MPW 2022: How Schauna and Nadia Chauhan are pushing to make Parle Agro Rs 20,000 cr company by 2030

For sisters Schauna and Nadia Chauhan, the eldest and youngest of the three daughters of Parle Agro Founder Prakash Chauhan, it’s all about dividing responsibilities in their own areas of strength. So, while Schauna, 46, takes care of manufacturing, compliance, quality, finance and technical functions, Nadia, 37, is in charge of strategy, sales and marketing, and R&D. Alisha, 44, the middle sister, oversees CSR.

Schauna, who joined the company in 1998 after graduating and took over as CEO in 2006, says one of the ways to make a company grow is for people to grow along with it. She cites the example of the initiative Parle Agro took when the plastic straw ban came into place. “There wasn’t enough capacity for PLA [polylactic acid, a bioplastic] straws in the country. So, we got in touch with a few MSMEs and suggested to them that they put up PLA straw plants. We helped them get loans, better machinery, etc., and we helped them build completely new infrastructure. I think by the end of this year we will have 12 new plants,” says Schauna. The idea is for them to not only meet the demands of Parle Agro, but also cater to other companies. “As we grow, we are making other people grow with us,” she says. Another instance of this philosophy at work is mango processing. As one of the largest procurers of mangoes from south India (Parle Agro currently procures around 170,000 million tonnes or MT of mango fruits annually, up from 1,000 MT in 1985), it is helping entrepreneurs put up mango processing plants, upgrade technology, increase capacity, etc. Today there are 12-15 mango pulp processors that they work with.

As for younger sister Nadia, who joined the company in 2003 as a 17-year-old while pursuing her graduation, her standout aspect has been clarity of vision. When she joined, Parle Agro was primarily a one-brand company with nearly 95 per cent of sales coming from Frooti. “One of the first things I did was to help articulate a clear vision for the company, which provided clarity to everybody involved in the business in terms of where we need to go and what we need to do. This empowered the entire organisation in a big way, allowing for people to drive towards a common goal,” says Nadia, Joint MD and Chief Marketing Officer of Parle Agro. This has resulted in the company seeing its sales grow from Rs 300 crore then to almost Rs 8,000 crore now. “Frooti’s dependence has come down to 48 per cent and even water (Bailley) is today a Rs 1,000-crore business,” says Nadia. Parle Agro expects to be a Rs 20,000-crore company by 2030.

Both the sisters enjoy a great relationship with their father, who also serves as a mentor. “Over the years, whenever I have not understood something or have had a problem, I have spoken to him. Of course, the problems get easier as your years of experience increase,” says Schauna, adding that she takes quick decisions, once she has understood the subject. “I listen to everybody’s decision first. And then I’m usually the last one to go. Because I don’t want anybody else’s decision to be influenced by mine,” she says.

Nadia, on the other hand, says her decision-making is intuitive. “I work very collaboratively with people from within the organisation. I take great pride that I recruited a core team early on when I joined the business and they are still with me,” she says.

Parle Agro is credited with creating categories in India that did not exist, such as Appy Fizz, a sparkling fruit drink. It entered the dairy business last year with the launch of flavoured milk Smoodh. “Now, as we speak, we have launched a new range of products —Smoodh Fruit Smoothies—which is yoghurt-based fruit smoothies,” says Nadia.

While in the past Parle Agro focussed on a limited number of brands, it is now looking beyond them. “Today, we’ve come to a place where we have put in a lot of investment in scaling up our sales and distribution network [and] in technology integration, which has allowed us to take on a much larger portfolio. So, if we look at over the next five years, we will see a much faster expansion in terms of brands and flavours as compared to perhaps what we have seen in our business over the past five years,” says Nadia, adding that the focus this year will primarily be on dairy products.

Both sisters are proud of their ability to face challenges without deviating from the goal. “When we get stuck with a problem, if one road is not going to be, just don’t stop. We look for another door to knock on to be able to get to the same goal,” says Schauna.

@smitabw