Lockdown 2.0: Parle-G maker bucks trend; plants hum at 60% capacity

Mayank Shah, senior category head, Parle Products, admits that the first phase of the lockdown saw the company operate with a few plants and acute labour shortage

The yellow pack with the picture of a cherubic baby sits quietly on supermarket racks. One of India’s best-known comfort foods — Parle-G biscuits — is available in stores despite the nationwide lockdown that has hampered production in overall fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector for a month now.

At nearly 60 per cent capacity utilisation, Parle Products, maker of Parle-G, appears to be bucking this trend by keeping production lines going, encouraging workers to get back to work, talking to district authorities to meet hygiene standards and pushing the distribution wheel in the face of growing number of containment zones and