What to Know About Current Fresh Produce Pricing?

Wholesale pricing in the fresh produce industry is a bit more diversified compared to other industries. Different distributors charge different prices for seemingly the exact same produce. But there’s more to the price of fresh produce than meets the eyes, and it’s important that you choose wisely when setting your price.

In this article, we’ll explain all you need to know about pricing in the produce industry, and what strategies to employ to make the best out of your fresh produce business.

Why you should pay attention to pricing

As a fresh produce distributor, you need to pay attention to prices. This includes both the price you’re buying produce for, the price you’re selling them, and the price your competitors are offering. To put it simply, these prices can very easily make or break your entire business.

Obviously, you don’t want your purchasing and selling prices to be too high. The higher your purchasing price, the more expensive you’ll have to sell them for—or you’ll just end up making less profit. The higher you charge for your produce, the more likely your customers will leave for a produce distributor with lower prices.

But that doesn’t mean that cheaper is always better. Since price is a great determinant of value, cheaper very rarely ever means better. So what you’ll want to do is avoid choosing the cheapest pricing option, and choose instead the one that offers the most value.

How to get your fresh produce at the best possible price

When it comes to pricing in any industry, the first thing to consider is the purchasing price—i.e., the price your business is getting the produce for. This price determines everything else. For this reason, you’ll want to pay close attention to your suppliers and ensure that you’re getting the best deal for your money.

Here are three strategies that can help with that.

1- Choose a reputable wholesaler

The more reputable your fresh produce wholesaler, the more likely you are to get a good deal. It also means you can rest assured that what you’ll get will be nothing short of quality.

Another advantage of getting your produce from reputable wholesalers is the fact that you’ll get more than just the produce. Since these wholesalers have their reputations to protect, they’re more likely to go the extra mile to protect it. This means better customer service if anything goes wrong.

2- Never neglect quality standards

Getting produce at a cheaper cost means nothing if the quality is bad. Not only do you run the risk of having these perishables lose value before they reach the consumer, but you also run the risk of ruining the reputation of your produce business. When it comes to perishables, consumers would rather spend more in exchange for greater quality.

3- Choose competitive price

No one likes a monopolistic market (well, except for the monopolist). Thankfully, the fresh produce industry isn’t a monopoly, and while prices often vary from wholesaler to wholesaler, there’s still some competition you can take advantage of to get the best possible deals.

Keep an eye out for wholesalers that offer better pricing than what you’re currently getting from your suppliers—you just might snag yourself a better deal. Make sure you remember quality though. You wouldn’t want to switch suppliers simply to get lower prices, just to end up with lower quality produce than what you’re used to.

Strategies to help your produce business maximize profit

Getting better prices on your produce is only half of the struggle. It’s important that you also offer prices that are just as appealing to your customers, without having to reduce your profit margins.

Here are two strategies to help you set the right price for your produce business and maximize your profit.

1- Competitor based pricing

Your competitor’s pricing has a huge effect on your produce business. This is especially true if you’re a smaller or growing produce business. After all, you wouldn’t want to compete with businesses offering similar quality at a much lower price. In this case, your chances of survival are very slim, so always keep an eye on your competitor’s prices.

This is not to say that you should simply slap on your competitor’s price tags. Instead, pay attention to what they’re doing. Find out why their prices are less than yours.

Are they getting a better deal from their suppliers? In this case, you might want to work on that with your suppliers as well. There might also be cases where they’re cutting corners on quality or safety, which you’ll want to avoid.

2- Value-added pricing

As stated earlier, customers often prefer to pay more if it means they’ll get better quality at the end of the day. This better quality doesn’t only apply to the produce though—it also applies to the service rendered. This is where value-added pricing comes in.

Customers often prefer to pay extra for better services. This could include anything from better produce packaging to delivery and so on. Providing pricing options that offer all of this and more can help you earn more on the exact same produce. This is a great way of getting your pricing ahead of competitors without losing customers to them.

It’s important to remember that this pricing system must be transparent to be truly effective. If your customers detect any hidden charges, it breeds distrust in your pricing altogether, driving them away.

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