When volume share slipped, Danone Ireland turned to EPIC for fast, evidence-based guidance. Using our conjoint research approach, we identified the optimal price architecture to protect value and regain momentum, turning a pricing challenge into a growth opportunity.
Danone is a leading global food and beverage company best known for essential dairy and plant-based products. Their portfolio encompasses more than 100 brands, including Evian, Actimel, Activia, Aptamil, and are present in over 120 markets around the world.
We partnered with Danone Ireland, to help them make informed pricing decisions for Alpro, European leader in plant-based products.
Danone’s brand Alpro had faced significant cost pressures through the period of COVID and soon after as multiple supply constraints started to impact price and distribution. They had to increase retail prices, which resulted in retailers passing on a proportion of the costs to consumers. This led to volume share starting to drop, and the team at Danone had a decision to make: reduce costs to enable deflation in the market or deliver value through promotions.
To make sure Danone’s team had sufficient data to make the best decision, we ran three conjoint studies to evaluate the outcome and secure multiple data points to triangulate a reasonable estimate.
The three conjoints included a standard choice card conjoint, a fridge conjoint (where part of the Alpro range sits), and an ambient fixture. Each one expected to deliver a different response due to their relative strengths.
All the studies were commissioned with a very tight timeline and delivered within two weeks of the signed off brief to provide the opportunity to change strategy if required. What the studies suggested was that a price decrease will have a bigger impact than running promotions, and that a decrease of 15% is optimal.
Price decreases were implemented into the market four weeks after the studies had been completed. The price drop of 15% saw a 22% increase in unit volume over the four weeks following the implementation.
