Easing Inflation Concerns Through Advertising Food & Beverage Awards

Food awards help justify price changes for food and beverage brands during inflationary periods.

January of 2022 saw a Consumer Price Index increase of 7.5 percent. At the time, that was the fastest it had risen in forty years. The most recent increase in June (9.1 percent) now has many businesses scrambling to manage rising costs without damaging customer relationships.

Re-pricing during inflationary periods is often necessary to avoid cutting into profit margins. When managed properly, however, it also provides an opportunity to strengthen brand perception and overall customer loyalty.

Customer psychology has shown us that each person responds differently to price increases depending on a variety of factors. For food & beverage CPG marketing, that means justifying price changes by leveraging quality food & beverage awards.

Customer Psychology and Pricing

Even without taking inflation into consideration, customer psychology often plays a pivotal role in overall pricing strategy.

Whether CPG marketing relies on charm pricing, price anchoring, or even innumeracy, the end goal is to meet a customer’s psychological need for something—usually saving money, purchasing high-quality items, getting a “good deal,” and/or acquiring certain health benefits from a product.

Additionally, consumers often analyze price information within several contexts. That might include previous purchasing experiences, both formal (advertising) and informal (friends and family) communications, and more.

Again, buying decisions often hinge on how a price is perceived in regard to whichever psychological need has priority at the time. So, when prices increase due to inflation, it’s important to continue meeting those psychological needs as best as possible.

While it can be difficult, if not impossible, to give customers the low prices they’d prefer, food and beverage marketing can emphasize taste to highlight overall quality.

Justify Price Points By Advertising Food Awards

While advertising claims can be powerful tools, taste-related claims require substantiation to be effective. Simply saying “great tasting” doesn’t provide enough context for a shopper. Additionally, unsubstantiated claims come with legal risks.

Third-party taste validation, however, provides the necessary substantiation for these claims. On top of that, it helps customers understand the value of such claims. That, in turn, helps them assess the overall quality of the item.

Bottom line, food & beverage awards like the ChefsBest mark tell customers that a product really does taste great. That satisfies the psychological need for high-quality items and, when competitors have even more inflated prices, helps customers feel that they’re getting the best deal.

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