How should we price in response to rising input costs, and what increases are other UK drinks brands implementing?

Members are actively passing cost increases to both trade and D2C channels to protect margins ahead of potential exits. This is viewed as necessary despite concerns about losing accounts.

**Observed pricing moves:** - Ex-cellar increases of **3–5%** across multiple SKUs are common among smaller brands - Major producers (e.g. Molson Coors with Estrella) have implemented increases closer to **10%** - One member implemented their first increase in 4 years; another in 2 years - Some brands (e.g. Lucky Saint) have *reduced* prices, signalling different strategic positioning

**Community consensus:** - Protecting margins is critical if you want a viable exit - Trade accounts expect increases and understand the cost environment (fuel, energy, ingredients all up) - Small brands needn't worry about losing hard-fought accounts over reasonable increases—customers know increases are coming industry-wide - **First increases after multi-year holds are more defensible** than frequent small hikes

**Caveat:** One member flagged concern about bargaining power as a smaller brand, but the group consensus was that this worry is usually unfounded in the current cost environment.