JK BUSINESS SCHOOL, GURUGRAM

A
Project Report
On

Parle-G
Of The Subject
Marketing Management

Submitting to - Mrs. Shailaja Manocha

Submitted by - Group No. 1

Aaditya Saraswat (001)
Abhishek Bhatia (003)
Akshay Daga (061)
Ayushi Mishra (011)
Shalini Gupta (032)
Sonali Verma (035)
 Table of Contents

S. No. Title Page number

1 Objectives 2

2 Introduction 2

3 SWOT Analysis 2-4

4 PEST Analysis 4-6

5 Competitive Analysis 6

6 Consumer Behaviour 6-7

7 Buying Decision Process 7

8 Basis of Segmentation 8

9 Targeting 8-9

10 Positioning 9

11 POP & POD 10

12 Perceptual Map 10-11

13 Analysis 11-12

14 Findings 12

15 Recommendations 13

16 Conclusion 13

1
Objectives
* To spot the product’s strategy techniques and Framework of the macro environmental factors
for Parle-G’s product strategies by SWOT & PEST analysis.
* To analyse market competitors for Parle-G.
* To know consumer behaviour & buying decision process of Parle-G
* To review STP for Parle-G
* To analyse POD, POP and Perceptual Maps

Introduction
Journey of Parle-G started in 1939, when Parle Product Pvt. Ltd launched its first biscuit brand in
India. A cream-coloured, yellow-stripped, wax-paper wrapper with a photograph of a cute lass ,
containing 10-12 biscuits with the company’s logo thereon and one would know these are
Parle-G biscuits.The ‘G’ in Parle-G refers to Glucose and is advertised as ‘G=Genius’. Over the
years, many sorts of biscuit came and went but nothing much has changed with this biscuit, apart
from packs. Even after 70 years of its birth, it's still known for its superior quality and taste
across the length and depth of the country.

SWOT Analysis
1. STRENGTH
● ​Price advantage ​– Most of the purchasers of Parle-G are from rural or sub-rural areas
and these customers are price sensitive. Parle-G is the go-to biscuit for these customers
who seeks affordability. supported an equivalent aspect, advertising campaigns also said,
“Common Man vala Biscoot”.
● Trusted brand –​ Parle-G belongs to the oldest, hottest and trusted brand ‘Parle’. In
‘Most Trusted Brands 2019-2020’, Parle-G ranked 8th.

2
 ● High brand loyalty​ - Though the low price is one among the factors for top acceptability
of Parle-G by the masses, however, quality and quality of biscuits is yet one more big
factor.
● Mass segment & marketing –​ Parle-G is consumed by people of all ages ang income
groups living in urban or rural areas for various consumptions. Parle Company practices
mass marketing for Parle-G which appeals to masses.
● Packaging advantage​ – Parle-G is appreciated for its packaging because it's small
₹2&₹5 variants also as large family pack variants. it's even distributed in situations of
calamities due to their small packaging and straightforward distribution advantage and
since of their glucose content.
● Make in India –​ Parle-G is the First domestic brand to cross ₹ 5000 crore in retail sales.
This further boosts the Make in India initiative for the domestic country.
● Exports – ​Parle-G features a strong export segment being distributed to SAARC
countries & to US, UK and Europe also on parts of Africa.

2. WEAKNESS
● ​Many competitors during this segment –​ Biscuits brands like Britannia, Sunfeast,
Horlicks, Priyagold, Marie, Unibic etc fall into an equivalent market segment and
increase competition for Parle-G.
● Lack of uniqueness – ​within the current scenario, with the presence of the many
competitors within the same market segment, Parle-G still sells full market coverage i.e.
one product for the entire market, hence losing its touch of uniqueness.
● Missing premium range biscuits –​ Parle-G is missing the essential part which may
make it an all-round brand – Premium range biscuits. Although Parle-G is that the single
widest selling biscuit brand, a premium range biscuit will help Parle attract tons of
inroads.
● Decreasing Marketing – ​Marketing of Parle-G is extremely less due to cost constraints
but a touch of selling will help the brand.
● Regional players –​ There are many regional competitors for Parle-G which affects the
brand in regional markets.

3. OPPORTUNITIES
● Increase marketing communications ​– a primary step which Parle-G can take is to
extend its efforts of selling communications. It needs something unique which may be
easily positioned within the minds of consumers .
● Start a premium range​ – Parle-G can start a premium range or a mid-tier separate range
or maybe diversify to possess a good better market share.
● Tie ups with rural schools and hospitality segments – ​There are many faculties which
require breakfast at low prices and Parle-G is one component which may be a

3
 neighborhood of this due to the glucose component of the biscuit which may help in
increasing sales.
● Widen manufacturing base to more countries – ​Parle-G can widen its manufacturing
base by having a producing plant in countries which are good markets within the future.

4. THREATS
● Rising income of consumers ​- due to the rising income, Parle-G becomes outdated when
someone can afford other biscuits hence a threat to urban markets.
● Consistent competition – ​Parle and Britannia are evergreen FMCG competitors and ITC
is close behind. Similarly there are other national and regional players also vying for a
footprint within the biscuit market.
● Rising Costs​ – There’s a hike in costs of production thanks to hike in staple cost. The
distribution costs also are increasing within the current scenario. Rising costs aren't good
for any brand within the market.

PEST Analysis
POLITICAL FACTORS
● The government has allowed 100% Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in food processing
and single-brand retail and 51% in multi-brand retail.
● The products and Services Tax (GST) is useful for the FMCG industry as many of the
FMCG products come under the 18% income bracket against the previous rate of
23–24%. Also, GST on food products and hygiene products are reduced to 0–5% and
12–18% respectively.
● GST is predicted to rework logistics within the FMCG sector into a contemporary and
efficient model as all major corporations are remodelling their operations into larger
logistics and warehousing.

ECONOMIC FACTORS
● Rate of inflation - ​Consumer price inflation to average 5.1% in FY 2020
● The utilization rate was 39.4% in 2019-20. It dropped to 27.2% in April and stood at
30.2% in May after which it rose to 37.8% in October. The Biscuit industry employs
almost 3.5 lakh people directly and 30 lakh people indirectly.
● Rate of exchange - 73.79 Indian rupee
● The glucose biscuits category in India is estimated at Rs 1,500 crore.
● Consistent with ORG-MARG reports, Parle G commands an honest 65 per cent market
share within the domestic biscuit market.
● Increase in per capita income of consumers in India

4
 ● Market conditions - Rising unemployment, a muted job market and desperation to land
employment have turned a favourable situation for elements peddling fake job offers on
email, websites, social media platforms, messaging services or maybe over the phone.
● Economic structure – Parle-G has had its days of operating within the near-monopoly
market structure. Currently with the presence of numeral big and regional brands, it falls
in monopolistic competition.

SOCIAL FACTORS
● Demographic trends​ –​ India's population is young. Its birth and death rates are both near
the worldwide average. quite half the population is under age 30 and fewer than
one-fourth is age 45 or older. anticipation is about 68 for men and 70 for ladies .
● Indian consumers are price sensitive and seek value for money.
● Consumer buying behaviour is only based upon social, personal and psychological
factors.
● It's consumed by people of all ages, income groups, living in cities and villages.
● Parle-G’s unorganised sector mostly consists of rural market and low–priced varieties.
● Need for Healthy Eating Habits (Changing lifestyles) - Studies say that Indians are more
susceptible to heart condition , which moves towards more healthy food and diet. this
might be a replacement area to look for Parle-G with its new health associated
ingredients.
● Societal norms and sophistication distribution - Parle-G develops local teams and
partnerships for understanding the societal attitudes and norms to tailor marketing
strategies. Offering luxury products at premium prices to a market where the high-end
market is considerably small in number would require Parle-G to adopt the niche
marketing strategies. Similarly, market segmentation supported class could also be
ineffective where class stratification is low.

TECHNOLOGICAL FACTORS
● Social media marketing - ​the event of data and communication technologies has led
towards the adoption of innovative marketing techniques to reinforce collaboration with
customers. Use of social media has become common during a modern business
environment. Parle-G can leverage the opportunities offered by social media marketing to
enhance business performance. Technological trends often want to start creative social
media campaigns for developing online brand communities.
● Technological innovations and development level -​ Parle-G carefully considers the
on-going technological innovations to remain before the competition. Entering in markets
where technological advancement has not reached the maturity means Parle-G can
increase the market share by specializing in emerging technological innovations.
● Shortened product life cycles - ​The adoption of latest technologies has shortened the
lifecycle of latest development which pressurizes the Parle-G to develop new products

5
 quickly, increase product range diversity, integrate flexibility into the worth chain and
develop healthy business relationships with value chain partners.

Competitive Analysis
● Parle-G isn't only a biscuit brand, it's an emotion for Indians. Even after 70 years since its
launch, Parle-G has maintained its popularity in Indian market. During these years,
Parle-G has faced competition from many big players.
● The thing that creates Parle-G different from other biscuit brands is sticking with the
ideas that are going well for the brand. Parle-G has always kept its specialise in selling
glucose biscuits in big numbers keeping the costs affordable for the low-earning a part of
our society. We've only seen just one premium variation from Parle-G after its launch.
● Not even the worth and quality of the merchandise , Parle-G has even maintained to
continue with an equivalent iconic yellow striped pack showing the Parle girl thereon .
Such things make customers connect with the brand during a better way. Serving Parle-G
with tea has become a neighborhood of life for the people living in India.
● Many big companies like Britannia and ITC Ltd’s Sunfeast have tried competing with
Parle, but Parle-G has managed to retain around 75% of share within the country's
glucose biscuits market. Tiger biscuits are seen in 7 variants since its launch compared to
Parle’s single variant—Parle Gold. Parle-G’s success has helped the corporation to
expand with other products too. Parle now has products in chocolates, confectionaries,
chips and snacks categories. Although Hide & Seek is among the highest 5 within the
cookie market, Parle-G remains the main source of income for the corporate.

Consumer Behaviour
In India it's a habit to possess biscuits along side chai or tea - Parle G is mentioned as"biskut" in
rural areas - thus when asked for biskut to a shopkeeper it simply means Parle-G biscuit in rural
areas.The study of consumer behavior includes the knowledge about the buyer , his buying
motives & buying habits.
Keeping all this in mind, the three factors influencing the buying behaviour of consumers are:

1. Age:​ Parle-G is consumed maximum by the youngsters within the age bracket of 5-10
years i.e.The growing age bracket . Kids, who have formed the habit of getting 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 get older .
2. Reference Group:​It comes under social factor.Reference Group deals with the people
whose opinion interest us.This Factor affect the consumption of product and that they
became the source of data for the buyers.Parle G is targeted toward youth.So for this
product consumers are influenced by their friends and siblings.

6
 3. Perception:​Consumers believe Parle-G to be an honest quality product which is
reasonable too. They also perceive it to be an excellent snack with tea. For a few, it's the
way of getting charged whenever they're low on energy.

Buying Decision Process:

Usually there are 5 steps in the process of buying decision making. ​For Parle-G biscuits, the
buying process can be as follows:

Need Recognition Buyer feels the need to buy Parle-G because of

● Basic need of hunger.
● To have a satisfying glucose biscuit.
● Need could have been induced by advertisements.
● Cultural aspects of having biscuits with Tea.

Information Search Here the buyer will obtain the necessary information
available such as identification of products available, their
price levels and availability of the Parle G and the
information and recommendations gathered from family,
friends and opinion leaders.

Evaluation of Alternatives Evaluation by buyers of other biscuit brands and products

known by them on basis of prices, taste, features,
proximity of shops nearby and availability.

Purchase Decision After setting the evaluation criterias, the customer makes
their decision on which biscuit will buy, their prices, shop
to buy from and the mode of payment.

Post Purchase Behaviour There could be three major possibilities as follows:

● Consumers are satisfied with Parle-G and will
continue to buy it in future.
● Consumers are neither satisfied nor dissatisfied
and they may or may not buy Parle-G again.
● Consumers disliked the products and would not
recommend them to their peers and acquaintances.

Bases of Segmentation

1. ​GEOGRAPHIC SEGMENTATION​: Parle-G is consumed by people staying in urban,

semi-urban, and rural areas. People staying within the geographic area of semi-urban & rural
prefer it more.

7
2. ​DEMOGRAPHIC SEGMENTATION​: The factors whose intensity differs from person to
person are together termed as demographic segmentation. Parle-G distribution chain extends to
remote areas and marginalized areas. they're as follows: –
a) Age​: Parle-G is consumed maximum by the youngsters within the cohort of 5-10 years i.e.,
the growing people. Kids, who have formed the habit of getting Parle-G in their early stages of
life, continue this practice even after growing up.
b) Income:​ The income of a private decides its core expenditure segment. If an individual earns
a group amount & if a biscuit, like Parle-G which ensures high-level glucose content &
immediate energy regained, he would like to shop for a Parle biscuit packet & not spend even
that minimal amount of Rs.5 on the remainder . But since Parle-G could also be a low-priced,
value-for-money product a person’s income doesn't play a task in influencing the acquisition of
the merchandise. Consumers of all income groups do buy the merchandise.
c) Social class​ - Parle-G focuses on middle and class customers and is produced for all masses.

3. PSYCHOGRAPHIC SEGMENTATION:
Motivation​: For Parle-G the foremost & essential motivation which pulls consumers towards
buying it are often hunger. It is often what attracts the consumers towards the acquisition of
Parle-G. Also, since biscuits are perceived as snacks when a consumer is drinking tea, he or she
is motivated to buy for Parle-G at that time .
Perception​:Consumers believe Parle-G to be an honest quality product which is reasonable too.
They also perceive it to be an excellent snack with tea.For a few, it's the way of getting charged
whenever they're low on energy.

Type of Targeting
Parle G usually has two targeted marketing practices.
Firstly, it practices​ Mass Marketing (Undifferentiated Strategy)​ for Parle-G which appeals to
masses. it's a product liked by everyone and doesn't cater to at least one specific group or a part
of the entire market. Thus, it's a production , mass distribution and mass promotion for Parle-G
for all buyers.

Now talking about another practice which is​ Differentiated Strategy​, or Full Market Coverage,
Parle-G offers one single product for each consumer. It covers all demographics like different
age groups, income groups and other people living in rural or urban areas. A number of the
buyers groups consider it as a neighborhood breakfast, while for others it might be a tea time
snack or a full complete meal. it's also consumed as an energy supplement also .

Positioning Strategy

8
(1)​ Competitive Frame of Reference​:

A. Identifying Competitors:

Frame of Reference Competitors

Price Britannia, Sunfeast, Patanjali, Anmol

Family Pack Good Day, McVities, Bournvita Biscuits, Horlicks, Tiger

Biscuits,

Rectangular Shape Britannia, Horlicks, Boost

Glucose Britannia’s Tiger, Sunfeast, Anmol’ Gluco, Several local

brands, Glucon-D

Ingredients Patanjali Doodh, Britannia’s NutriChoice

Energy Britannia Tiger, ITC's Sunfeast Glucose

Companion of Tea/Milk Cookies, Bread, Namkeen, Local Snacks

Munchies/Snacks Chips, Wafers, Regional Snacks

B. Analyzing Competitors:

On the basis of a personal form survey done with local retailers and suppliers.
Scale used:
For customer awareness: excellent, moderate, low.
For product quality: excellent, moderate, low.
For product availability: easily available, moderately available, not so much.

Competitors Customer Product Quality Product Availability

Awareness

Britannia’s Tiger Excellent Excellent Easily available

Sunfeast Moderate Excellent Easily available

Priyagold Moderate Moderate Not available much

Horlicks Biscuits Moderate Excellent Moderately available

Patanjali’s Doodh Low Moderate Moderately available

9
(2) ​POP AND POD

Points of Parity Points of Difference

Low Price Glucose Biscuit

Proper packaging Balanced Flavour

Freshness and quality Proper mixture of milk and wheat

Quality ingredients like wheat, milk etc Source of strength/energy

Low caloric sugar and fat Available in different types of packages

regionally

(3) ​Perceptual Mapping

Parle-G along with its major rival brands can be mapped as follows:

a) Following is the perceptual map of Parle-G and its competitors based on the attribute of
price and distribution level -

b) Following is the perceptual map of Parle-G and its competitors based on the attribute of
buying pattern and age criteria of consumers -

10
Analysis -
Effectiveness of Segmentation -
1. Measurable -​ The bases chosen are measurable such that rural-urban population, age and
income groups data can be easily available through surveys or in government reports.
2. Substantial -​ The basic segmented/target customers of Parle-G are the customers from
rural and semi-urban areas. Substantiality can be evaluated if the segments are large and
profitable enough to serve or not. Around 65% of the Indian population belongs to the
rural category which denotes a large customer base and high profitability.
3. Accessible -​ Parle-G is known for its intensive distribution strategy to increase coverage,
sales and profitability. A large base of wholesalers and distributors help the product to
reach the desired target customers. It is distributed even at times of emergencies and
disasters.
4. Differential -​ The basis of segmentation is differential such as age and income, rural and
urban, perception and motivation to purchase and they can respond differently to
different marketing mix elements and programs.
5. Actionable​ - The recent bittersweet and nostalgic ad campaign of Parle-G ‘You are my
Parle-G’ is based on the perception (segment of perception) of loyalty and reliability,
keeping in mind that Parle-G is the oldest, most popular and trusted biscuit brand.

11
Findings
Top 3 Competitors:
● Britannia Tiger.
● Horlicks Biscuits.
● Local glucose biscuits.
Parle G features a strong presence in rural India with 50% of their total sales. Parle G’s
competitor, Britannia almost emerged as Urban market’s leader and has plans to feature more
outlets in the country to focus on Parle G’s rural area market.It is also getting to expand their
sales to e-commerce and delivery services like Dunzo and Swiggy.

Although, Parle-G’s made record sales within the lockdown period. Top company officials said
that they regained the five hundred market share during this point . He was also quoted saying
that “at least within the last 30 to 40 years, we've not seen this type of growth.”

They have also increased their digital advertising budgeting from 10-12% to 20-25% of their
total marketing budget. The tweaking marketing strategy to remain relevant also worked for
them as they ran many public service ads during the lockdown period to convey positivity and
which could have a positive effect on their sales growth.

Recommendations
● Parle-G can produce variants for the variety seeking customers.
● Also cater to diet or health conscious segment
● The company performs less marketing functions due to​ cost constraints but a bit of
marketing will help the brand.
● Can associate with various Government schemes such as mid day meals and health
centres.
● It can associate with government or rural schools and hospitals which need meals filled
with nutrients at low price.

12
 ● Packaging can be improved for a change.

Conclusion

This 70 year old biscuit has been an iconic brand within the biscuit industry and widely known
for its superior quality and taste. Parle has been ready to maintain a coffee price for Parle-G due
to its strength in staple procurement, transport and distribution channels. However, it's been
losing the grip over its customer’s brand loyalty, especially in city areas, which it managed to
take care of for a few years . Its slight price hiking strategy few years back caused many
price-sensitive customers to maneuver away to its competitors (i.e. Tiger) and opened the chance
door for them. Since then, there has been a uniform decline in its sales growth. Increasing
urbanization and changing lifestyles thanks to rising nation’s per capita income has also been
influencing consumer’s attitude towards it.
Parle believes that Parle-G doesn't need much promotion to extend its sales, as there's always an
ongoing demand for it. Increasing input and cost has been lowering profit-margin, resulting in
reduction in promotion expenditure. Unlike Parle-G, competitors are aggressively marketing
their brands; whereas Parle doesn't pay much attention to its flagship brand and spend good
money on marketing its other premium biscuits (i.e. Hide&Seek and Parle 20-20 cookie), using
revenues generated by cash-cow Parle-G. However, year 2008 saw some increment in
promotional activities for Parle-G.
In order to take care of its hold over the biscuit market, Parle-G needs more innovations without
losing its successful old taste and merchandise quality. This alongside more marketing efforts
won't only help it in penetrating the fading customer-base in city areas but also taping more rural
market opportunities.

13