To compete in a highly unpredictable food industry, track trends, competitors, data, and test different strategies before setting prices
Chicago – June 8, 2022 – Rising food prices and shortages are affecting everyone in the chain, from farmer and ingredient manufacturer to consumer, but who eats the cost? Food industry pricing experts at Pricefx, a global leader in cloud-native pricing software, closely watch, analyze, and strategize the extreme ebb and flow of food price fluctuations of 2022, and brace for many more changes to come for the remainder of the year.
“The term we keep coming back to is the ‘ripple effect,’ with changes occurring now having a downstream impact on goods through the supply chain today and later this year,” said John Gilbo, food & beverage pricing expert at Pricefx. “Underlying cost increases individually and collectively will have a major influence on prices increasing in numerous sectors, such as wheat, dairy and meat, to start. A solid food and beverage pricing strategy will include rules, alerts and automation based on where you sit in the value chain.”
The most recent Consumer Price Index report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics says that food-at-home prices have risen 10% in the last 12 months, the largest 12-month increase since March 1981. Many factors to price hikes and shortages are to blame.
A U.S. factory shutdown has led to a formula shortage, the Russia-Ukraine war has worsened the fertilizer crunch, affecting crops across the world, and closed ports have prevented food from moving. China’s growing middle class is also now shaking up the market, with a growing demand in the country, shifting the production and supply of meat. Global warming, droughts, new regulations for farmers, labor shortages and transportation issues also have a hand in how food is priced and available this year.
“Every aspect in the food manufacturing industry is fluctuating, such as raw materials shortages, changing government regulations, exchange rates with increases in export and import activity, and changing consumer nutritional tastes,” said Gilbo. “During times of uncertainty, many organizations are quick to cut prices without considering the long-term impact. Understand outside market influences on your business and this data will help make informed decisions. These actions and investments will dictate the health of your business now, and in the future.”
Global economic instability is directly impacting pricing challenges in the food & beverage industry; consider these strategies before you set your next pricing:
Begin with data and intelligence. Get a clear understanding of where money is leaking and exactly how much revenue is gained from every transaction. Watching the right data and intelligence allows you to avoid the hype and rely instead on what your customers are saying. The goal is to have a clear, holistic view of all your data, including internal data, with current and projected sales history and costs, and external data, with customer demand and channel partner data.
Track competitors to understand the market. With certain operational segments seeing an increase in competition, the pressure to discount prices also increases.
One of the best ways to track trends in the market is to understand what your competitors are doing, such as knowing their product offerings and pricing.
Don’t rush to drop prices. A recent McKinsey study found a 1% increase in price, if demand stays consistent, increases operating profit by an average of 8.7%. The opposite also holds true. The right pricing strategies and tools can help you find weaknesses and opportunities specific to your business so you can make an informed price decision.
Test for full visibility before launch. Test different market strategies to understand exactly how any small change will impact your bottom line. Once you’ve tested the best strategy for your overall goals and circumstances, you can confidently launch your pricing strategy.
About Pricefx
Pricefx is the global leader in SaaS pricing software, offering a comprehensive suite of solutions that are fast to implement, flexible to configure and customize, and friendly to learn and use. Based on cloud-native architecture, Pricefx delivers a complete price optimization and management platform that provides the industry’s fastest time-to-value and lowest total cost of ownership. Its innovative solution works for B2B and B2C enterprises of any size, in any industry, in any part of the world. Pricefx’s business model is entirely based on the satisfaction and loyalty of its customers. For enterprises facing pricing challenges, Pricefx is the cloud pricing optimization, management, and CPQ platform to dynamically Plan, Price, and Profit. For more information, please visit www.pricefx.com.
