Who is the Owner of Parle?

Almost every Indian household has this biscuit. It has been there during childhood, during power outages, during late exam hours, during all the breaks of this country. This biscuit is Parle-G. And the tale of its ownership and the command of the larger Parle empire is the most interesting, intricate, and truly Indian business story ever to have been told.

Who is the Owner of Parle?

The short answer is: Parle is a family owned company namely the Chauhan family. That answer leads to another question on the spot, as nowadays, “Parle is not a single company. It comprises three individual companies with different branches of the same family, bearing the Parle name. Understanding how it happened and the reasons behind it, is one of the most interesting stories in Indian business history.

What is the History of Parle Company?

In 1929, the Swadeshi movement formed, Mohanlal Dayal Chauhan opened the first factory in Parle, Vile Parle, Mumbai. He got into the confectionery trade and this was inspired by the call of movement to market Indian products as he had learned the trade during a visit to Germany. 

The Forbes mentions: “Chauhan's grandfather Mohanlal Dayal set up Parle in 1928 to make confectionery in what used to be a cattle shed.”

It was not a man who began with money or contacts. Mohanlal Chauhan hailed from Pardi near Valsad in Gujarat. He went to Mumbai in order to earn a living and initially, tailoring was his profession. But this was not profitable and therefore he embarked into the food business by selling snacks. He owned a bakery that produced bread, buns, rusks, scones, and nankhatai.

Filled with knowledge and imported equipment, Parle began with only 12 employees. The company was named after the suburb in which it was founded - Vile Parle. Interestingly, they forgot to give a name to the factory given their hectic schedule and as a result, the name Parle was adopted. 

Parle products came into existence with the development of the first product, the Parle Orange Candy and the start of a ten-year specialization in confectionery products. It wasn't until 1939 that Parle made its foray into the world of biscuits with the introduction of the Parle Gluco Biscuit. 

The Parle Products website mentions: “We baked our first biscuit in 1939: Parle Gluco. That humble beginning gave rise to India’s most iconic biscuit, Parle-G.”

The Great Parle Split: One Family, Three Companies

The Parle of today is not a single company. It was divided into three separate companies over the decades and the three companies are owned by members of Chauhan family. All three, though, still retain the Parle name. 

The Forbes India mentions: “The Parle Group’s family split happened in the 1970s, resulting in the division of the company into three entities. Family disagreements, diverging interests and strategies, as well as the company’s expansion and diversification, led to the splitting of the business. The business was subsequently divided among the siblings. Kantilal, his sons and nephew—Vijay, Raj, and Sharad—took the reins of Parle Products. Jayantilal and his sons Prakash and Ramesh took over Parle Agro and Parle Bisleri, respectively.”

The result is three companies that all legally share the Parle name but are otherwise entirely separate businesses.

Company 1: Parle Products- The One With Parle-G

It is the company which most people refer to as Parle. It is the biscuit and confectionery business, and it is the business that makes Parle-G, the biggest-selling biscuit brand in the world.

Today, the biscuit empire that was founded as resistance to the British by its founder Mohanlal Chauhan is being managed by his heirs Vijay Chauhan, Sharad Chauhan and Raj Chauhan each managing various parts of Parle Products. 

Company 2: Parle Agro- The One With Frooti

Parle Agro is the beverages arm of the Parle legacy. Parle Agro is owned by Prakash Chauhan and his daughters, Schauna, Alisha and Nadia and has brands like Frooti and Appy Fizz. 

Prakash introduced the first tetra-pack mango beverage (Frooti) in India in 1985. Frooti became the best selling mango beverage in the country which is a title that it has enjoyed over decades.

Company 3: Parle Bisleri- The One With Bottled Water

The packaged water giant of the family is Parle Bisleri, which is currently under the name Bisleri International. The Jayantilal Chauhan family of Parle Group later on took over the failing brand of Bisleri in 1969 that was seeking to leave the Indian market at a cost of Rs. 4 lakh. 

Parle Bisleri shares are owned and controlled by the family itself led by Ramesh Chauhan, his wife Zainab Chauhan and his daughter Jayanti Chauhan. 

Through three generations, the Chauhan family has managed to negotiate the path of independence, the liberalisation wave, competitive wars against other brands and family splits as well. And through every challenge, the yellow and white wrapper of Parle G with the little girl on it has always been constant in every shop in India.

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