SARASWATI COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING,

Department of Master of Management Studies

Research Methodology Project

Title: PRODUCT LIFE CYCLE OF PARLE-G

Guided By: Priyadarshani Poddar
Date: 22-02-2010
Mohd. Farhan Ansari – 02

Abstract: Parle-G or Parle Glucose biscuits are one of the most popular
confectionary biscuits in India. For decades, the product was instantly recognized
by its iconic white and yellow wax paper wrapper with the depiction of a young girl
covering the front. The Objective of the Research is to find out the preference of
people in Glucose biscuit also to know “Why the Parle-G is no. 1 in glucose
biscuits segments”. Our Research goal is to study about the attributes which make
Parle-G no.1 biscuits in glucose biscuits segment, for which we have made a
questionnaire and selected a sample size of 30 people that is a sampling base
technique for which we have set a questionnaire of 16 questions which is done on
the basis of structured (closed ended) interview and also to find out which factors
affect the growth of Parle-G. The Probable out come is that the three major
attributes which influence the position of the biscuit in the market were Quality,
Price and Distribution of the biscuit.

Key Words: SPSS Software;

Introduction

In our research we targeted to study the problem i.e. – “Why the Parle-G is no. 1
in glucose biscuits segments” which formulation is related to relationship between
variables like Why people buy Parle-G, Do ads impact in consumption of consumer.
Various people have various reasons to consume it, some consume it for the value it
offers while others consume it for sheer taste, and for some it is a meal
substitute for others it is a tasty healthy nourishing snack. Campaign that was
launched by Parle for Parle-G was - ’G’ means “GENIUS”. For this a series of ads
were shown in which a little kid eats Parle G and tricks the wise and experienced
people. Just a few months back a reminder TV commercial was launched for Parle-G
where the product is being called ‘Hindustan ki takat’
Background Information:

About Parle
Parle Products has been India's largest manufacturer of biscuits and
confectionery, for almost 80 years. Makers of the world's largest selling biscuit,
Parle-G, and a host of other very popular brands, the Parle name symbolizes
quality, nutrition and great taste. With a reach spanning even the remotest
villages of India, the company has definitely come a very long way since its
inception.
Many of the Parle products - biscuits or confectioneries, 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. While to
consumers it's a beacon of faith and trust, competitors look upon Parle as an
example of marketing brilliance.
About Parle-G
 Parle-G or Parle Glucose biscuits are one of the most popular confectionary
biscuits in India. Parle-G is one of the oldest brand names in India and is the
largest selling brand of biscuits in India. For decades, the product was instantly
recognized by its iconic white and yellow wax paper wrapper with the depiction of a
young girl covering the front. Many counterfeit companies have attempted to
recreate and sell lower quality products of similar names and virtually identical
package design.
There was a time when Parle-G’s dominance was threatened by rival brands,
especially the Tiger brand from Britannia.
The company's slogan is popular among the Indian consumer population, reading G
means Genius. The name, "Parle-G", is derived from the name of the Indian rail
station, Vile Parle, where the Parle production factory is based.
The biggest concern is that the brand shouldn’t become outdated as it is a historic
brand. The brand has managed to retain its leadership position because it has
evolved its campaign with every consumption trend.

Research Goal:

Our Research goal is to study about the attributes which make Parle-G no.1
biscuits in glucose biscuits segment, for which we have made a questionnaire and
selected a sample size of 30 people that is a sampling base technique for which we
have set a questionnaire of 16 questions which is done on the basis of structured
(closed ended) interview and also to find out which factors affect the growth of
Parle-G that can be seen in the following PLC below:

We also studied the consumer behavior

In India it is a habit to have biscuits along with chai or tea - Parle G is

referred to as "biskut" in rural
areas - thus when asked for biskut to a shopkeeper it simply means Parle-G biscuit
in rural areas.
Understanding consumer behavior is tedious. The study of consumer behavior includes
the knowledge
about the consumer, his buying motives & buying habits. Keeping all this in mind,
the factors
influencing the buying behaviour of consumers are:

Preliminary Details

Unstructured and Structured interview:

A major decision area in question design is the degree and the form of structure
imposed on the respondent. The various strategic offer options that includes
unstructured response (or open-ended response, the free choice of words) and
structured response (or closed response, specified alternatives provided). Close
responses typically are categorized as multiple- choice, checklist, rating, or
ranking response strategies.

We have selected the structured interview for our questionnaire because that gives
the choice to the respondent and it is convenient for them to reply.

We have categorized our questionnaire as:

Multiple Choices: Multiple-choice questions are appropriate where there are more
than two alternatives or where we seek gradation of preference, interest, or
agreement.

Rating question: Rating questions ask the respondent to position each factor on a
companion scale, verbal, numeric, or graphic.

Likert Scale is the most frequently used variation of the Summarized rating scale.
Summarized scale consists of statements that express either a favorable or
unfavorable attitude towards the object of interest. We had asked the respondent to
give their opinion about various attributes of Parle-G

Literature survey:

The literature review or survey section examines recent (or historically

significant) research studies, company data, or industry reports that act as a
basis for the proposed study. Research related literature and related secondary
data from a comprehensive perspective, moving to more specific studies that are
associated with our study.

The literature review helps us to understand the need for the proposed work to
appraise the shortcomings and/or informational gap in secondary data sources. This
analysis may go beyond scrutinizing the availability or conclusion of past studies
and their data, to examine the accuracy of secondary sources, the credibility of
these sources, and the appropriateness of earlier studies.

The literature review is basically a secondary data that we have gathered from the
web site of Parle-G, mouthshut.com and various other sources which specified that
the Parle-G is Number 1 in glucose biscuits Segment. On the basis of this secondary
data we began our research. The opinion given by the people on mouth shut .com was
totally favoring our study.
Hypothesis Formulated:

Once a researcher knows what his problem is, he can make a guess or number of
guesses. The guess which researcher makes is the hypotheses which either solve the
problem or guide him in further investigation or research.

If the hypothesis is proved, the solution can be found. If it is not proved,

alternative hypotheses need to be formulated and tested. In our situation that as
per the secondary data it is shows that Parle-G is no. 1in glucose biscuits segment
is our problem which we need to study. The hypothesis for our survey have been
formulated as follows:

H0: There is no reason for Parle-G being number one in the glucose biscuit segment.
H1: There is a reason for Parle-G being number one in the glucose biscuit segment
and we need to find out the reason for it.
LITERATURE REVIEW

Arunagiri (2006) in his study entitled, “A study on market potential of true

Biscuits in
Chennai city “. The study focused to know the dealers, customers and retailers
attitude regarding
Biscuits sales”. Samples were selected randomly. 125 samples were selected of 125
40 dealers
and remaining samples were customers. The study concluded that majority of the
customers
expected quality and taste items. Dealers are expecting quality and more profit
margins. Anitha
(2006) has made an attempt to study the consumer attitude pertaining to Biscuits in
her study
entitled “Attitude and behaviour of consumer towards Biscuits, a study with
reference to
Madurai Kamaraj University Hostel students”. In her findings she has stated that
the most
prominent reason for preferring a specific brand because of its quality and taste.
Jegan, A. and Dr. Sudalaiyandi, S.( 2013) A study on consumer buying behaviour
towards various types of Sunfeast (ITC) biscuits in Kovilpatti is conducted to know
the
consumers’ preferable taste, awareness about various brands, about the choice and
their
frequency of preference, satisfaction of Sunfeast Biscuit. The result of the study
shows that
Sunfeast biscuits have a good market share in Kovilpatti city.

Dr. M. Arutselvi,( 2012), ”A Study On Consumers’ Preference Towards Various

Types Of Britannia Biscuits In Kanchipuram Towns”. The topic deals with the study
of
consumer behaviour towards Britannia Biscuits. The consumer behavior varies from
brand to
brand on the basis of quality, quantity, price, taste, advertisement etc. It is
concluded that the
market study on biscuits at Kanchipuram town as helped to know the status of
biscuits. It has
revealed the requirements of the taste of the consumer of biscuits. Britannia
Biscuits are
having a good market share in Kanchipuram Town

G. Prakash (2004), “A Study on Consumer Buying Behaviour on Britannia Marie Gold

Biscuits” has made some notable observations regarding consumer buying behavior.
Every business envisioned at maximizing the productivity and the profit never fails
to
show immense interest on knowing their customer requirements. Fulfilling the needs
and satisfying the customers becomes very much essential, since a satisfied
customer
becomes an unpaid advertisement for the company. It is equally important to assure
the
dealers and retailers if the company is in the business of Fast Moving Consumer
Goods.

Research Design

Type and Nature of the Study:

The hypothesis that we want to study wants to find why is Parle-G number
one glucose biscuit. This has made the research base to be cause and effect
oriented. The problem was taken in to consideration looking at the data available
on the consumption pattern of glucose biscuit. The data showed 65% of glucose
biscuit market share is owned by Parle-G.

The consumption trends were also observed among the population surrounding us and
online portals. The cause for this affection towards biscuit was not known hence
the study stresses on the causes of why is this biscuit number one. The question
designing was mostly kept closed ended with question targeting at the performance,
conformance, aesthetics and reliability of the product. The product under
consideration has no segment and is targeted at population in general without
differentiating its consumers.

Sample Design:

The sample to be chosen was people who have consumed Parle-G biscuits and
there was no other criterion. The sampling technique used in this case was
convenient sampling. The chances of errors were less, for the data, due to
commonality of the product and positive response of each of the respondent. Also
the data to be collected was of type which could be answered by anyone who eats
biscuit. The sample contained male and females both, across all ages. There was no
duplication of the sample as all the samples were from different areas which were
in the proximity of the interviewer.

The sample was up to date and the study was conducted recently and hence the data
was relevant for the current timing. The method of sampling was random and hence
probabilistic. The sample size also is not true representation of the population
under consideration but an experimental sample of population. The numbers of
samples were minimum 30 due to limitation on time bases and cost of research.
Data Collection Method:

The data was collected from different sources and of different types. The
initial study of the product was done online and the data collected for it was from
the companies website “www.parle.com“. Some secondary data was collected from web
site “www.mouthshut.com”. This site gave opinions from different people.

The data collected from this source was passive and it just gave a small insight in
to the products favoritism among the people. The primary data was collected by
questionnaire method where the questions were closed ended as the sample size was
greater and analysis of the study would become easier owing to the definite replies
for the questions.

Data Analytic Techniques Used:

For the analysis of the replies the primary data was uploaded on the SPSS
software and then with the help of it graphs and plots were plotted for univariate,
bivariate and tirvariate analysis. The data collected was non-parametric in nature
and involved no question which was of the parametric form and hence mean could not
be tested for the sample size.

Analysis Of Data
Age Group:
The there was no particular age group for consideration and the population studied
contained individuals from all ages. Children belong to age from 5 to 12 years,
Teenagers belonged to age from 13 to 22 years, Young working Class included
individuals from age 23 to 40 and 40 onwards were included in experienced working
class. The pie chart above shows that the sample size was a good representative of
the actual population which has almost the same demographics.

Hunger satisfaction:
The question was intended to check whether the size of the packaging is according
to the demand for it. It can be seen that majority of the people belong to the
group who feel that Parle-G can take care of hunger of a person
Which attribute is stronger?
Three attributes were tested as to why the biscuit was liked by the
individuals. The response from the survey shows that approximately equal amount of
people belonged to each category and it could be suggested that different
individuals liked it for different reasons.

Quality of biscuit:
The survey conducted shows that the respondents were happy with the current
quality of the biscuits. The plot above shows that most of the population falls
under the good and Ok category. The product meets the expectation of the customers
Quality/ Price/ Availability improvements:

The question targeted was asked to understand what a respondent would do if

given a chance to improve various attributes of the biscuit. It could be seen that
3 attributes were major for success of the biscuit the quality, price and its
distribution channel. The graph above shows that there is a major concentration in
the people who accepted that these attributes were excellent for the product and
only some changes if required should be done. This shows that the biscuit has a
superior reach in terms of the cumulative effect of all these attributes.

Brand Loyalty:
The question checked out how brand loyal were the respondent in terms of
having the biscuit. It was seen that about 60% of the respondents were not brand
loyal and were ready to take any biscuit if Parle-G was not available to them. This
should be the main reason why Parle-g should have a good distribution channel so
that there is no chance given for a competitor to enter into the market. The plot
also shows that not many people are so much specific with what kind of biscuit they
eat.
Brand loyalty and Attribute:
A study was done to check whether there was any relation between the
attributes and the brand loyalty for the biscuits. The graph above shows that
people who buy the biscuit for taste majority of them would switch to some other
biscuit if the particular biscuit is not available. In case of the people who buy
it for it being cheap it can be seen that more number of people would try going to
some other shop. It shows that people are price cautious in case of buying and also
do not want to invest time in searching for the needed product.

Add impact and kind of channel:

The question asked was to check whether the advertisements of the product
affect the buying decision of the people and what kind of add would they prefer. It
was seen that most of the people say that they would prefer T.V. commercials out of
the given Medias of advertisements but at the same time they say that
advertisements do not have impact on their buying decision. The company can hence
try to decrease its cost buy reducing the cost on commercials and get the benefits
by reducing the price on the product and increasing reach.
Quality and Deviation:
The majority of the people said that the current quality was at par with
their expectation. This was checked whether they have faced any deviation in the
quality of the biscuits. It was seen that the changes observed by the people were
very rarely. This must have been due to the cost cutting in the process, automation
or changes in the original recipe with out prior notice but still the number of
people who faced this was minimal.

Preference:
The preference has been checked out between Parle-g and any other biscuit
as their first choice. It can be seen that majority of the people preferred Parle-g
as their first choice in selecting the biscuit. This means that the product has
been successfully placed in the minds of the people as their first choice.
Preference and Age group:
The study was done to check whether the age group has any effect on the
consumption pattern of the biscuit. It can be seen from the cross tab above that no
such relation could be built or found out from the data collected. The numbers of
individuals are distributed evenly on both the sides of preference the graph for
the same is shown below

Results of Data Analysis

Hypothesis Substantiated/ Unsubstantiated:

After the analysis of our data we had to reject our null hypothesis. So
there was a reason for the success of Parle-G which helped it to become number one
in glucose biscuit segment.

Conclusion:

The three major attributes which influence the position of the biscuit in
the market were Quality, Price and Distribution of the biscuit. Parle-G also enjoys
the market share as it is in the market for more than 60 years hence it has a
follow up from different generation. The distribution channels takes into
consideration and see to it that there is no lag in the supply of the biscuits in
the market, there have been lag in supply of competitors biscuit.

The competitors for the biscuit are very recent and have been proved to be no
threat till this point of time. Other companies have come up with glucose biscuits
too but they have not been able to capture the market that successfully. The
Quality of the competitor is not up to the mark as compared to Parle-G. The price
is highly competitive in the market and it is the cheapest among all the biscuits
in the glucose biscuit segment. The value for money that people get from Parle-G is
much better as compared to any other biscuit.
Recommendation:
During the study it was seen that people are not influenced by commercials
of Parle-G hence the company can save the cost on promotion and the funds could be
used at some other needed place. This cost reduction can be conveyed to the
customer or the profits of the company.

Limitation of study:

1. The time duration, for which the study was conducted, was less hence the sample
size was restricted to about 30 individuals
2. The cost factor also limited our reach to our vicinity.

References

Bibliography:
1. Research Methodology by N. Thanulingom
2. Research Methodology by C. R. Kothari
3. Methodology of Research in Social Science by Dr. O. R. Krishnaswami

Webliography:
4. www.google.com
5. www.mouthshut.com
6. www.parleproducts.com
7. www.indiainfoline.com
8. www.wikipedia.org
 Annexure

A
Project Report On
Why Parle – G is No1 in Glucose Biscuts

I am the student of Sarawati College of Engineering Dept.of MMS doing survey for
above topic in the area of Research Methodology under the guidance of Prof.
Priyadarshani Poddar.

We request you please answer all the questions up to best of your faith and
integrity.

Questionnaire:

1. What is your age?

2. You are (please tick)?

□ Male □ Female

3) You Own
□ 4 wheeler □ 2 wheeler

4. Until now; have you once tested Parle-G

□ Yes □ No

5. How often do you have Parle-G

Very bad

Very good
 1
2
3
4
5

6. Most of the time you prefer

□ Parle-G □ any other brand

7. Is one packet of Parle-G (Rs 4-100gm) sufficient to fill your hunger?

Not at all

Completely

1
2
3
4
5

8. How do you rate the quality of Parle-G

Very bad
 Very good

1
2
3
4
5

9. Have you ever faced deviation in quality of biscuits?

Never

Often

1
2
3
4
5

10) If yes have you made a complain

□ Yes □ No

11) Why do you prefer Parle-G?

□ Taste □ Glucose □ Cheap

12) Does Advertisement make you feel that you should buy Parle-G?
□ Yes □ No

13) If Parle-G is not available

□ than you buy some other biscuit.

□ try if it is available in other shop
14. Do you think company should change the packaging & color of the cover?
□ Yes □No

15) What further improvement do you want in Parle-G?

Lower

Higher

1
2
3
4
5
* Quality

Lower

Higher

1
 2
3
4
5
* Price

Lower

Higher

1
2
3
4
5

* Availability

Lower

Higher

1
2
3
4
5
* Packaging
Lower

Higher

1
2
3
4
5
* Freshness

Lower

Higher

1
2
3
4
5
* Taste
16) What kind of advertisement you prefer?
□ TV □ Newspaper □ Magazine □ Bill board (outdoors)

- -