Parle-G registers ‘best sales’ figures during the COVID-19 lockdown, breaks eight-decades-old record

Parle-G reportedly registered its best sales figures in over eight decades during the COVID-19 lockdown period. “We’ve grown our overall market share by nearly 5 percent... And 80– 90 percent of this growth has come from the Parle-G sales. This is unprecedented,” reported Economic Times quoting Mayank Shah, category head at Parle Products.However, the company has not revealed the specific sales numbers.The sale of the 5-rupees-a-pack biscuit increased as it was consumed by many migrants who walked hundreds of kilometers to get back home. Besides, many people stocked it at home and various organizations and individuals distributed the packets of Parle-G to the needy.Senior director of Crisil Ratings Anuj Sethi, explaining the rising sales of some companies, said that consumers were purchasing whatever was available in the market, be it premium or economy priced. Crisil recently conducted a study on FMCG players.Parle Products focused on making its best-selling-but-low-value Parle-G brand in view of the huge demand from all its customer segments. It put in place its distribution channels within a week to ensure product availability at retail outlets.“We had several state governments requisitioning us for biscuits… they were in constant touch with us, asking about our stock positions. Several NGOs bought humongous quantities from us. We were lucky to have restarted production from March 25 onwards,” said Shah.The biscuit sells at Rs 77 per kg, which is lower than the price of a kilo of rusk. Basically, it comes under the ‘below-Rs100 per kg’ affordable category, which is responsible for one-third of the total industry revenues and accounts for over 50 percent of the volume sold.A number of Twitter users celebrated Parle G's unique milestone.Actor Randeep Hooda posted that his whole career is fueled by tea and Parle-G since theatre days."Can you imagine how much less single use plastic waste there will be if just Parle-G changed its packing to an alternate biodegradable material? Now the sales are up let’s see the contribution to a better Tom too," he further wrote.Here's what others posted: