Parle Products, the Mumbai-based maker of Parle-G biscuits, has begun talks with at least five investment banks for a possible initial public offering (IPO), suggest media reports citing sources. Among the banks approached are Kotak Mahindra Capital, JM Financial Ltd and Axis Capital, with formal pitches expected to move forward by mid-May, while the discussions are still at an early stage.

The proposed IPO is likely to be entirely secondary, with no fresh issue component. That means existing shareholders would sell their stakes and the company would not raise fresh capital through a primary issue at this stage. Promoters own 100 per cent stake in the company.

Parle Products is among India’s largest unlisted companies, whose history spans nearly for a century now. Founded in 1929 by the Chauhan family in Mumbai, the company is now run by the third generation — Vijay, Sharad and Raj Chauhan — and remains fully promoter-owned.

Parle Products reported total income of around Rs 16,191 crore for the financial year ended March 2025. Rival Britannia Industries Ltd, which is listed, reported FY25 revenue of Rs 17,943 crore and retained its position as India’s largest biscuit and confectionery company by revenue. A Parle listing would bring the country’s two biggest biscuit makers into direct comparison on the public markets for the first time.

India’s biscuit, cookies and crackers market was valued at Rs 1.16 lakh crore in 2025 and is projected to reach Rs 1.64 lakh crore by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 6.8 per cent, according to the some reports. The market is also seeing a shift, with consumers moving beyond glucose biscuits to cookies and premium products such as oats, nuts and low-sugar variants.

Parle-G remains the company’s flagship product and was ranked the world’s top-selling biscuit brand in 2020 by Nielsen. Its wider portfolio includes Monaco, KrackJack, Hide & Seek, Melody and Mango Bite. ITC Ltd is another key player in the biscuits segment with its Dark Fantasy (choco fills), Sunfeast and Marie Light, among other products.