Product life cycle- Kitkat

Submitted by-
Rishika Jain
21DM232
INTRODUCTION STAGE (1935 –
1945)
KitKat was originally known as
Rowntree's chocolate crisp and
debuted in 1935 as a four-finger
chocolate (4 Bars). Two-finger (2
Bars) KitKat was introduced later in
1937. "A snack that a man might
take to work in their pack and can
have a break at their tea time" was
the value that the product offered.
GROWTH (1988-2002)
Nestle increased production and
distribution by providing new
facilities in Japan and additional
manufacturing setups in Malaysia,
India, and China. Later in 1988
Nestle purchased the rights to
produce KitKat from Rowntree for
$4.5 billion. In 1999, KitKat
introduced "KitKat Chunky," a new
product targeted at younger
consumers and the company's first
significant brand extension. Nestle
had great success with it.
DECLINE (1945-1947)
After World War II (1945–1947), KitKat
suffered greatly as a result of the
economy's collapse and an increase in
milk prices. To remedy the problem,
KitKat discontinued using milk coating
and switched to a dark chocolate one.
People didn't enjoy the flavor of KitKat
as a result, which led to a fall in sales.
GROWTH STAGE (2006 – 2015)
Nestlé said in September 2006 that it
will eliminate 645 jobs and switch to
producing Smarties exclusively. They
said that this change will make it
possible to invest £20 million to
upgrade the outdated York facility and
increase Kit Kat manufacturing. KIT KAT
was listed in the Guinness Book of
Records in March 2010 with 17.6 billion
fingers sold annually and 540 KIT KAT
fingers devoured globally per second.
To create more than a billion Kit Kat
bars annually, Nestlé established a new
$5 million manufacturing line in York in
2010. The third-best-selling chocolate
bar in the United States in 2014 was Kit
Kat.t.
GROWTH STAGE (1947-1970’S)
Have a break...have a KitKat is a
legendary ad that was designed by
Donald Gilles in 1958. It had a
significant beneficial influence on
KitKat's sales, and the company still
uses it today. To accommodate the
demand from Europe, Rowntree's
built a new facility in Germany in the
1970s.
DECLINE (2015-2016)
According to Nielsen data through
September 30, 2015, Kit Kat sales had
decreased 11% to £71 million year
over year, keeping the brand in
fourth place among sweet biscuits.
MATURITY (1970-1988)
It was quite difficult for Kitkat to
remain competitive throughout this
stage of maturation. Potential
competitors like Cadbury, Ferrero
Rocher, Mars, Hershey's, and others
posed challenges to Kitkat. The fact
that Kitkat sales have remained
constant over the years indicates that
the product was still in demand.
MATURITY (2016 – PRESENT)
In 2015 there was an addition of 0.4% in
sales amounting to $64.9 Billion which
indicates the maturity stage. In 2017,
sales were reduced by a sales growth
rate of 0.4% amounting to $65.3 Billion.
In 2018, sales increased by 2%
amounting to $66.4 Billion.
The changes in the growth rate or
decline can be seen to be almost
constant over the years. Hence, it can
be said that it has reached a Maturity
stage.
Thank you