Product Life Cycle of COMPLAN (Maturity Stage)

Introduction StageOriginally launched during World War II, it was part of the ration for soldiers. After the end of the war, Glaxo launched the product for the mass market for which the positioning was decided as a product meant for adults in convalescence. However this positioning did not bring much success as Complan got dubbed as a “sick man’s source of nutrition”. It was repositioned and reintroduced as a complete planned food for children, superior to milk, which too found the going tough as the children did not like the taste of Complan and because the Indian mother did not agree with the notion that it could be superior to milk.

Growth StageWith the last repositioning Complan finally went onto the growth orbit and continued to gain new converts to its folds. The growth with this positioning was explosive.

Maturity StageWith the passage of years, especially with the opening of the Indian economy, the consumer started demanding more than just the values that Complan defined. They wanted a fun feel with the product and in this scenario Complan started becoming a product of the pre-1991 era. The growth started saturating and Complan faced the danger of moving into the decline stage in many parts of India.

Decline StageThe subheading is inappropriate as the brand has never really gone into decline. The parent company has repositioned the product by way of redefining the product communication or repackaging etc to bring it back into relevance. However there is a danger of Complan slipping into the decline stage unless it changes the image of Complan of being a ‘serious drink’.