Bracket Pricing

Bracket pricing is a tiered case-price structure based on order quantity. The retailer pays a lower per-case price when they order more pallets at once. A typical bracket schedule: 1-10 pallets at full price, 11-25 pallets at 3% off, 26+ pallets at 5% off.

The economics behind it: shipping a full truck of one SKU is dramatically cheaper per case than picking and loading a mixed pallet from a warehouse. Bracket pricing incentivizes the buyer to consolidate orders into truckload-economic quantities.

For emerging brands, bracket pricing is also a negotiation tool. A growth-stage brand can offer aggressive top-bracket pricing to win a chain-wide rollout, knowing the chain's normal order pattern will rarely hit the top bracket. The "if you order this much, the price is this low" math anchors the conversation favorably.

Bracket pricing only works when the cost structure actually rewards volume. A brand with high per-batch setup costs at its co-man might have a cost curve that justifies it; a brand running 24/7 production might not, and bracket pricing becomes a margin giveaway with no real cost benefit.

Roles where this matters: Sales, Supply Chain, Sales Finance.