How should I price a premium food or drink product?

Start with the value you offer, not just your costs. Premium pricing works when shoppers can see and believe the reason for the higher price: better ingredients, provenance, taste, or experience. Make that value obvious on pack and in your marketing, then price to reflect it. A premium price with no visible justification simply gets left on shelf.

Who sets the retail price of my product?

In most cases, the retailer does. You set the trade price you sell to them at; the final shelf price is at the retailer's discretion. That's why your pricing and margin story to the buyer matters so much: it shapes the price they choose to set.

How often should I review my pricing?

At least annually, and whenever your costs, competitors or ambitions change significantly. Many growing brands set and forget. Regular review is one of the simplest ways to protect margin and unlock growth.

How do I research the right price for my product?

Start by mapping competitor prices across the category, then test shopper perceptions with research. The Van Westendorp Price Sensitivity Meter is a popular, affordable FMCG method: you ask target shoppers four questions about your price and plot the answers to find an acceptable range and an optimal price. Where you can, confirm it with a live price test on real buyers. Match the depth of research to the size of the decision.

Do I need a pricing consultant?

If pricing decisions feel like guesswork, if your margins are under pressure, or if you're heading into retailer negotiations, an experienced second pair of eyes usually pays for itself. We help you make confident, defensible pricing decisions quickly and without jargon.

Pressure test your FMCG pricing before your next retailer conversation

Launch, range review, price increase or negotiation: we help food & drink brands check their RRP, trade price, retailer margin story and pack architecture before costly decisions get locked in.

WHY THIS MATTERS:

Free 30 minute pricing clarity call

Pricing decisions are hard to reverse once they reach a retailer, customer or shelf. A weak RRP, unclear margin story or wrong pack-price relationship can quietly damage growth before anyone realises pricing was the issue.

BOOK YOUR FREE FMCG PRICING CLARITY CALL

No cost. No pitch. No follow-up sequence unless you ask. Just a sharp view on your pricing strategy.

Brands we've worked on across careers and consulting.

SOME OF THE BRANDS WE’VE HELPED

Book a free pricing clarity call

THIS IS FOR YOU IF:

  
          Situation
        
          Why pricing needs attention
        
          You are launching into grocery
        
          You need an RRP, trade price and retailer margin story that makes commercial sense.
        
          You are preparing for a range review
        
          You need to defend price, value, rate of sale and margin with confidence.
        
          Costs have gone up
        
          You need to know whether to increase price, change pack size, adjust margin or absorb the pressure.
        
          You are too dependent on promotions
        
          You need to protect margin without training shoppers to only buy you on deal.
        
          You are premium-priced
        
          You need to prove that the value is visible, credible and strong enough to justify the price.

Situation	Why pricing needs attention
You are launching into grocery	You need an RRP, trade price and retailer margin story that makes commercial sense.
You are preparing for a range review	You need to defend price, value, rate of sale and margin with confidence.
Costs have gone up	You need to know whether to increase price, change pack size, adjust margin or absorb the pressure.
You are too dependent on promotions	You need to protect margin without training shoppers to only buy you on deal.
You are premium-priced	You need to prove that the value is visible, credible and strong enough to justify the price.

EXAMPLE PRICING CHALLENGE

A launching cereal brand worried its super-premium price would block purchase. We reviewed category pricing, reaction to the concept, pack-size comparisons and margin structure, and uncovered the purchase drivers that actually justified the premium. From there we built a pricing story they could take straight into retailer conversations.

Decades of client side experience in the Weetabix, Heineken and Arla businesses. Now we help other FMCG food & drink brands price for growth.

WHAT YOU’LL

LEAVE THE CALL

CLEARER ON

Thirty minutes, focused entirely on whether your price is helping or holding back growth.

  
          Output
        
          Why it matters
        
          Recommended retail price view
        
          So your shelf price makes sense in the category and does not create avoidable friction with shoppers or retailers.
        
          Trade price and retailer margin logic
        
          So the retailer economics are credible, commercially defendable and clear before you enter a negotiation.
        
          Price-pack architecture view
        
          So pack size, price point, value perception and margin work together rather than pulling against each other.
        
          Competitor shelf comparison
        
          So your pricing is judged in real category context, not just from your cost base or internal margin target.
        
          Retailer-ready pricing story
        
          So you can explain and defend the price with a clear commercial argument, not just a number on a spreadsheet.

Output	Why it matters
Recommended retail price view	So your shelf price makes sense in the category and does not create avoidable friction with shoppers or retailers.
Trade price and retailer margin logic	So the retailer economics are credible, commercially defendable and clear before you enter a negotiation.
Price-pack architecture view	So pack size, price point, value perception and margin work together rather than pulling against each other.
Competitor shelf comparison	So your pricing is judged in real category context, not just from your cost base or internal margin target.
Retailer-ready pricing story	So you can explain and defend the price with a clear commercial argument, not just a number on a spreadsheet.

HOW WE WORK

The same simple approach we've used from Heineken and Weetabix to scale-ups like Spoon Cereals. No jargon, no fluff.

Understand

Your costs, margins, category, competitors and the value your product genuinely offers.

Decide

The right pricing model and price-pack architecture for where you want to play and grow.

A clear pricing and margin story you can take to retailers, with the confidence to defend it.

Activate

Not sure if your price is helping or holding you back?

We'll help you pressure-test your pricing, margin story and pack architecture before you commit to the next retail conversation.

30 minutes. No cost. No obligation.

Book a free pricing clarity call