PM Modi’s Melody gift to Meloni boosts Parle buzz

Mumbai | New Delhi: A diplomatic gift, an internet meme and a decades-old candy brand came together this week to produce the kind of organic advertising moment that marketers spend crores chasing.

During his Italy visit on Wednesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi gifted his Italian counterpart, Giorgia Meloni, a pack of Melody toffees, turning it into an unlikely global branding moment for Parle Products.

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Meloni described Melody as a "very very good toffee" in a short video that quickly went viral, riding on the already popular 'Melodi' meme culture around the two leaders' social media camaraderie and triggering a spike in searches and purchases of the decades-old confectionery brand.

"I was pleasantly surprised... had no idea the PM was carrying Melody," Arup Chauhan, executive director and owner of Parle Products, told ET. "We extend heartfelt gratitude to our prime minister for this gesture through our very own Indian power brand, Melody, further strengthening India's global positioning."

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Commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal posted on X, "India's toffee tale would surely be melody to the ears! Exports have grown nearly 166% since 2013-14." He said, "Made in India toffees wow the world" and that exports of toffees, caramel and similar sweets grew from ₹49.68 crore in FY14, to ₹132 crore in FY26.

The frenzy around the viral moment even helped Parle Industries' shares hit a 5% upper circuit on Wednesday, despite the company having no connection to Melody and its maker Parle Products, highlighting the strong public recall of the Parle name.

Invaluable Visibility
For the ₹15,568-crore Parle Products, the country's largest biscuits maker, the development could prove a windfall. "We are looking at scaling the brand's reach globally, in the 100 countries it is already available including across Europe, the US, Australia and New Zealand," Parle Products VP Mayank Shah told ET. "While Melody largely serves the Indian diaspora in global markets, we expect this (Modi-Meloni episode) to make the brand resonate with global consumers as well."

Shah described the episode as an organic visibility that's "far more valuable than" conventional advertising. "You cannot have paid content like this with the Prime Minister of India and the Prime Minister of Italy. It's impossible. I don't think there can be any brand that can really afford it," he said. Shah said there was a sudden and strong spike in sales of Melody since morning, with strong traction across quick commerce platforms. On Swiggy Instamart, Melody packs were sold out across several pin codes, though they remained available on Blinkit.

Experts said the episode highlights the staying power of legacy low-ticket brands even as consumer companies increasingly chase premiumisation.

"This is the kind of story made for virality; the brand would get advantage of the buzz for a couple of days," social commentator and brand specialist Santosh Desai said. "The buzz could evoke nostalgia in adults and curiosity among youngsters, maybe fuel sales, but for a few days."

The episode also reflects a broader contradiction in India's consumer market- while FMCG companies increasingly push premium products and affluent consumption, low-priced legacy brands continue to command outsized emotional recall and visibility. New high-value destinations for toffee exports from India include Saudi Arabia, Nigeria, Italy, the UK, Oman, Iraq, Spain, Morocco, Kuwait and the US, according to officials.

"Europe and the Gulf, once barely on the map, are now meaningful contributors," an official said. "This geographic diversification reduces concentration risk and reflects growing international confidence in Indian confectionery quality and packaging standards."

In FY26, India exported toffees and confectionery to 74 countries, up from 50 countries in FY214, with per-tonne realisation improving 2.4 times, indicating the shift from bulk, low-value trade to higher-margin, diversified markets.

"While volumes were already meaningful at 6,652 mt (in FY14), realisations were low, largely driven by a few bulk-volume markets such as Cameroon and Gambia, which alone accounted for over 50% of shipments," the official added.