Why Everyone's Going Premium…
April 30, 2025
Here's what's happening across food and beverage right now: brands are basically saying "screw the race to the bottom" and going premium instead. And consumers? They're totally here for it.
Both Unilever and Nestle want to premiumize 50% of their portfolios because they've figured out what the rest of us are just catching on to—people will happily pay more for food and drinks when they feel like affordable luxuries. We're talking about choosing that $12 chocolate bar from Dubai over a new throw pillow, or splurging on beef tallow chips instead of saving up for a big purchase.
Why This Actually Makes Sense
Younger consumers have fundamentally changed the game. Millennials and Gen Z aren't just picking products—they're making statements with their wallets. They expect more, have way more options, and genuinely believe some brands are worth paying extra for.
The magic happens when brands give people reasons to choose based on something other than price. Usually this means:
Better ingredients that you can actually pronounce
Packaging that doesn't look cheap (think minimalist, not flashy)
Emotional positioning that makes you feel good about the purchase
Exclusivity or story that makes it feel special
What This Looks Like in Real Life
In food and beverage, premiumization is everywhere once you start looking:
Artisanal cheese sections that are bigger than the regular cheese aisle
RTD cocktails made with actual spirits instead of whatever malt liquor used to pass for "cocktails"
Small-batch chocolate, regenerative beef, heirloom grains—basically anything with a story
The bottom line: premiumization lets brands trade consumers up in both price and perceived value.
The Chobani Playbook
Chobani is probably the best example of how to pull this off. They walked into a completely saturated yogurt market dominated by Yoplait and Dannon and basically said, "Hold our Greek yogurt."
Here's what they did right:
Ingredients that mattered: real fruit, less sugar, no artificial anything
Packaging that looked European and expensive without being pretentious
Positioning that felt healthy without sounding like medicine
Format innovation: they made Greek yogurt mainstream when everyone else thought it was too niche
They priced themselves above the legacy brands but below the ultra-premium organics, creating this perfect "premium mainstream" sweet spot. That positioning didn't just help Chobani—it completely redefined what yogurt could be in America.
The Bigger Picture
What Chobani proved is that premiumization isn't just about charging more money. It's about creating genuine value that consumers can see, taste, and feel good about. When you nail that combination, people don't just buy your product—they become advocates for it.
And in a world where everyone's fighting over the same crowded shelves, that kind of brand loyalty is worth way more than a few extra points of margin.
