P.M.M.

PROJECT

PARLE PRODUCTS

INTRODUCTION
Parle products has been Indias largest manufacturer of biscuits and confectionary for almost 80 years. Makers of the worlds largest biscuit, PARLE-G and a host of very popular brands, the parle name symbolises quality, nutrition and great taste. With a reach spanning even to the remotest villages of India. While to the consumers, it is a beacon of trust and faith, competitors look upon Parle, as an example of marketing brilliance. Thus courtesy of its achievements, today the greatest strenght of Parle Products is its extreme widespread distribution network.

HISTORY
Parle Products company was founded in 1929 in British India. It was owned by the Chauhan family of Vile Parle, Mumbai. Parle began manufacturing biscuits in 1939. The Parle brand became well known in India following the success of products such as the Parle-G biscuits and the Thumbs Up soft drink. The original Parle company was split into three separate companies, owned by the different factions of the original Chauhan family. Parle Products, led by Vijay, Sharad and Anup Chauhan. Parle Agro, led by Prakash Chauhan and his daughters Schauna, Alisha and Nadia. Parle Bisleri led by Ramesh Chauhan.

BRANDS
The original Parle group was amicably segregated into three non-competing businesses. But a dispute over the use of "Parle" brand arose, when Parle Agro diversified into the confectionary business, thus becoming a competitor to Parle Products. In February 2008, Parle Products sued Parle Agro for using the brand Parle for competing in confectionary products. In 2009, the Bombay High Court ruled that Parle Agro can sell its confectionery brands under the brand name "Parle" or "Parle Confi." Biscuits - Parle-G, KrackJack, Monaco, Kreams, Hide & Seek, Parle Marie, Milk Shakti. Sweet confectionery - Melody, Mango Bite, Poppins. Snacks - Monaco Smart Chips, Parle's Wafers, Fulltoss.

ACHIEVEMENTS
Many of the parle products biscuits or confectionaries are market leaders in their category and have won acclaim at the monde selection, since 1971. With a 40% share of the total biscuit market and a 15% share of the total confectionary market in India, Parle has grown to become a multi-million dollar company. It has also been shining with golds and silvers consistently. Monde selection is an international institute for assessing the quality of foods. Currently, it is the oldest and most respected organisation in the fields of selecting quality foods worldwide. The value for money positioning allows people from all classes and age groups to enjoy Parle products to the fullest.

Various Parle Brands are:

PROJECT OBJECTIVE
As Parle is one of the worlds biggest biscuit and confectionary manufacturing company, there are millions of people that are fond of its products, (snacks, biscuits, confectionaries). There are various changes taking place in respect to the consumers tastes and preferences, therefore they try to opt for those products which will help satisfy them, plus a persistent knack for competition does not help. Therefore in order to know the various drawbacks, limitations, improvements, changes, we have conducted this project by visiting the PARLE factory and thus have collected information through questionnaires. This has thus helped us in the completion of this project.

SCOPE OF THE AREA

FACTORIES Located at Parle Products Pvt. Ltd. V.S. Khandekar Marg, Vile Parle East, Mumbai - 400057, Maharashtra. The factory is set up in a very systematic fashion, the plant is organised very well, floor spacing is given adequate importance, this has thus helped it to produce their goods in a very efficient and cost effective manner. The required standards of hygiene are well maintained plus there is also protection against malfunctions, employee safety and welfare is also given due consideration.

SWOT ANALYSIS
Strenghts Parle brand. Sizeable Market Share in the country. Offers variety of products under its brand. Different sizes of packets are available. Deep and effective coverage. Weakness Breakage of biscuits while delivery. Improper and irregular supply. Fewer shares in premium biscuit market. Dependant on its flagship brand Parle-G. Poor packaging in family pack of glucose biscuits. Opportunities Rising demand for innovative packaging in packaged foods. Retaining loyal retailers or wholesalers. Information revolution brought about by the television.

 Good scope for snacks and namkeens if launched and promoted properly. Threats Highly advertised brands such as britannia. Ever increasing competition from multinationals and local companies. Increase in sale of cheap local bakery products. Margin war among the major brands.

PLAN OF ACTION Introduction Stage

Selective Distribution. Awareness among early adopters. Heavy Expenditures. Low Sales. High Cost per Customer Acquired. Negative Profits. Innovators are targeted. Little Competition

Growth Stage
Product Extensions. Pentration Pricing. Intensive Distribution. Build Awareness. Advertising is High. Reduce Expenditure on Sales. Rapidly Rising Sales. Rising Profits. Early Adopters are Targeted.

Maturity Stage
Diversify Brand and Models. Price Match to Beat Competition. Intensive Distribution. Encourage Brand Switching. Sales Peak. Low Cost per Consumer. High Profits. Middle Majority are Targeted. Competition Begins to Decline.

Decline Stage
Phase out Weak Items. Cut Price.

PRIMARY DATA
What is the manufacturing Process at Parle? At Parle the manufacturing process is very important, as it helps in the production of the various biscuits, confectionaries and snacks, namely: 1. Raw Material Testing. 2. Mixing. 3. Moulding. 4. Baking. 5. Cooling. 6. Packing.

PROCESS LAYOUT
What are the various steps in the production process layout? The process layout at Parle briefly describes the set of actions or respective machines that the products go through, they are: 1. Stephen Mixer. 2. Moulding. 3. Oven. 4. Curve Plate. 5. Cooling Conveyor. 6. Stalking Machine. 7. Multipack Machine. 8. Sealing Machine. 9. Box Tapping. 10. 11. 12. Diversion Belt. Conveyor Belt. Dispatch Section.

RAW MATERIALS
What are the various ram materials used to create the products (snacks, biscuits, confectionaries)? The basic raw materials that are used are: 1. Wheat, Flour. 2. Sugar. 3. Partially hydrogenated edible vegetable oils. 4. Invert syrup. 5. Leavening Agents (503 Baking Powder). 6. Milk Solids. 7. Salt. 8. Emulsifiers. (E22 or E471). 9. Dough Conditioners (E223) and contains added flavours.

 In what proportions are the raw materials mixed? The raw material is mixed in certain proportion, to get the best quality. All the ingredients are tested in the laboratory so that low qualities can be avoided in the manufacturing process. The raw materials are tested for their acidic value, moisture it contains and quality of milk powder. What and just how long is the inventory of the company? The inventory of the company is briefly the raw materials required for a weeks production. They store it in the store room and it sent for production after the laboratory tests have been confirmed according to the required standards.

 What are the shift timings for your employees at Parle , how are the workers working in respect to them, also what is your approximate amount of wastage? There are nearly 268 team mates and 65 staffs working in the company. These people are working in accordance to three shifts, they have been giving their timings according to the processes related, they are susceptible to change, in order to promote specilization, they are also given breaks in between shifts, also we make sure that there is absolutely no amount of wastage at the factory.

MACHINERY USED
What are the various types of machinery used in respect to manufacturing of the products? The machinery used are firstly up to date, there is no obsolence whatsoever, they are very well maintained and thus work efficiently, they are: 1. Stephen Mixer. 2. Rotary Mould. 3. Cooling Conveyor. 4. Laminator. 5. Oven. 6. Rotary Cutter. 7. Counting Unit. 8. Sugar Grinder.

QUALITY SYSTEM
What is the Parle Quality Control System? At Parle, we hope to maintain the highest quality standards possible, the most important being HYGIENE. From husking the wheat to melting the sugar, till delivery to the markets, we ensure that all the products remain fresh. Every batch of the goods, (snacks, confectionary, biscuits) is throughly checked by the expert staff, using the most modern equipments, hence removing all voes regarding their quality. All factories are located at strategic locations to ensure a constant output and easy distribution. Each factory has the state of the art machinery with automatic printing and packaging facilities. The quality is as per the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP).

RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

How has research and development affected Parle? Over the years, through research and development, we have substantially increased the market for our products, in biscuits alone, we offer, glucose, milk, sweet, cream, etc. Through Research and Development, we have been able to enter the international market, that because we have seeemingly wanted to cater to the needs of our overgrowing consumers, thus we have also made various different tastes of the confectionaries, snacks, ect. This can be also seen through the success of new brands such as hide and seek and mangobite.

SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE

What are the Desired Skills & Experience needed to work at Parle? Good knowledge of food chemistry, food formulations and processes. Ability to translate technical knowledge into results. Information related to product development activities. Knowledge of Technical Developments, Product Launches and Market trends in the Food industry. Exposure to food manufacturing facilities. Candidates Preferred : Fruit based beverage experience.

SUGGESTIONS
Parle should go in for exclusive outlets in at least all the shopping malls coming up. The advantages of this channel will be: 1. Full range display. 2. Easier to promote new products. 3. Brand building will be facilitated. Trade promotion should be formulated for newly launched products instead of just tagging them onto best sellers. The company should start a home delivery where a particular household will order full range of products required by it over a period of time. For this the company could provide a delivery system. In order to motivate the channel members it is also very essential for the company to increase the margins for the hard selling items. In order to remain sensitive to market demand, it is essential for the company to place additional salesmen on the field since the brand as such commands a high demand in the market but fails to match it with the supply.

 Pushcarts should be increased in number in order to increase the market reach this can provide with a very effective channel.

RECOMMENDATIONS
To get benefits of growing biscuit industry, Parle should be recommended to: Promote Parle brand through schemes such as Parle Gramin Swastha Yojana (a network of ambulance van visiting rural areas giving basic medical treatments educating people on nutrition deficiency problems and promoting Parle nutritious products). Promote Parle brand through T. V. shows such as Parle Sakhi (Parle - Friend of Women). The weekly T. V. show will cater to health issues of women and children and will explain long term benefits of healthy diet. Reduced competition for visible shelf space in small grocery and retail stores. Brand Loyalty. Communicating Parle value of Nutrition Product. Advertise products segment wise as follows: Nutritious/Glucose biscuits Advertisement by doctors/dieticians to explain the benefits to heath conscious consumers.

 Advertisement by cricketers to attract youths. Cream biscuits to be endorsed by bollywood (film) starts. Marie To be advertised as a family tea time snack. Results expected Increased penetration in rural, southern and eastern market. Attracting health & diet conscious people.

CONCLUSION
As per all the questionnaires and surveys, we all can agree that parle is the largest selling company in respect to biscuits, confectionaries and snacks. The reasons being because: 1. It is best in quality. 2. It is reasonably priced 4 to 6 rs for 100gms. 3. Also known to be easily available in the market, can be bought at the nearest kirana stores, food marts, etc. 4. Thus, all these qualities combined make parle the number 1 brand in respect to biscuits!!