Mumbaikars will no longer be greeted by the aroma of freshly baked Parle biscuits in city's Vile Parle area. The 87-year-old Parle factory in Vile Parle has finally shut down. The decision was taken as there was gradual decline in the production capacity of the factory since the last few years.

No Parle in Mumbai's Vile Parle anymore; Parle G shuts down factory

MUMBAI/NEW DELHI: Mumbaikars will no longer be greeted by the aroma of freshly baked Parle biscuits in city's Vile Parle area. The 87-year-old Parle factory in Vile Parle has finally shut down.Parle-G, which started as Parle Gluco in 1939, is world's largest selling biscuit brand. The decision to shut its Vile Parle factory in Mumbai comes after the company's owner Vijay Chauhan decided to shutter the unit. There was a gradual decline in the production capacity of the local factory since the last few years."Production at the time of closure was negligible. It didn't make commercial sense to keep it running," said Arup Chauhan, Parle Products executive director."I am unhappy about the news. I live in the neighbourhood and the delicious smell in the air will be greatly missed," a local told news agency ANI.The Vile Parle unit will also be remembered for something more than the aroma of biscuits. It had often thrown open its doors to neighbouring schoolchildren to help them learn about biscuit and candy-making processes. This was long before KidZania, an edutainment theme park for children, came calling in Ghatkopar.Set up in 1929, the Vile Parle factory used to first manufacture just candies. Sugarboiled candies initially came in glass jars and later wrapped in translucent plastic wrappers and were sold across `kirana' stores under the Parle brand. The factory began biscuit production in 1939. Parle Products is the lar gest biscuit maker and among the leading food play ers in the country. It competes with rivals like Britannia Industries and ITC. According to the company's website, Parle Products has a 40% share of the total biscuit market and a 15% share of the total confectionary market in India.