Smart Pricing: How to Build a Strategy That Reflects Value, Not Volume

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In an increasingly competitive wine and food landscape, pricing is no longer a simple exercise in cost-plus markups. The global market has become too fragmented, consumer expectations too variable, and competitive pressure too aggressive for old pricing logics to survive unchanged. The companies that continue to price based solely on production cost or historical positioning risk losing margins, relevance and strategic clarity. This is why smart pricing, a discipline that integrates data analytics, consumer psychology, elasticity modeling and market intelligence, is emerging as one of the most important growth levers for 2025. Instead of chasing volume, brands are learning to price according to perceived value, willingness to pay and competitive dynamics across different markets and channels.
A McKinsey study shows that 1% improvement in pricing generates an average 6% increase in operating profit, making pricing the single most powerful profit lever available to consumer brands.[1]

Modern consumers do not behave homogeneously. Instead, they respond to brands with a wide spectrum of expectations: authenticity, sustainability, convenience, regional identity, packaging, digital touchpoints and emotional value. Research from Deloitte highlights that consumers increasingly make food & beverage decisions based on perceived product alignment with personal values, not just price.[2] This means two individuals buying the same wine in two different markets (or even two different channels) may assign very different value perceptions, and therefore respond differently to price.

Pricing, therefore, must adapt to:

• market positioning

• distribution channel (on-trade, e-commerce, retail)

• consumer sentiment

• regional income and preferences

• brand storytelling and packaging

Elasticity varies dramatically. According to a Harvard Business School paper, the same product category can have elasticity differences of up to 50% depending on channel and demographic group.[3] Historically, many wineries and food producers have priced based on intuition, tradition or competitor benchmarking. Today, data allows for far more sophistication.

Pricing platforms and predictive analytics tools assess:

• price elasticity (how demand responds to increases or decreases)

• market benchmarks

• competitive density

• promotional lift

• consumer willingness to pay

• channel profit contribution

A study by PwC reports that companies using data-driven pricing achieve 2–7% margin improvement in the first year, even without increasing volume.[4] For wineries selling across markets, elasticity and perceived value vary significantly. A bottle that can be sold for €15 in Italy may reach €25–30 in the U.S. or the UK if positioned with the right storytelling and distributor support.

The shift, therefore, is not about raising prices blindly, it is about identifying where the brand’s value is highest, and aligning the pricing structure to that value.

IWSR research confirms what Deloitte said, that young consumers are less price-driven and more value-driven, tending to “trade up” when a product aligns with their values. They pay for the identity of a brand, for the emotional and aesthetic value expressed through its design and packaging, for the production methods that shape its quality, and for the sustainability credentials that signal ethical responsibility. They are drawn to products that feel rare or limited, to formats that offer convenience  (from mini-bottles to cans to curated tasting boxes) and to the digital experience that accompanies the purchase, whether through storytelling, community engagement, or personalized content. In this context, value-based pricing becomes an essential strategic tool. It requires a deep understanding of why consumers choose a particular brand, which attributes legitimately justify a premium position, which markets are most willing to recognize that value, and in which contexts customers are more resistant to price increases. Smart pricing, therefore, is not the act of charging more: it is the ability to charge correctly, aligning price with perceived value and with the emotional, cultural and functional meaning that consumers attach to a product.

[1] Marn M.V., Roegner E.V., Zawada C.C., The power of pricing, McKinsey, 02.01.2003.

[2] Daher M., Bomchill R., Patel A., Rogers S., Cook J., The value-seeking consumer: competitors could lose out to brands offering more than low prices., URL: Deloitte.com (06.23.2025)

[3] Serafeim G., Trinh K., Impact Accounting for Product Use: A Framework and Industry-specific Models., Harvard Business School, 2021.

[4] Clausen K.B., Moving Beyond price: A new roadmap for CPG growth., URL: pwc.com (09.25.2024)