MxMIndia

Tag: Parle

  • The brief to Taproot was to reclaim a territory for Milano

    Taproot Dentsu, Parle launch new films for Milano

    By A Correspondent

     

    Parle, in association with Taproot Dentsu, has launched a series of films for its premium biscuit offering Platina Milano.

     

    Speaking about the campaign, Mayank Shah, Category Head, Parle Products said: “Since the launch of the Platina range last May, we have observed a renewed interest among consumers towards Parle’s premium offerings. We have always been innovators across categories and while we were happy that our premium brands were being well received, we also felt the need to bring something refreshingly new to the consumers. Extensive research and understanding of our target audience’s evolving tastes led us to add new variants to the Milano range, which consequently resulted in India’s first cookie with Hazelnut filling by an FMCG brand.”

     

    Added Ayesha Ghosh, General Manager, Taproot Dentsu Mumbai: “In times where balance and perfection are being chased and when indulgence is frowned upon, our task was to carve out a special guilt-free place in the minds of consumers for a rich, delicious cookie like Milano. The idea that followed was to approach it from an individual’s perspective, bringing out the importance of irreverent self-pampering. The fact that Twinkle Khanna personally identified with the messaging, further spurred off the idea for us to also add the element of ‘There’s a me in every Milano’ in the TVCs. Overall, the ads have been shot in a manner to remind us that every now and then, it’s okay to listen to your heart, give in to a craving and bite into that tempting cookie!”

     

     

  • Inspired by a true story, the agency's latest campaign revolves around Parle's quest for the perfect Marie recipe

    Everest reveals secrets behind Parle BakeSmith

    By A Correspondent

     

    Based on the consumer insight that there are various Marie biscuits but no one knows the original Marie and its original taste, Parle has rediscovered Parle BakeSmith Marie making it its yet another endeavor to bring the best to the consumer.

     

    The discovery of the original Marie recipe can be explained through Mrs. Smith’s story. Mrs Smith was a young lady who lived in the countryside of London. She was poor and made her living baking biscuits. One day, she thought of experimenting with her biscuits and went on to bake a unique biscuit now popularly known as ‘Marie’. Her small bakery soon became very famous as Londoners started queuing up for her rich tea biscuits. These biscuits gained popularity globally. Acknowledging her craftsmanship, Mrs. Smith went to be referred as ‘BakeSmith’ by the Englishmen. Parle BakeSmith Marie is a product of this recipe and the same is delightfully communicated through the Campaign TVC.

     

    Krishnarao Buddha -Deputy Marketing Manager, Parle said, “Parle had its fair share of struggle in the Marie space for many years for lack of differentiation till it rediscovered the Original English Recipe. With a great brand name and an international looking packaging topped with the Original English Recipe, we expect to meet the prospects expectations. To communicate the unique proposition, we mandated Everest Brand Solutions to tell the story in a most interesting manner. We are delighted with the outcome and we are confident to achieve our set objectives.”

     

    Commenting on the Campaign, Pramod Sharma – Executive Creative Director (West) said, “Great brands are all about great stories. We had a lovely story to narrate and change the way Marie Biscuits are advertised. The script is simple. The treatment is truly international.   I’m very happy with the film. It positions Parle BakeSmith as a premium offering in a cluttered scenario. The film is an outcome of months and months of hard work. Every step was a challenge. We had to find the perfect face for Parle’s Founder and Mrs. Smith’s character. We had to get that era right, beginning from costumes, location, props, vehicles and lot of other things. I would really like to thank my client Parle, the director and the production house who have helped us deliver a great film.”

     

    Aradhana Bhushan – Vice President, Everest Brand Solutions said, “The brand objective of BakeSmith is to uniquely own the Classic Marie space. Hence the campaign was built on the route the Original English Maire.”

     

  • Parle has taken the initiative to set the course for our community and raise awareness with the positive messaging of its Litter Free campaign

    Parle takes pledge to make nation litter-free

    By A Correspondent

     

    Parle Products has announced the launch of its nationwide Litter Free TV campaign. Parle Products is a brand that generates disposable biscuit, candy and chips wrappers and in many instances consumers toss them on the streets and other public areas without a second thought.

     

    Litter not only looks bad but also has an adverse effect on the environment. Littering sends out a negative message to children and the next generation that it is acceptable behavior to throw your trash anywhere mindless of the environment. Parle Products has taken the initiative to set the course for our community and raise awareness with the positive messaging of its Litter Free campaign.

     

    Parle Products has launched the first phase of the Litter Free campaign across the country through a series of TVCs. The commercials are set in a series of everyday scenarios that viewers can identify with and encourage them to “Show Garbage Its Place”.

     

    Speaking about the campaign, Shalin Desai, Dy Marketing Manager, Parle Products said, “We intend to spread a positive message with the Parle Litter Free initiative and encourage citizens to make a conscious effort to keep their environment clean. Our combined efforts will not only make a difference to the mindset of consumers but also instill a productive commitment.  We are also happy to extend our efforts to the nation in line with the ‘Swaccha Bharat Abhiyan’ launched by our PM.”

     

    Previously, Parle Products had associated the campaign with Indian festivals and successfully spread the Litter Free message at Raas Garba and Jagadhatri Puja in West Bengal.

     

  • Parle Products partners with 60 puja pandals in Hooghly, West Bengal

    Parle Products unveils second phase of ‘Litter Free’ campaign

    By A Correspondent

     

    Ahead of the forthcoming Jagadhatri Puja in West Bengal, Parle Products has announced the second phase of their Litter Free campaign titled ‘Swacha Pratigya Puroskar’. This is the first time Parle has tied up with 60 puja pandals in Hooghly, inviting pandals from across the city to participate in the ‘Parle Swacha Pratigya Puroskar’.

     

    With an objective to spread the message to keep the city and our surroundings clean, the initiative involves rewarding the most clean and litter free pandal. Chosen panels of judges that are specialist in their respective field selected the best entries and felicitated them with Parle Swacha Pratigya Puroskar. The top three pandals awarded with prize money by Bengali Actress Rimjhim Mitra were Moran Road Sarbojanin Jagadhatri Puja Committee(Moran Road, Chandernagore, Hooghly), Halderpara (Adi) Sarbojanin Jagadhatri Puja Committee (Adi Halderpra, Chandernagore, Hooghly) and Telinipara Annapurna Barowari Jagadhatri Puja Committee (Telinipara, Bhadreswar, Hooghly)  followed by 10 consolation prizes, winners were selected based on cleanliness, ambiance, discipline and the overall appeal of the Puja.

     

    Speaking about the campaign, Bhavin Panchamia, Senior Product Manager, Parle Products said, “With this initiative we intend to encourage citizens of our country to keep their city clean and participate in the Parle Litter Free Campaign. Jagadhatri Puja is an important festival and an excellent platform to launch the second phase of our ‘Litter Free’ campaign. This is the first time we are participating in this Puja and are happy to extend our efforts across the country.”

     

    The ‘Parle Litter Free’ campaign aims to educate citizens to be responsible towards the environment and aim at achieving a cleaner nation. Through this association, the five days of puja witnessed 60 pandals across Hooghly competing to keep their pandals clean and litter free. Parle ensured placement of dustbins at all pandals which will later be donated to various housing societies in the city signs encouraging the residents to keep their premises litter free. There are signs declaring that the pandals as a litter free zone, educating the audience to avoid littering the place and most importantly indulging the audience to make a pledge about keeping the area and city litter free.

     

  • India's second-largest biscuit maker Britannia Industries plans to to overtake Parle and become market leader, its chairman told shareholders at the company's AGM yesterday

    Nusli Wadia wants Britannia to be Cookie King

    By A Correspondent

     

    India’s second-largest biscuit maker Britannia Industries plans to invest Rs 150-200 crore over the next two years to overtake Parle and become market leader, chairman Nusli Wadia told shareholders at the company’s 95th annual general meeting on Tuesday.

     

    Britannia’s share of the biscuit market increased by more than 1.2 percentage points in the last fiscal. “The difference with Parle is just 3%, which is not much and we want to bridge it in the next three years,” Mr Wadia said.

     

    Over the next two years, Britannia will use the investment to launch new products, expand capacity and upgrade technology, he said.

     

    “We should grow faster than the market, which was not possible in the last few years, but we managed it last fiscal when we outgrew both by volume and value,” Mr Wadia said.

     

    Britannia embarked on a turnaround strategy last year after inducting veteran executive Varun Berry into the management team. Mr Berry was designated managing director in April. Mr Wadia said the Daily Bread Gourmet Foods subsidiary, which sells premium bakery products through its own stores in Bangalore, may be shut or sold off.

     

    “The Daily Bread business is not a shining star and a business we do not need to stay in. We will take a call soon,” he said. Daily Bread reported sales of around Rs 20 crore last fiscal and made a loss of around Rs 3.3 crore. Britannia Industries has made a provision of Rs 20 crore for diminution in the value of its investment in Daily Bread.

     

    Source:The Economic Times

    Copyright © 2014, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved

    Licensed to republish

     

  • Disney UTV's Indiagames has launched the official IPL season 6 mobile game, 'IPL Cricket Fever 2013'. It has associated with the Parle brand, 20-20, within the game

    Indiagames & Parle launch IPL Cricket Fever game

    By A Correspondent

     

    Disney UTV’s Indiagames has launched the official IPL season 6 mobile game, ‘IPL Cricket Fever 2013’. It has associated with the Parle brand, 20-20, within the game.

     

    The in-game branding includes mat branding, four branding (every time the player hits a four), cheerleader stand branding, in-stadia branding etc. Available on Android, the mobile game is close to the actual on-ground IPL match with all official 9 teams – Mumbai Indians, Chennai Superkings, Sunrisers Hyderabad, Delhi Daredevils, King XI Punjab, Kolkata Knight Riders, Rajasthan Royals, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Pune Warriors.

     

    Vishal Gondal

    Vishal Gondal, Managing Director – Digital, Disney UTV said, “We have been providing cricket enthusiasts with the official IPL mobile game year-on-year successfully since season 3. With the IPL frenzy growing with every passing year, we have witnessed millions of downloads of the game which has been growing exponentially.”

     

    This is the second time that Parle has associated itself with a mobile game. In 2011, Parle G featured in Ra.One’s official game.

     

    Pravin Kulkarni, General Manager, Marketing, Parle Products said, “India is a cricket loving nation and IPL is the current craze in the audience. The format of IPL, which is T20, fits perfectly well with our brand Parle 20-20 cookies.”

     

  • Do regional brands dreaming big of going national achieve success? Or does the scale even kill their regional dominance?

    Regional brands attempt to carve out pan-India presence

    By Kala Vijayraghavan

     

    In the 1990s, a north-based biscuits company, Bakemans Industries, gave industry leaders Britannia and Parle Products sleepless nights with its aggressively-priced offerings in the Marie and Glucose segments. The regional brand with an enviable 13% share, most of it coming out of Uttar Pradesh, was going places – until it decided to go national.

     

    An attempt to carve out a pan-India presence ended in disaster with it plunging into a sea of red. To wipe out its losses, Bakemans raised prices on its home turf, in Uttar Pradesh. That move proved to be the proverbial final nail in the coffin; Bakemans not only failed to become a national player, it lost pole position in the market in which it once ruled the roost. The company was put up for sale, but even the acquisition by a Sri Lankan biscuit player ended calamitously. The Bakemans debacle serves as a grim reminder for regional brands seeking to go national.

     

    “Their ability to grow beyond their home turf is typically stymied not just by capital but also by a difficulty in building the right kind of organization to create national strategies and more sophisticated brand launch and promotion models that can be sustained,” explains Justin Sargent, managing director, Nielsen India.

     

    Such apparent dangers are not deterring a clutch of regional powerhouses like Ghari detergents in the North, Wagh Bakri tea and Balaji Wafers in the West, SAJ Food Products (which owns Bisk Farm) in the East and Cholayil (which owns brands like Medimix and Cuticura) in the South from looking beyond their backyards.

     

    Consider Wagh Bakri, which rules the roost in Gujarat. Over the past couple of years, the company has forayed into Mumbai and New Delhi with its tea lounges. Says Parag Desai, executive director at Wagh Bakri: “Our strategy is to completely swamp every district in one state in distribution and marketing before moving into another.”

     

    Darshan Patel, a co-founder of Paras Pharma who broke away from his elder brother in 2006 to start up the Vini group four years later, says going national is not an option but a necessity. “If one doesn’t have the resources, build the resources but go national. It is all about taking risks because regional brands cannot grow beyond a point.” However, he does add a rider. “The mantra has to be: differentiate or die,” says Mr Patel who has launched brands like Whitetone face powder, Jinjola talcum power, 7X itch cream and Quco hair perfume.

     

    The New Delhi-headquartered personal care firm Vi-John is another regional player that is putting up national outposts. Says CEO Vimal Pande: “Our field force in the South and the East is now as strong as it is in the North. Our presence was weaker in Maharashtra and we are in the process of strengthening it.”

     

    Jyothy Laboratories is a great example of how a single-product (Ujjala liquid fabric whitener) regional marketer went on not just to command a national presence but to acquire a multinational rival – Henkel India, the Indian arm of the German laundry & home care corporation. Post-Henkel, Jyothy today is a multi-brand consumer products company with a pan-India, rural and urban presence.

     

    Ullas Kamath, joint managing director of Jyothi Laboratories, has a few tips for brands seeking to go national. One, go national only if you have a differentiated product; and two, only if the regional brand has operating margins of at least 15%. He advocates a ‘big bang theory when going national.’ “Trial and error cannot work. You cannot sit in Kanpur and understand Karnataka or Kerala,” he adds.

     

    There are those like the Rajkot-headquartered Balaji Wafers that prefer caution to extravagant expansion. Balaji has relied largely on word-of-mouth publicity to capture consumer mind space over the past two decades. Managing director Chandu Virani says, “I do not see the need to be overtly ambitious. We have financial investors chasing us all the time but we do not have the appetite for a grand national plan. It will happen very gradually,” he explains.

     

    Also being cautious is the 500 crore SAJ Food Products. The company, which dominates eastern India with biscuit brand Bisk Farm, is now venturing into other markets, albeit selectively. Says managing director Vijay Kumar Singh: “Each state especially in foods has its own nuances and it is pointless to get into markets where your brand cannot break the clutter and you land up being a me-too.” Brand consultants say entrepreneurs like Messrs Virani and Singh have good reason to play it safe.

     

    “It can be a vicious circle of dreaming big without the resources. It makes good business sense to grow state-wise and each state in India is the size of France. So why go on this big expensive ego trip to go national,” asks Sunil Alagh, chairman, SKA Advisors. Alpana Parida, president, DMA Yellow Works, a brand consultancy, says there are not too many regional brands that have a differentiator other than price.

     

    Damodar Mall, foods director at Future Group, says, “Unless one has the right product, adequate production facilities and a supply chain to back a national venture, national food launches can fail miserably.”

     

    Source:The Economic Times
    Copyright © 2012, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved

     

  • Movies OK will focus on family audience. This means we are going to showcase movies which a whole family can enjoy together says Hemal Jhaveri, who heads the channel

    Movies OK will focus on families: Hemal Jhaveri

    By Meghna Sharma

     

    After the launch of Life OK in December 2011, Star India is planning to launch a new channel on May 6 under the OK banner – Movies OK.

     

    The channel promises to be different from Star Gold, the movie channel launched by the network in 2000. “There is a difference between the two channels. Movies OK will focus on family audience. This means we are going to showcase movies which a whole family can enjoy together,” said Hemal Jhaveri, general manager, Star Gold, who heads the channel. The channel plans to concentrate on genres like comedy. “There is going to be more comedy and less action on the channel,” he added.

     

    Apart from content, the other thing which will differentiate the channel from the competitors is the treatment. “The promos are going to be very different and unique from what the other channels do. For instance, we are going to have a Best of Salman Khan Festival called ‘Bhai Ok Please’ where no film footage has been used. So, for the first time, people will see a promo for Salman Khan without him in it. Communication is going to be unique,” explained Mr Jhaveri.

     

    If that’s not enough, the channel also boasts of having a World TV Premiere every night by the end of this month. Mr Jhaveri said: “The 7 day 7 premiere is something which no other channel has experimented with earlier. I think it’s the first-of-its-kind in the world as well. So, every night at primetime, one will get to see movies like Kahaani, London Paris New York, Jodi Breakers and others. We are planning to build our channel as a unique platform.”

     

    The channel also hopes to use the learnings from their other channels, especially Star Gold which was revamped last year. So, one can expect shorter breaks.

     

    The channel has a library of over 1000 movies. “We have been investing in the channel from the past two-three years and will continue to do so in the future as well. Therefore, it’s going to be a unique library. Last year, we acquired the Viacom18 library so that will also add to it,” elaborated Mr Jhaveri.

     

    The Hindi movie genre enjoys the third largest viewership pie, trailing behind regional channels and Hindi GECs, according to a FICCI-KPMG report on the Indian media and entertainment industry, released in March.

     

    “There are various Hindi movie channels, but there is always space for one more, if it’s different and has good content,” said Mr Jhaveri. Agreeing with Mr Jhaveri’s sentiments, Ashwini Kamat, general manager, MediaCom added: “People don’t have loyalty towards movie channels. So, if a channel has a good library, then it doesn’t need to worry about others because people will switch to it, if they want to watch a particular film.”

     

    Janardhan Pandey, associate vice-president, DDB Mudra Max elaborated: “There is enough space on TV to launch a channel but all depends on if one can sustain it at the top slot. A new channel might showcase latest movies, but after some time, many stop investing in a new library and repetition starts. It is then people tend to move away from it. So, it might make an impact in the beginning, but it is difficult to say how a channel will do in the future.”

     

    However, advertisers aren’t optimistic about it. “One more channel means more segmentation. So, I don’t think it’s going to benefit us,” said Praveen Kulkarni, general manager (marketing), Parle. The categories which spend heavily on Hindi movie channels are services, auto, personal accessories and telecom. “Launch of any new channel means fragmentation and overall inflation for advertisers,” added LK Gupta, CMO, LG.

     

    The channel has a 360 degree promotional plan for the channel. It will also be promoted during Star’s new show, Satyamev Jayate, which will also be premiered on May 6. Radio and digital platforms will be used too.

     

  • Customers prefer private labels due to better quality, high food safety standards, international look and feel of products feels William Savage, chief merchandising officer, Bharti Walmart

    Private labels of retailers Bharti Retail, Future Group outsell national brands in own stores

    By Sagar Malviya

     

    Private labels owned by retailers such as Bharti Retail, Future Group and Aditya Birla Retail outsold several national brands in home care and packaged food categories at their retail stores as value conscious consumers opted for best bargain in an uncertain economic condition and soaring headline inflation despite consumer goods companies aggressively betting on modern retail to drive future growth rate.

     

    For instance, Bharti Walmart’s private brand ‘Great Value’ tops the floor cleaner segment with 50 per cent share and are in the top three selling spot in terms of market share in categories such as tea, wheat flour, rice and branded snacks according to Nielsen latest retail index service during July-September 2011 period for the India FMCG Private Label market.

     

    Customers prefer private labels due to better quality, high food safety standards, international look and feel of products feels William Savage, chief merchandising officer, Bharti Walmart, which has private labels owned by retailers such as Bharti Retail, Future Group and Aditya Birla Retail outsell several national brands in certain home care and food categories at their retail stores even as big brands push more sales through modern retail.

     

    Coming at a time when national brands increasingly bet on modern retail to drive their future growth, analysts say even large manufacturers such as Hindustan Unilever and Reckitt Benckiser are impacted.

     

    “In short term, national companies will have to either go for promotions or discounting to fight back market share,” says Gautam Duggad, an analyst at brokerage Prabhudas Lilladhar. “But it also means losing margins and that’s a trade-off call the companies will have to take,” he adds.

     

    While retailers attribute the success of their own brands to value offers, good packaging and their increasing credibility, consumer product makers say private labels are gaining mostly in low-involvement categories.

     

    QUALITY AT LOW PRICE

    “Customers have begun to like private labels due to better quality, high food safety standards, international look and feel of products, customized packaging created after customer feedback and the credibility of the retailer,” said William Savage, chief merchandising officer, Bharti Walmart, which has over 35 per cent market share in wheat flour segment, close to 22 per cent in tea and 20 per cent in salty snacks, or namkeen.

     

    Private labels are mostly priced much lower that branded products because of substantial marketing and distribution savings. Retailers make up for lack of media marketing through in-store promotions and prominent display.

     

    In Big Bazaar stores, which started selling own brands four years ago, private labels are among the best sellers in at least a dozen product segments. Future Group Chairman Kishore Biyani believes its brands such as Tasty Treat and Clean Mate are now established. “Three years ago, our private label sales grew mainly because of experimentation and trials by consumers. But now, sales are driven by repeat purchases,” says Biyani.

     

    “We have quality products packed innovatively, priced attractively and placed strategically at our retail stores. So the success of private brands is a combination of all four Ps,” he adds.

     

    Aditya Birla Retail CEO Thomas Varghese says its More Value and More Choice brands have got good traction after the firm repositioned its private labels two years ago. Its private label pickles, with the widest range of regional variants, outsell the likes of Mother’s Recipe and Priya Pickles in More outlets. Hand wash, toilet and floor cleaners and disposable tissues are among the other segments More brands are among the best sellers.

     

    MARKETERS UNFAZED

    While companies such as Dabur, Emami and Parle acknowledge that private labels are gaining ground, they say it’s on segments where product differentiation is low and have relatively lower shopper involvement in purchase decisions, and that it will be tough for retailers to challenge national brands in high-involvement segments.

     

    “When it comes to foods or personal and beauty care products, consumers have been loyal to branded items and will continue to remain so,” said George Angelo, Dabur India Ltd Executive Director-Sales. He expects retailers to reduce product launches and rationalise range in this space.

     

    Emami CEO Krishna Mohan said it will be difficult to make strong private labels in personal care and over-the-counter health care segments because they require stronger consumer understanding and brands will need to innovate to provide extra benefit to consumers. But he expects retailers to eventually get there. “We are sure they are working on the same and eventually will venture into these categories which are huge.”

     

    Private brands already account for close to 7 per cent of modern trade sales in India, compared to 1 per cent in China, according to a Nielsen survey that covered more than 50 countries last year.

     

    And the scope is huge. Private brands account for more than 40 per cent of the total sales of the world’s largest retailer Walmart. The rise of private labels comes at a time when modern retail is increasing its contribution to the top line of most consumer goods firms.

     

    For instance, the country’s largest consumer goods company HUL gets around 12 per cent of its Rs20,000-crore annual sales by selling goods at modern retail stores compared with just 5 per cent four years ago.

     

    Source:The Economic Times

    Copyright © 2012, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved

     

  • Preethi Kitchen Appliances continues to be the 'Official Kitchen Appliances Partner' for the third consecutive year

    Parle join Aircel Chennai Open as official partners

    By A Correspondent

     

    Parle, India’s largest manufacturer of biscuits and confectionery, has come on board as an “Official Partner” for the 2012 Aircel Chennai Open with their product Hide & Seek.

     

    The $450,000 Aircel Chennai Open, operated and organised by IMG Reliance, isIndia’s only andSouth Asia’s premier ATP World Tour Open 250 event. This edition of the Aircel Chennai Open will be held from January 2 to 8, 2012 at the SDAT Stadium in Chennai. The tournament will see in action an impressive line-up of Indian and international players, including world number 9 Janko Tipsarevic, world number 10 Nicolas Almagro, Somdev Devvarman, Rohan Bopanna and Mahesh Bhupathi, among others.

     

    Commenting on the partnership Mr Shalin Desai, Group Product Manager, Parle Products said: “We are really proud that Hide & Seek is an official partner for Aircel Chennai Open 2012. Over the years, the Aircel Chennai Open has brought a world class event to Indian people. For us, there are several parallels between the event and the brand. Hide & Seek as a brand appeals to the youth similar to the Aircel Chennai Open. The association gives us an opportunity to participate in one of the most exciting events of the year.”

     

    Meanwhile Preethi Kitchen Appliances has come on board as the ‘Official Kitchen Appliances Partner’ for the third consecutive year. Following two successful years atIndia’s only leading ATP World Tour event, Preethi Kitchen Appliances has signed a two-year agreement for Aircel Chennai Open 2012.

     

    Commenting on this partnership Vijay Srinivasan, Managing Director, Preethi Kitchen Appliances Pvt Ltd said: “In keeping with our tradition of being associated withIndia’s leading ATP Tennis tournament, Preethi has always been proud to partner with the Aircel Chennai Open. Aircel Chennai Open has been the perfect occasion for showcasing Preethi’s product ranges that are renowned for their Performance, Quality, Reliability and Safety.”

     

    A spokesperson from IMG Reliance said: “We are pleased to announce that Parle, the number one biscuit manufacturer inIndia, is partnering with Aircel Chennai Open 2012 as an Official Partner. It is of great pride to us that a global brand like Parle has chosen to come on board withIndia’s only ATP tournament. We look forward to a long and mutually beneficial association.”

     

    The spokesperson added that they are glad that Preethi Kitchen Appliances has decided to continue their association with Aircel Chennai Open.

  • Parle vying for a place in Guinness World Records

    Rally of the dolls for Parle

    By A Correspondent

    Parle Products, India’s largest biscuits and confectionery brand, is all set to enter the Guinness World Records, aiming to reach there with the Parle’s Golu Galata, the first festival to feature over 1 lakh Golu dolls at one place in Chennai.

    Over the last six years, Parle has been at the forefront of trying to revive the dying tradition of Golu Dolls prepared by people in Tamil Nadu during the Navratri festival. This year, Parle has asked all participants to come together to participate in a community Golu by displaying their Golus at a common location in Chennai’s Island Grounds during the festival. More than 1 lakh people are expected to participate – creating a world record. Officials from the Guinness World Records have confirmed that they will attend the event.

    Navratri Golu, is celebrated actively during nine days of Navratri festival in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. In Tamil Nadu, traditionally, women decorate various dolls (called Golus/Kolus) made of clay during Navratri celebrations by setting up odd numbers of steps and keeping Golus on it. This display is well decorated and friends and relatives are invited to witness the same. Through a detailed research, Parle found that due to time pressures, this tradition is slowly dying and is getting restricted to a select few households. Thus, to revive the fading tradition, Parle introduced this novel promotion called Parle Golu Galata contest in 2005 (Galata means a festival or a celebration).

    Mr Mayank Shah, Group Product Manager, Parle Products said, “It is a proud moment for us to be able to get to this rare record. When we started the Golu Galata festival our aim was to make the youth revisit our age-old customs and traditions. More than the achievement of a record, being able to view over one lakh Golu Dolls at one place showcases the fact that we have been able to create awareness among the youth of Tamil Nadu about this festival.”

    During the month Parle is also planning to organize several promotional activities to generate a buzz around the event, and has created a website for the event – www.parlegolugalata.com.