Strategic communication approach

Lead your buyer discussions with market context, framing the discussion around the broader environment so your increases align with market wide pressures rather than being presented as isolated price increases. Share commodity price trends and input cost pressures proactively. After that, you can present comprehensive cost breakdowns showing how raw materials, energy, staffing, packaging and logistics contribute to your pricing.

For any food businesses sourcing commodities or products external to the Republic of Ireland for their food manufacturing or processing, the communication of exchange rate driven pricing requires a different approach to commodity or operational cost increases.

Ideally you should have an exchange rate mechanic built into all your pricing communication. Remember that exchange rates work both ways. It builds trust and shows fairness.

Promotional activity and strategy

It is key that if you have an existing promotional calendar or if you are planning to implement a promotional strategy that you consider your promotional plan and depth of promotions as part of your overall pricing strategy. Take the time to develop a robust promotional strategy for your food business by looking at the following:

• The frequency of your promotions.

• The depth of your promotions.

• Strategic SKU (Stock Keeping Unit) selection based on ability to absorb the promotion.

• Promoting when your commodity costs are seasonally lower.

Build category expertise and category value

Build category expertise by providing market intelligence, consumer insights, and category management support. Understand the trends that are happening in the marketplace. Examine if you can add value to your buying partner through a new product or category innovation. Becoming an indispensable partner makes buyers more willing to work through pricing challenges with you. Invest in understanding your category well.

Collaborate with your buyer

Collaboration with your buyer is key to positioning difficult conversations as collaborative problem-solving rather than adversarial negotiations. Recognise that both parties benefit from sustainable, profitable relationships despite market volatility. If your buyer has been in their category for a year or more, they genuinely know their category or categories well and can give can give a good indication when it comes to product development and helping to develop the category.

Alternative ways of managing costs should also be considered and can offer strategic advantages compared to simply increasing prices. Process improvement can reduce waste, increase efficiency and lower costs over time. These changes enhance competitiveness. New Product Development can focus on creating additional value rather than transferring cost burdens to customers.