India’s Prime Minister Handed Out a Toffee in Rome and Pumped the Wrong Stock at Home

Shares of Parle Industries climbed 5% to ₹5.25 on Tuesday. Earlier in Rome, Prime Minister Narendra Modi gifted his Italian counterpart a Melody toffee pack.

But the traders piled into the wrong Parle. The Mumbai-listed firm builds real estate, while the actual Melody maker stays private and off the market.

Parle Industries Stock Performance. Source: Google Finance

Indian Prime Minister Accidentally Pumped a Stock With a Toffee

The ‘Melodi’ shorthand went viral in December 2023 after Meloni posted a selfie with Modi at COP28 in Dubai. She tagged it with #Melodi, a nod to their shared phonetic overlap.

Indian social media users latched onto the joke, mixing in references to Parle’s classic Melody jingle whenever the leaders met. The meme returned with full force after Meloni shared a video clip on X.

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However, the stock that rallied has little to do with the Melody confectionery brand. Parle Industries Ltd, listed on the BSE, operates across infrastructure and real estate.

The company changed its name from Parle Software Limited in September 2019. Meanwhile, the actual maker of Melody toffees is Parle Products Pvt Ltd, a privately held confectionery business unlisted on any exchange.

The two companies trace back to the same Chauhan family business founded in 1929, which split into three groups: Parle Products, Parle Agro, and Parle Bisleri. Parle Industries was incorporated in 1983 and was a wholly owned subsidiary of Parle Bisleri Ltd until the financial year 1999-2000.

The incident once again highlights how name confusion and brand recognition can trigger speculative buying in the retail stock market, often pushing investors toward unrelated listed companies.

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