Parle-G: The humble biscuit that became the taste of India
Parle G is still going strong.
This iconic product, for its ubiquity as well as longevity, can serve as a viewpoint to tell several stories — how a product ticks all the boxes to become so popular with the masses and remains so for long; how India's vast poor population has been a large consuming class too that supports big FMCG companies; how the long-held popularity of Parle G points at India's largest consuming classes remaining massed at the bottom as India failed to lift them out of poverty for long; and how the premiumisation of Parle G indicates Indians gaining more spending power. Yet, the most memorable Parle G story remains of a humble biscuit that became the most loved food item of modern India, defying shifting fashions of taste and divisions of class.
From Gavaskar to migrant labourers
Legendary cricketer Sunil Gavaskar had a weakness for Parle G biscuits and loved to eat them with his tea or coffee.
He would pack lots of Parle G biscuits for his overseas tours but often finished them off in a few weeks, Once on a long tour in the West Indies, he ran out of Parle G and his family had to send packets of biscuits to him with whoever they found in Mumbai travelling to the West Indies.
A saint at a place near Ahmedabad couldn't give up his fondness for Parle-G biscuits. Before he died in 1962, he always ate Parle-G and drank tea and would offer these two items to his disciples who were unwell as a blessing.
