A long time ago, when the British ruled India, 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 freely imported. Despite the odds and unequal competition, the company, called Parle Products (www.parleproducts.com), survived and succeeded by adhering to high quality and improvising from time to time.
Today, Parle enjoys a 40 per cent share of the total Indian biscuit market and a 15 per cent share of the total confectionery market in India. The Parle Biscuit brands, Parle G, Monaco and Krackjack, and confectionery brands, such as Melody, Poppins, Mangobite and Kismi, enjoy a strong image and appeal among consumers.
If you thought that a typical family-run Indian company could not top the worldwide charts, think again. The home-grown biscuit brand, Parle G, has proved doubters wrong by becoming the largest selling biscuit brand in the world. However, in 2018 Parle only exported 10 per cent of its total turnover.

In most European (and other international) markets Parle Products has to fight against one particular competitor, United Biscuits (producer of McVitie’s).
In all European markets the market share of Parle Products is very small. The other global biscuit brands include Oreo by the Nabisco division of Mondolez International.

United Biscuits (UB)
United Biscuits was founded in 1948 following the merger of two Scottish family businesses – McVitie & Price and McFarlane Lang. In 1960 UB added to its portfolio with the acquisition of Crawford’s Biscuits and MacDonald’s Biscuits.
In 2014 UB was bought by Turkish Yildiz Holding.
UB still employs around 7,000 people, with 4,500 in UK.

Brand muscle
United Biscuits’ brands rank number one or two in seven countries, they have five of the top 10 biscuit brands in the UK, France and Spain, and four out of the top 10 leading snack brands in the UK. More than 80 per cent of UK households bought McVitie’s products in 2018. Anyone would agree that it has brand muscle.

Consumer insight
United Biscuits’ unique position as the largest UK snack food player, with a balanced portfolio of both sweet and savoury brands, gives it a unique understanding of how to respond effectively to changing consumer needs and wants.

Parle Products
Parle Products is the leader in the Indian standard (glucose and salty) biscuit category but until 2017 it did not have a strong presence in the premium segment, with Hide-n-Seek being its only brand. In 2017 Parle set up its domestic Parle Platina division for its premium products, and now it fights against Brittannia and ITC (www.itcportal.com) – originally it stood for India Tobacco Company (in biscuits it is are known for its Sunfeast brand) – to be market leader in the Indian premium segment.

An extensive distribution network, built over years, is a major strength of Parle Products. Its biscuits and sweets are available to consumers even in the most remote places and in the smallest of villages in India, some with a population of just 500.
In India Parle has nearly 1,500 wholesalers, catering to 425,000 retail outlets directly or indirectly.
A 200-strong dedicated field force services these wholesalers and retailers. Additionally, there are 31 depots and customs and freight agents supplying goods to the wide distribution network.
The Parle marketing philosophy emphasizes catering to the masses. The company constantly endeavours to design products that provide nutrition and fun for everyone, and most Parle offerings are in the low- and mid-range price segments based on understanding the Indian consumer psyche. This value-for-money positioning helps generate large sales volumes for the products.
The other global biscuit brands include Oreo from Nabisco and McVitie’s from UB. Parle Products commands (with Parle G as the market leader) a 40 per cent market share in the core biscuit market in India.
In the confectionery segment, the company enjoys a mere 15 per cent market share and faces competition from Britannia’s Tiger brand of biscuits, among others.
The company’s flagship brand, Parle G, contributes more than 50 per cent to the company’s total turnover. The other biscuits in the Parle Products’
basket include Marie, Cheeslings, Jeffs, Sixer and Fun Centre.
Questions
1. Which region of the world would you recommend Parle Products to penetrate as its first choice?
2. What kind of export mode would be most relevant for Parle Products?
3. How could Parle Products conduct a systematic screening of potential distributors or agents in foreign markets?
4. What would be the most important issues for Parle Products to discuss with a potential distributor/
agent before final preparation of a contract?