PROJECT ON

OPERATION MANAGEMENT

MMS – (SEM I) DIV -B

FOR THE ACADEMIC YEAR 2011-12

PRODUCT

GROUP MEMBERS

NAME ROLL NOTejashree Chavan 10

Atif Darji 12Sana Khan 61

Ansari Mohammed Salman 05Sneha Parab 37

INDEX

Introduction to Parle

History Of Parle

Marketing Of Parle In India

SWOT Analysis

Market Share

Marketing Strategies Of Parle

Competitors

Questionnaire

Conclusion

INTRODUCTION:

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

Parle Agro is an Indian company in the beverages industry and has brands like Frooti, consistent winner of India's fruit beverage brand, Appy, Appy Fizz and packaged drinking water, Bailey.

A pioneer in the Indian industry, Parle Agro is associated with many firsts. They were the first to introduce fruit drinks in tetra packaging, first to introduce apple nectar and the first to introduce fruit drinks in PET bottles. In 2008, Parle Agro forayed into foods with the launch of two confectionery brands, Mintrox mints and Buttercup candies. This was soon followed by two more brands - Buttercup Softease and Softease Mithai.

Recent beverage products from Parle Agro include Saint Juice, LMN and Grappo Fizz. In 2009, Parle Agro forayed into snacks with the launch of Hippo, in line with the company’s vision of becoming a major player in the foods and beverages industry.

HISTORY:

In 1929, while India was under British rule, a small company by the name of Parle Products emerged. A small factory was set up in Vile Parle (east) the suburb of Mumbai to manufacture sweets and toffees i.e confectionery products (e.g. Melody,kachaa mango bite etc). A decade later it was upgraded to manufacture biscuits as well. Parle has been producing its flagship product Parle-G for more than 70 years now. Contrary to popular myth the biscuit has always been called Parle-G.

The goal was to manufacture and sell sweets and candies. Since then, the Parle name has spread in all directions and has won international fame.

Apart from the factories in Mumbai and Bangalore, Parle also has factories in Bahadurgarh, Haryana and Neemrana, Rajasthan. These are the largest biscuit and confectionery plants in the country. Additionally, Parle Products also has 10 manufacturing units and 75 manufacturing units on contract.

Milestones - The Decades of Progress

1929:The first year of operation. Our only assets were hard work and hope

1939:Ten years of determined effort brought results. Things began to take shape.

1949:The formative years were over. We had come of age.

1974:Here was the first evidence of Parle as it is today

In the 1950s the undivided Chauhan family manufactured beverages, water, confectionery, biscuits, etc. under its registered brand name Parle.

Over the years, the group split into three different companies – Parle Agro, Parle Bisleri and Parle Products. Currently, all three are separate companies with separate ownership and management. They also have different products manufactured under them. All three companies continue to use the family trademark name – ‘Parle’ under which the current companies are named.

trademark name – ‘Parle’ under which the current companies are named.

commenced operations in 1984. Starting with only beverages and diversifying to include bottled water in 1993 and confectionery in 2007. Frooti was the first product that was rolled out of Parle Agro in 1985. It went on to become India’s favourite mango drink. It still has a leading market share.

Mr. Prakash Chauhan is the Executive Chairman of Parle Agro.

Parle Agro is one of the most trusted names in the Indian beverage, packaged drinking water, and confectionery industry. It has leading brands like Frooti, Appy, Appy Fizz and Bisleri.

As a pioneer, Parle Agro is the first to introduce fruit drink in a Tetra Pak, apple nectar and PET bottles in India. The second generation entrepreneurs, the daughters of the man behind this company, Prakash Chauhan, spoke to DARE about their transition, challenges, and more.

BRANDS:

Parle Agro Pvt. Ltd operates under three business verticals:

• Beverages – fruit drinks, nectars, 100% Juice, sparkling drinks

• Water – Packaged Drinking WaterS

• Foods – confectionery, snacks

1. BEVERAGES -

Frooti: Launched in 1985 as a mango drink, Frooti is the first beverage to be launched in tetra packaging in India. Frooti is India’s favorite Mango drink and is ranked amongst the most trusted brands in numerous national surveys. Appy Classic: Launched in 1986 as an apple nectar and originally available in a white tetra pack with an apple and leaf graphic, today it comes in black tetra packaging. Appy remains the first apple nectar to be launched in India.

Appy Fizz: Launched in 2005, Appy Fizz is India’s first sparkling apple drink available in a champagne shaped PET bottle. Considered the ‘Champagne’ of Fruit drinks..Appy Fizz is a one of a kind product in the beverage market. Recently, Appy Fizz has been given a makeover in terms of a new packaging.

.

Saint Juice: Launched in 2008, Saint Juice is available in three variants – Orange, Mixed fruit, Grape and Apple. Saint Juice is 100% juice with no added color, sugar or preservatives.

LMN: Launched in 2009, LMN is a fresh take on nimbu pani. It contains real lemon juice and has no artificial flavors or preservatives. LMN works as an ‘Emergency Lemon Refresher’, and tastes closest to authentic nimbu pani. Grappo Fizz: Launched in 2008, Grappo Fizz is a sparkling grape juice drink. Credited with creating the sparkling fruit drinks category in India.

Grappo Fizz is along the lines of existing product Appy Fizz. It is purple-red in color and has no close competition in the market.

2. Packaged Drinking Water – Bisleri

3. Snacks & Confectionery

Hippo: HIPPO is a baked snack with the goodness of wheat. It is available in seven flavors from around the world - Italian Pizza, Chinese Manchurian, Hot-n-Sweet Tomato, Thai Chilli, Yoghurt Mint Chutney, Indian Chatpatta and Arabian Salted.

These baked wheat munchies have no added preservatives, no cholesterol and zero trans-fat.

Confectionery -

Melody, Kachaa mango bite, Parle Toffee.

Mintrox: Mintrox is a hard mint candy. It is available in two flavors - Hard Cinnamon Mint and Hard Menthol Mint.Parle G Buscuit, Parle Monaco, Parle Hide Seek, Krackjack ,Hide & Seek Milano ,Magix ,Digestive Marie ,Monaco ,Parle Marie ,Kreams ,Milk Shakti ,Parle 20-20 Cookies ,Golden arc,Nimkin ,Kreams Gold ,Chox ,Monaco Jeera.

ABOUT PARLE G:

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. Parle-G or Parle Glucose biscuits, manufactured by Parle

Products Pvt Ltd, is largest selling biscuits in the world and one of the most

popular biscuits in World.

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.

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 70% share of the total biscuit market and a 15% share of the total confectionary market, in India.

Parle-G is one of the oldest brand names as well as the largest selling brand of biscuits in India.

The company's slogan is G means Genius. The name, "Parle-G", is derived from the name of the suburban rail station, Vile Parle.

Availability outside India : Outside India, Parle-G is available in Europe, UK, USA, Canada, Singapore, etc. In Canada, it is sold by Zehrs, Food Basics, Loblaws, etc for only 99 cents for a 418 gram pack. It also is popular across the world and is starting to sell in Western Europe and USA.

Recognitions : The Brand Trust Report, published by Trust Research Advisory in 2011, ranked Parle in the 58th place as the Most Trusted brands of India.

Parle - G and Product Mix.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.

Parle - G and Price mix

Parle G has adopted the Market Penetration strategy i.e. low price alongwith capturing of a large market• Also they focus on providing good quality products at the same time, whichmeans it uses the value pricing method.• The value-for-money positioning helps generate large sales volumes for theproducts.• Parle G is available in Re 1,Rs 2, Rs 4 to Rs 25 packet• Profit margin for distributors is 4% and for retailers is 10-12%• Parle-G maintained its price of Rs.4.00 for the last 12 yrs & has seen thevariation in its sales due to increase in price by mere 50p.

Parle - G and Place mix• The extensive distribution network, built over the years, is a majorstrength for Parle Products.•Parle G biscuits are available to consumers, even in the most remoteplaces and in the smallest of villages with a population of just 1500.• Parle has nearly 1,500 wholesalers, catering to 4,25,000 retail outletsdirectly or indirectly. A two hundred strong dedicated field force services itshuge wholesalers & retailers network.• Additionally, there are 31 depots and C&F agents supplying goods to thewide distribution network.• Factories at strategic locations & Establishment of manufacturing units inrural areas

Parle - G and promotion mixAdvertising - It was advertised mainly through press ads. Thecommunication spoke about the basic benefits of energy and nutrition.

In 1989 Parle-G released its “Dadaji” commercial which was a hugesuccess and was aired over a period of 6 years. The communicationspoke about the basic benefits of energy and nutrition.

• The next level of communication associated the brand with the positive values oflife like honesty, sharing and caring. Just a few months back a reminder TVcommercial was launched for Parle-G where the product is being called ‘hindustanki takat’• Recently Parle G has started the use of celebrity in their advertisements

Sales promotion - Every year it holds day fairs at branded venues wheregames and fun events are organized for the employees of Parle and theirfamilies; where Parle products are giveaway prizes.Public relations - Parle has done the following for enhancing publicrelations:• In the year 1997, Parle-G sponsored the tele-serial of the Indian superhero,Shaktimaan that went on to become a huge success.• Parle Saraswati Vandana, one of its initiatives, is an inter-school contestbased on the Saraswati Puja celebrations. Since it started in 2002 it has seen atremendous increase in participating each year, with entries coming fromschools of West Bengal.

Parle-G, The Price Warrior

It's a brand that has held its price line at Rs 4 for 25 years now -- the price was last raised in 1994 by 25 paise. So, it's not for nothing that Parle-G is the world's largest-selling biscuit by volumes. 

Not that the company didn't try to raise prices to offset the overall hike in costs. Three years ago it did so, but quickly rolled it back after volumes fell sharply and consumers wrote to lodge their protest.

"We want to cater to the masses and have consciously tried not to increase the price. Parle-G is available for Rs 50 a kg. There are very few food items that are available for Rs 50-60 a kg," says Pravin Kulkarni, general manager (marketing), Parle Products.

Parle is, of course, not doing it for charity. Soaring input prices meant it opted for reducing the weight of the biscuit than increasing the price -- first from 100 gm to 92.5 gm in January 2008, and then to 88 gm in January this year -- in line with other biscuit-makers and FMCG players.

Regular customers would have noticed the number of biscuits in a pack come down from 16 to 15 even as each biscuit became lighter, but they seemed to understand the cost pressures on the firm. The gamble paid off: Parle was able to sustain its volumes.

Strict cost control at every point in its supply chain also helped -- Parle entered into forward contracts with suppliers, outsourced production, increased the number of manufacturing locations to 60 and consolidated buying.

Raw material costs account for 60 per cent of the total costs in this segment and packaging costs (plastic films) account for 20-25 per cent of this..

But price is not its only USP.

What makes the Parle G brand tick is also that it has been positioned on the health platform (a single pack of biscuit offers 450 calories). Its earlier punch line was Parle-G: swadh bhare, shakti bhare (full of taste and energy). Currently, the brand uses two punch lines. Parle-G: G for Genius and Hindustan ki Taakat (the country's strength). The brand, says Kulkarni, meets different needs of customers: calories (energy), nutrition and value-for-money -- enough reasons why Parle-G enjoys close to 70 per cent market share in the glucose biscuit category and probably has the deepest reach.

It reaches 2.5 million outlets, including villages with a population of 500.

It's also one of the few FMCG brands in the country, whose customers straddle across income segments.

The brand is estimated to be worth over Rs 2,000 crore (Rs 20 billion), and contributes more than 50 per cent of the company's turnover

Competition has, of course, been trying to wean away customers from Parle. Britannia relaunched its Glucose-D biscuit as Tiger in 1995 and boasts of 17-18 per cent share, while ITC's Sunfeast glucose has captured 8-9 per cent, according to industry sources.

Even Levers had forayed into this segment in 2003 and launched a glucose biscuit branded as Modern, after it acquired the bakery business of Modern. There are strong regional brands, including Priya Gold , Cremica and Anmol.

SWOT OF PARLE G

STRENGTHS:- Parle Brands. Diversified product range. Extensive distribution network. Low & Mid price range. Catering to mass. Better understanding to consumers. Most trusted brand having high brand loyalty Top of the mind biscuit brand

WEAKNESS:- Dependence on retailers & grocery stores for displaying Parle G. Many competitors in this segment Nothing unique in the product now.

OPPORTUNITIES:- Estimated Annual Growth 20%. Changing consumer preferences. Increasing demand for sugar free, diet biscuit. Availability Tie-up with schools as a part of meals Tie-up with corporate/hotel chain

THREATS:- Hike in cost of production due to hike in raw material cost. Increasing distribution cost. Local bakery products. Entry of various new entrance ITC etc.

MARKET SHARE

Parle-G is the largest selling biscuit in the world.

PARLE-G 70%

Britannia TIGER 17-18%

ITC Sunfeast 8-9%.

Parle-G is the largest selling biscuit in the world. It has 70% market share in India in the glucose biscuit category followed by Britannia, Tiger (17-18%) and ITC's Sunfeast (8-9%). The brand is estimated to be worth over Rs 2,000 crore (Rs 20 billion), and contributes more than 50 per cent of the company's turnover (Parle Products is an unlisted company and its executives are not comfortable disclosing exact numbers). Last fiscal, Parle had sales of Rs 3,500 crore (Rs 35 billion). It also is popular across the world and is starting to sell in Western Europe and USA.

Market Share Breakdown The Indian biscuit industry is dominated by brands like Parle, Britannia and Sunfeast.

MARKETING STRATEGY:

Parle-G is positioned in the minds of people as a value for price

product and also as a low-priced product.

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 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.)

BRAND EXTENTION STRATEGY BY PARLE-G

It’s time now for the 8 lakh tone branded readymade wheat flour segment to gain momentum with competition hotting up in the segment, and, well known new players joining the marketplace with brand extension strategies.

For example, with its recent entrant into the branded wheat flour segment, Parle Products is now aggressively planning to launch “Parle-G” branded wheat flour atta in various cities, in the year 2004. At the moment, the product is being marketed through almost all the retail outlets in Mumbai.

As part of its marketing initiative, Parle Products has recently adopted a major pricing strategy whereby a 5 kg ‘Parle-G’ atta will be available to consumers and, along with ‘Parle-G’ biscuit pack for free at Rs 90. However, competitors, ‘Pillsbury’ atta is priced at Rs 104, and, ‘Kissan Annapurna’ at Rs 102, in similar capacity.

When contacted, officials from Parle Products confirmed rolling out “Parle-G” atta is various cities, but however, the... company refused to divulge further details. However, to feel the mood of the market, when FE communicated with certain select retail outlets in Mumbai where ‘Parle-G’ atta has just started being available, the retailer said: “‘Pillsbury’ atta is the fastest-selling brand in the readymade atta segment, but ‘Parle-G’ atta being available at just Rs 90 along with Parle-G biscuit pack for free, the demand for atta has started increasing tremendously. There is a feel that the branded ready-made atta market should grow looking at the fast changing lives of Indian citizens.”

Further, an official from Apna Bazaar added that Parle Products should increase the frequency of supplying ‘Parle-G’ atta so that the demand meets the supply because the moment Apna Bazaar receives ‘Parle-G’ atta packs in bulk, the shelf space base for the product becomes empty very soon.

MAJOR COMPITITORS:

The market share has been loosed because of the Major Players in the market with a substitute product range. 

Britannia Industries Ltd. :. Key Products Tiger, Good Day, Bourbon, 50-50, Treat, Milk Bikis, Marie Gold, NutriChoice, Time pass, Little Hearts.

ITC Ltd : ITC forayed into the Biscuits market with the Sunfeast range of Glucose, Marie and Cream Biscuits. Sunfeast with a current market share of 10% is now clearly established as a credible third brand.

Key Products : Sunfeast Milky Magic ,Sunfeast Marie Light ,Sunfeast Golden Bakery ,Sunfeast Dark Fantasy ,Sunfeast Dream Cream ,Sunfeast Snacky ,Sunfeast sweet 'n salt ,Sunfeast Nice ,Sunfeast Benne Vita Flaxseed Biscuits ,Sunfeast Special

Anmol Biscuits Ltd : Anmol is a popular brand of eastern & northern region, having manufacturing facilities in W.B & U.P.

Key Products : Lemon Mazaa , Funfill Choco Vanilla , Yummy - Milk Cream , Tip Top Kajoo Kurkure Masala, Coconutty , Thin Arrowroot , Marie,2 in 1, Butter Bake , Cream Cracker , Dil Khush , Dream Lite , E-Time , Funfill Orange , Funfill Rich Chocolate ,Golmol ,Jadoo ,Marie Time , Snackles ,Milk Made

.

Conclusison

Parle-G is regarded as the most trusted, selling brand of the world

There is no doubt that Parle-G dominates the biscuit market.

Today, the Parle-G brand has found their way into the hearts and homes of people all over India & abroad.