India's Toffee Industry Hits Global Spotlight After Viral Gift Exchange Between Modi and Meloni

India’s toffee industry has suddenly found itself at the centre of global internet culture, diplomacy and even stock market excitement after a viral moment involving Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Italian counterpart Giorgia Meloni. India’s toffee exports have jumped 166 percent over the last 12 years, rising from Rs 49.68 crore in 2013-14 to Rs 132 crore in 2025-26. Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal came up with the data after Meloni thanked PM Modi for gifting her ‘Melody’ toffees, reviving the light-hearted “Melodi” wordplay associated with the two leaders on social media. “India’s TOFFEE TALE would surely be melody to the ears! Exports have grown nearly 166% since 2013-14,” Goyal said in a post on social media. In the clip, Meloni can be heard saying, “Prime Minister Modi brought as a gift, a very, very good toffee — Melody.” The light-hearted moment – the video crossed 100 million views on Instagram within a few hours – quickly revived the hugely popular “Melodi” trend, a social media nickname created by combining Modi and Meloni’s names after their interactions at global events, including the COP28 summit in Dubai in 2023. The online buzz around Melody toffees did not remain limited to memes and diplomacy. It also spilled over into Dalal Street. Shares of Parle Industries witnessed heavy buying on Wednesday and surged 5 percent to hit the upper circuit limit after Meloni’s video went viral. The stock initially opened quietly but gained momentum as retail investors rushed to buy shares after seeing the word “Melody” trend online alongside the “Parle” name. More than 8.5 lakh shares of the company were traded on the BSE during the session. However, there was one major confusion behind the rally. Many investors mistakenly assumed that Parle Industries was the company behind Melody toffees. In reality, Melody is manufactured by Parle Products, the FMCG giant known for brands such as Parle-G, Monaco, KrackJack, Hide & Seek and Kaccha Mango Bite. Unlike Parle Industries, Parle Products is not listed on the stock market. Market experts say the incident highlights how social media trends and viral moments are increasingly influencing investor behaviour, especially in penny stocks and lesser-known companies. Parle Industries itself operates in entirely different sectors, including infrastructure, real estate, paper and allied products. Still, the viral Melody moment was enough to create a sudden spike in trading activity. The episode also shows how internet culture can unexpectedly intersect with business, politics and financial markets within hours. What started as a simple gift exchange between two world leaders eventually boosted conversations around Indian exports, revived a viral meme trend and triggered confusion-driven buying on Dalal Street.