How Parle-G became the world’s best selling biscuit? The company was started by…

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The story of Parle-G dates back to the 1920, when Mohanlal Chauhan, made an initial investment of Rs 60,000– a huge sum at the time– and imported biscuit-making machines from Germany to set up a small factory in Ville Parle, Mumbai.

Parle-G is the world’s best-selling biscuit. (File)

Parle-G, India’s homegrown biscuit brand, is more than just crunchy, nutritious biscuits wrapped in a simplistic packet, but a symbol that united Indians from Kashmir to Kanyakumari. Generations after generations have been mesmerized by the simple, yet mouth-watering taste of this humble biscuit, whose origins date back to the early 1920s during colonial times, when ‘Made in India’ was nothing more than a pipe dream.

Who started Parle-G

The story of Parle-G dates back to the 1920, when Mohanlal Chauhan, made an initial investment of Rs 60,000– a huge sum at the time– and imported biscuit-making machines from Germany, challenging the industrial dominance of the British. Mohanlal, along with his five sons– Maneklal, Pitambar, Narottam, Kantilal, and Jayantilal– set up humble biscuit-making factory Vile Parle in the suburbs of Mumbai.

Interestingly, this is the where the Parle in Parle-G comes from while the ‘G’ initially stood for glucose, but fans of the brand have lovingly changed it ‘genius’.

How Parle-G became world’s best-selling biscuits?

After India’s independence, Parle-G emerged as the snack of choice for both the common people and the country’s emerging middle class, because it was affordable yet tasty and nutritious at the same time. Over the years, Parle Agro, the company that makes Parle-G, expanded at a steady pace, and while Indian markets were closed to foreign FMCG product pre-globalization, it seized the opportunity to launch a range of refreshing beverages, giving birth to household names like Frooti, Limca, Thums Up, Gold Spot, and Limca in 1980s.

Thums Up was later acquired by Coca-Cola after the global beverage giant entered the Indian market.

In 2011, a Nielsen report named Parle-G as the best-selling biscuit in the world, which has outsold global brands like Oreo, and others.

When Parle refused to increase prices

A turning point came when inflation hit record heights, forcing Parle-G to make a hard decision, increase prices or suffer losses. Staying true to the company’s spirit of being an affordable, consumer-friendly brand, Parle chose the latter, and refused to hike prices even when its competitors succumbed and did the opposite.

According to various, Parle-G, at one point, as selling a staggering 1 billion packets of biscuits a month, a gigantic figure considering the humble beginnings of the company.

Who owns Parle-G today?

At present, the biscuit empire which was started as a mark of defiance against the British by the company’s founder Mohanlal Chauhan, is being headed by his descendants, Vijay Chauhan, Sharad Chauhan, and Raj Chauhan, each of whom handle different aspects of Parle Agro, from marketing, production, to expansion.

Over time, Parle has expanded its product range beyond its beloved Parle-G biscuits, and now the company’s portfolio includes other popular products such as 20-20 biscuits, Milkshakti biscuits, Melody toffees, Mango Bite candies, Poppins, Londonderry chocolates, Kismi Toffee Bar, Monaco crackers, Magix chocolates, and everyone’s childhood favorite, KrackJack.

Vijay Chauhan net-worth

The success of Parle-G has obviously translated into financial prospering for the Chauhan family. Vijay Chauhan and family have a net worth pegged at a whopping $5.5 billion (around Rs 45,579 crore), making them one of the wealthiest business families in India.

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