COMPLAN CASE STUDY

Submitted By:
Siddharth Himmatramka
Section D
Roll No:12FN-128

Complan was launched by Glaxo Laboratories as a complete and balanced

nourishment for serious medical and surgical patients unable to take normal
food.Complan when it was first launched in India was promoted ethically.
But in 1970 , following the plan to increase the over the counter sales of
Complan Glaxo decided to mass advertise this product .It was positioned
directly against milk by claiming to have all the 23 vital nutrients as compared
to milk's 9. This resulted in creating a high degree of awareness and trials .The
consumer off take rose by almost 3 times .But after the initial success this
campaign was dropped as it was not practical for Glaxo to replace milk with
Complan.
So in order to market the product to the masses Glaxo decided to compete
against other health beverages players like Horlicks,Viva and Bournvita. As
Horlicks was the then market leader the fight was basically against
Horlicks.Complan was portrayed to have more vital ingredients as compared to
Horlicks but this strategy flopped and sales declined during the 74-75 period for
the first time.
After various consumer surveys and review of strategy , marketing strategy of
Complan went through a radical change. It was repositioned and was now
positioned - not by competitor but by target user and usage occasion. Children
who were fussy eaters ,workaholic husbands, elders and women(housewives)
who were busy taking care of others in their families were now targeted.

In addition new flavours were introduced like the

chocolate(popularity),cardamom and saffron(rich flavour and health benefits)
and strawberry(reserved) to increase appeal and acceptance among different
target groups.
By this new positioning Glaxo was able to place Complan in a unique slot that
did not had a real substitute and at the same time a new price-value perception
was created for the brand.
The repositioning strategy along with introduction of new flavours increased the
sales of Complan by almost 2 times in 4 years. Availability of a full-fledged
commercial and heavy use of television advertisement gave Complan much
needed popularity.