New Delhi: An unexpected rush for Melody chocolate after Prime Minister Narendra Modi gifted a pack to Italian PM Giorgia Meloni has led to the popular toffee’s stock run out on quick commerce sites like Zepto, Instamart, and Blinkit in major cities across the country.
As searches for “Melody” and “Parle” went viral, social media users around the country posted screenshots of various quick commerce apps showing the candy had gone out of stock. The instant delivery app Instamart showed the toffee as ‘out of stock’ in Delhi, Noida, Bengaluru, Mohali, Mumbai, and Gurugram.
On Wednesday, PM Modi, who is in Rome, met the Italian PM and gifted her a pack of Melody.
“Prime Minister Modi has brought us a gift, a very very good toffee,” said PM Meloni in a post on her official X handle. The video showed the two leaders holding the packet and laughing.
The interaction instantly reminded citizens of the popular “Melodi” moniker — a combination of the names “Modi” and “Meloni” — highlighting the camaraderie between the two leaders.
People retweeted PM Meloni’s post with comments like “Meloni+ Modi=Melody”. Some even shared edited photos of the two prime ministers along with the candy’s famous slogan “Yeh Melogy itni chocolaty kyun hai?” (Why is this Melody so chocolate-y?)
An interesting development is while Parle Products is the private company behind Parle-G, Melody, Monaco, KrackJack and Hide & Seek, another namesake company Parle Industries has benefitted from this viral moment. Share price of Parle Industries rose 5 per cent following PM Meloni’s post.
Parle Industries, however, has no link to Melody. Incorporated in 1983, the company operates in infrastructure, real estate, and paper waste recycling.
(Edited by Janaki Pande)