for sure ensures high level glucose
content & immediate energy regained, he would defiantly opt to buy a parle
biscuit packet & not spend even that minimal amount of Rs.4 on anything else.
But since Parle-G is a low-priced, value for money product a person’s income
does not really play a role in influencing the purchase of the product.
Consumers of all income groups do buy the product.

Psychological Factors

1) Motivation
For Parle-G the main & the basic motivation which pulls consumers towards
buying it is simply hunger. This is what pulls the consumers towards the

19
 purchase of Parle-G. Also, since biscuits are perceived as snacks, when a
consumer is drinking tea he or she is motivated to buy Parle-G at that time.
2) Perception- consumers believe Parle-G to be a good quality product which is
cheap too. They also perceive it to be a great snack with tea

For Parle hide & seek:

Social factors
1) Reference groups- parle hide & seek is targeted at the youth. So for this product
consumers are influenced by their friends and siblings.
2) Status- Parle hide & seek is a high priced product. So consumers in the higher
income groups would prefer to buy the product over other brands since it would be
a matter of higher status.

Personal factors
1) Age- the advertisements of this product are such that people in the age group
from 15 to 28 are likely to be influenced to buy this product. But at the same time,
since this product has been endorsed by a celebrity (Hrithik Roshan) and since it is
made of chocolate chips, children are also likely to be major consumers.

2) Occupation- Major Consumers for Parle hide & seek are students.

3) Income- since it is a high-priced product; the potential consumers for this

product are high income earners. A person who is earning more is more likely to
buy this product than a person who earns comparatively lower income.

Psychological factor
Perception-
Consumers perceive this brand as ’tasty and crispy’ ...chocolate not very sugary.
It is perceived as a brand leader in this segment and some firmly believe that there
is no competitor while mostly people regarded ’Britannia bourbon’ as its main
competitor ; very few consumers know that ’good day- choco nuts’ is its
competitor..

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Market Segmentation

 Level of market segmentation

Parle-G is consumed by people of all ages, from the rich to the poor, living in cities
& in villages. While some have it for breakfast, for others it is a complete wholesome
meal. For some it's the best accompaniment for tea, while for some it's a way of
getting charged whenever they are low on energy.
Parle company practices mass marketing for Parle- G which appeals to masses. It is
a product liked by everyone and does not cater only to a specific group or part of
the whole market. Thus it is mass production, mass distribution and mass
promotion of Parle- G for all buyers.
However, Parle follows Niche marketing for Hide & Seek. It is a premium product
since it is priced at a high price and also with its chocolate flavor it is accepted by
most chocolate lovers. When hide & seek was first launched, there were no other
biscuits of its kind in the market.

 market segmentation

Geographic segmentation:

Parle-G is consumed by people staying in urban, semi urban and rural areas.
Hide & Seek however, being a premium product having a high price is consumed only
in urban and semi urban areas

Demographic segmentation:
• Age-Hide n Seek is mainly for youth and children. Parle-G is however consumed
by everyone.
• Income-Hide n Seek being highly priced is consumed only by high income group.
Whereas Parle-G is consumed by all income groups, but is mostly consumed by
the lower and middle income groups.

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 • Social class-Hide & Seek is meant for middle class and rich class families.
However one can also say that Parle-G is consumed only by lower n middle class
consumers because rich class can afford more expensive biscuits.

Behavioral segmentation:
• Benefit sought-The benefit sought in Parle-G is mainly replenishing energy and for
Hide & Seek it is good taste.

 Pattern of market segmentation

Preference: Clustered

If we divide the whole market on basis

of their preferences foe sweetness and
saltiness in the biscuits then the
possible outcome would be that the
preferences are clustered near some
tastes i.e. the consumers would not like
to have something really vague like
50%salty, 25%sweet and
25%creamy.That is why the preferences are clustered and not diffused wherein the
preferences have to be very extreme and vague.
Parle as a company makes use of this clustered preferences and manufactures biscuits
for each and every cluster. For e.g. Monaco for entirely salty biscuits and its latest
product Krackjack-cream
is for sweet and salty taste.

 Target market strategies

M1 M2

P1

P2
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P3
PARLE Company as a whole inculcates SELECTIVE MARKET SPECIALIZATION
strategy.
In the above diagram we can say blue colour represents the extent of Parle-G i.e. it
is 1 product for all the 3 markets and the green colour is for Hide & Seek where it is
a product only for 1 market and the orange is for Krackjack biscuits where the
product is targeted for 2 markets.

 Positioning strategy
Parle-G is positioned in the minds of people as a value for price product
and also as a low-priced product. Whereas hide & seek has tapped a new
market.

 Differentiation strategy
For Parle-G the company has used channel and image differentiation
tools. Parle-G by far has the most intensive distribution coverage as
compared to any other biscuit company in India. Also the name PARLE
has an image that generates respect and a belief of good quality in the
minds of the buyers.

Packing

As in all other biscuits, packing plays an important role in Parle-G too. The
basic small packs are packed mechanically using automated machines and
are sealed using the pollybag sealing machine. These small packs are then
manually packed into small boxes and are sent through the conveyor belt to
be packed in large cartons. 160 packets are packed per minute. And in

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one big box there are 160 Parle-G packets packed. Before, they used to
bring the packaging material from outside the company but now it is
produced in the factory premises itself. For export purpose the packets have
different languages print on them depending upon the geographical location
& demand of the people. Each factory has state-of-the-art machinery with
automatic printing & packaging facilities.

THE STRENGTH OF THE BRAND

Over the years, Parle has grown to become a multi-million US Dollar

company. Many of the Parle products - biscuits or confectionaries, are
market leaders in their category and have won acclaim at the Monde
Selection, since 1971.

Today, Parle enjoys a 40% share of the total biscuit market and a 15%
share of the total confectionary market, in India. The Parle Biscuit brands,
such as, Parle-G, Monaco and Krackjack and confectionery brands, such as,
Melody, Poppins, Mangobite and Kismi, enjoy a strong imagery and appeal
amongst consumers.

Be it a big city or a remote village of India, the Parle name symbolizes

quality, health and great taste! And yet, we know that this reputation has
been built, by constantly innovating and catering to new tastes. This can be
seen by the success of new brands, such as, Hide & Seek, or the single twist
wrapping of Mango bite.

In this way, by concentrating on consumer tastes and preferences and

emphasizing Research & Development, the Parle brand grows from strength
to strength.

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