With increasing raw ingredients pushing up the costs of food and drink, new pricing approaches are needed to understand how to pass on costs without harming volumes.

Understanding the thresholds, competitor reaction and consumer behaviour to price are critical in these changing times

With raw materials increasing fast, there is little choice for most manufacturers to pass on costs to consumers. Finding a route to do this without damaging volume is possible, but requires Research Agencies to think and react in different ways to truly capture the impact of price change.

Many different approaches are being used by manufacturers to get price rises through, including changing the size-price relationship, improving quality, changing packaging and adding new features, ingredients and functionality.

At Oxford, we continually work with our clients to push the boundaries on pricing research. To truly understand the impact of price, we have developed new models which identify the interaction between:

·        pack size

·        pack design

·        brand

·        positioning on shelf

·        facings

·        price changes

The results from our research is a fully interactive model of the category, which directly links to in-market volume. With competitor reaction built into the model, we help our clients take a positive stance on price. With the knowledge and understanding of the impact once the changes in price and other elements of the marketing mix reach market, our clients can build successful pricing strategies.

Talk to us to find out more. Call Chris Sinclair on 01865 728272 or email chris.sinclair@tora.co.uk