Is Parachute Really 100% Coconut Oil? Market Analyst Ambareesh Baliga Responds To Viral Video

Coconut oil is one of the most commonly used oils across India. But the purity of coconut oils often remains a major concern for consumers. Now, a social media post has gone viral, raising questions about the authenticity of ‘100% pure coconut oil’ available in the market. Reacting to the viral video, prominent market analyst Ambareesh Baliga also explained how the manufacturers could be compromising the quality, as it’s not possible to offer coconut oil at a cheaper price due to rising input costs.

In a post on X, Baliga suggested that consumers can assess the authenticity of their favourite coconut oil brands by examining the retail price.

On X platform on Monday, Baliga shared his experience from a coconut oil production facility that has been running for over a century.

“I have a #coconutoil production facility - set up more than 110 years back - we pride ourselves for maintaining the quality for over a century, but find it very difficult to compete in the market where coconut oil is sold at below the conversion cost - leave aside the rest of the expenses like sorting - packing,” Baliga said.

He further broke down the input cost: the current price of copra, the main raw material, is Rs 240 per kg. From 1,000 kg of copra, about 650 litres of pure coconut oil are produced, making the cost Rs 370 per litre.

He added, “Price per litre works out to Rs 370… add all our expenses (except selling and marketing) it works out to Rs 390-400 per litre, then keep a small profit margin for the stakeholders.”

Baliga warned that anyone selling below this rate should raise suspicion.

“Anyone selling below this threshold - you can understand what's happening. And for larger brands, add huge marketing costs,” the analyst’s post concluded.

His post came in response to a viral video in which a woman raised concerns about the Parachute ‘100% pure coconut oil’. In the video, she pointed out that while the front of the bottle claimed the oil was made from 100% coconut, the ingredient details at the back mentioned the presence of vegetable oil.

As the video and Baliga’s post went viral, many users raised concerns about the product’s purity and authenticity.

“This is why we do it ourselves. Copra from coconut trees, dried and made into oil,” a user commented.

Some people also wondered what was driving the prices of the raw material. On this, Baliga explained: “Climate change - yields have dropped - also due to aging plantations - increased demand as consumers are getting health conscious.”