Prime Minister Narendra Modi gifts a packet of "Melody" toffees to the Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, in Rome on May 20, 2026. Photo credit: @GiorgiaMeloni/ANI Video Grab
In an interesting turn of events, a penny stock, Parle Industries Ltd. hit its upper price band of 5%, closing at ₹5 a share, after Indian investors mistake it for the FMCG company Parle Products Pvt Ltd. which makes the “Melody” chocolate toffees.Thank you for the gift pic.twitter.com/7ePxbJwPbA— Giorgia Meloni (@GiorgiaMeloni) May 20, 2026The investors were reacting to a video that the Prime Minister of Italy, Giorgia Meloni, posted featuring her and Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi, where the latter gifted his Italian counterpart the chocolate, suggesting that the name of the brand is a portmanteau of the two leaders’ names.Parle Products Pvt Ltd. , an unlisted company, is known for household snacks Parle-G, Monaco, Krack Jack, Kismi and Monaco.Following the incident, the Trade and Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal posted on his X page that India’s toffee exports had more than doubled in the past decade to ₹132 crore in 2025-26. India sold ₹5 crore worth of toffees to Italy, making the European nation the sixth largest export destination. Saudi Arabia, however, is the largest importer of Indian toffees, buying over ₹25 crore worth of toffees from India, according to the Union Ministry of Commerce and Trade.PM Modi in Italy | LIVETo be sure, toffee, caramel and similar sweets as a category constituted just 0.0034% of the total exports of ₹39.03 lakh crore, as of 2025-26, according to the data. Moreover, India is not the largest confectionery exporter in the world. Mexico, Spain and Netherlands were the top three confectionary exporters in the world as of 2025, according to UNCOMTRADE.The episode becomes important in the context of awareness levels among retail investors. In a study, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) said that most investors depend on social media influencers to make their decisions. This is one of the many instances in the past couple of years, when retail investors were put at a disadvantaged position due to a lack of credible information or euphoria over investments. Published - May 20, 2026 08:05 pm IST
