We want Complan’s growth story to be more progressive & forward looking: Tarun Arora

Launched in 1954, Complan is one of the leading health food drinks from the portfolio of Zydus Wellness Ltd. There has been an increased focus on nutrition fueled by the pandemic and growing amount of time that parents spent home; allowing them to focus further on their children’s daily consumption. Complan clocked 8% growth in 2020 in the GT channel on the back of increased focus on distribution and consistent messaging of ‘2X faster growth’.

Complan has now brought back a refreshed brand narrative focused at right nutrition and growth in its new integrated campaign. Further building on to the iconic and proven (clinically tested) proposition of 2X Faster Growth, Complan highlights the goodness of 34 vital nutrients, including 100% milk protein that help children achieve ‘Growth Jo Rakhe Aage’.

Speaking about the TVC, Tarun Arora, CEO, Zydus Wellness Ltd, in a release issued, had said, “As a brand that realised and proved the need for a child’s nutritional growth, we are committed towards enabling the same. With Complan’s strong presence within Indian households, we want to be able to empower, enable and be a part of every mother’s journey towards providing their child with a future where he or she is not just strong, but also confident.”

In conversation with Adgully, Tarun Arora, CEO, Zydus Wellness Ltd, elaborates on the thought behind the latest campaign, growth during the pandemic period, increasing the brand’s store footprint and more. 

The health beverage market is a highly competitive market. Recently Horlicks came out with a new value proposition. How is Complan trying to be different to get a better mind and market share?

Complan’s core proposition is that of ‘Clinically proven 2X faster growth’. The new communication not only stays true to the brand promise, but also contemporises the functional benefit of physical growth to growth that helps the kid stay ahead, a benefit sought by many parents. 

Growth or Growing boy was always the offering from Complan for many years. This new TVC is also trying to communicate the same, so what’s the objective of the new film? Who are you targeting and what’s the profile of this audience?

As mentioned earlier, Complan wants to stay true to its core proposition of 2X faster growth while laddering it to an emotional benefit of growth that helps the kid stay ahead. There is a big shift in the tonality of the brand – the old narrative was all about deficiency in nutrition leading to child being short and hence, missing out on the little moments of life; while the new narrative is about adequate nutrition that begins in childhood, which gives the kid an extra edge to stay ahead right from the beginning.

We are talking to parents who believe in investing in their child’s future early on and consider nutrition as one of the key areas of investment [others being good education, participation in sports & other extracurricular activities, development of good value system, etc.]. 

What was your brief to your creative agency and how did they come up with the idea for this TVC?

We wanted Complan’s growth story to be more progressive and forward looking. We wanted nutrition to be the hero in the child’s success story. Basis our interactions with mothers across India, we knew that mothers have only gotten more conscious about the nutritional value in their kid’s intake and the impact it has on their future. With Complan’s strong presence within Indian households, we want to be able to empower, enable and be a part of every mother’s journey towards providing their child with the right growth that keeps the child ahead in life. 

The brand clocked a good growth last year, especially due to the pandemic. What was the reason for the same and was the growth better than 2019?

2020 was a better year for Complan vis-à-vis 2019 despite the pandemic. The three key reasons that helped us pull the year together were – consistent messaging of 2X faster growth, strong distribution and increased demand as consumers became more health and nutrition conscious during the pandemic. 

Historically, health beverages have a strong market in the South and East. How are you planning to increase your presence in the rest of the markets where there is growth potential?

Complan has been consistently increasing its store footprint, especially in smaller towns of UP and Bihar, where there is tremendous growth potential. Complan is now present in over 5.25 lakh stores across India (source: Nielsen, January 2021), a 21% increase from 2019. 

Since you need to reach smaller towns, what’s going to be your overall media strategy to create impact and high visibility? Any indicative budget that you can share?

We will leverage multimedia approach to ensure we maximise reach. Digital will play a key role in our media strategy. Zydus Wellness will spend consistently on the brand.