Pack Roles & Portfolio Strategy
Assign strategic roles to every pack in the portfolio. Each SKU needs a clear job
Module Arc: Where Pack Roles Sit in the System
- PPA L1 Tiers
- 5-tier PRI structure (Premium 1.2-1.5x, Core 0.9-1.1x, Value 0.7-0.9x); NSV/kg as the diagnostic surface
- Pricing L1 Elasticity
- Entry -2.0/-2.5 (constrained); Upscale -0.5/-1.0 (unrestricted); -1.7 CPG ceiling on Routine
- Pricing L2 Leverage
- 1% price gives +8.7% OP. Tier-mix shift via pack-role architecture is the same lever
- Pricing L3 Thresholds
- Van Westendorp PSM validates Entry absolute price below cliffs ($2/$3/$5)
- Pricing L5 Brand Power
- Revenue Premium licenses Upscale; Penetration is King protects Entry recruitment
- Pricing L6 Diversion
- Private Label Asymmetry 2 to 2.5x, so cannibalization is usually under-estimated by 20%
- Pricing L7 Positioning
- Value Equivalence Line places Upscale; EDLP/Hi-Lo execution rule per role
- Pricing L8 Indifference
- NSV/kg gap below 5% (plus or minus) between roles leads to Zone of Indifference collapse
Tiers told you where the category lives. Pack Roles tell you what each pack doesinside its tier, the second move in Price Pack Architecture (PPA). Two packs at the same NSV/kg in the same tier without distinct roles are clutter on the shelf and cannibalization in the P&L. The Pack Role Price Index Guardrails (Entry about 120, Routine 100, Upsize 70-85, Upscale above 120) are the rules that prevent both. Net Incrementality (above the 60% threshold) is the gate that stops the portfolio from bloating.
The Entry pack has an RSP/kg index of 120. The Upsize pack sits at 70. Each role has a number, not just a name.
A leading frozen foods company assigns every pack in their portfolio one of four core strategic roles (Entry, Routine, Upsize, and Upscale), each with specific pricing, promotion, and margin guardrails. The Entry pack (2 servings, RSP/kg index about 120, low promo intensity, EDLP) recruits constrained shoppers. The Routine pack (4 servings, index 100, high promo intensity) drives frequency. The Upsize pack (6-8 servings, index 70-85, medium promo) drives weight of purchase. And the Upscale pack (index above 120, no deep deals) drives price per kg. When roles are unclear, you end up with six SKUs all doing the same job.
The four core pack roles: Entry (recruit new buyers), Routine (drive repeat purchase), Upsize (drive weight of purchase), Upscale (capture premium occasions). Each serves a different strategic job.
The Four Core Pack Roles: Entry, Routine, Upsize, Upscale
The pack roles framework assigns each pack a clear job defined by consumer target, shopper profile, pack size, pricing index, and execution strategy. Entry packs (RSP/kg index about 120, EDLP, low promo) recruit constrained shoppers. Routine packs (index 100, Hi-Lo, high promo) are the volume workhorse. Upsize packs (index 70-85) drive weight of purchase. Upscale packs (index above 120, no deep deals) deliver the highest gross profit per kg.
Role assignment flows from the Market Maturity / Market Share strategy matrix. In high-consumption markets where you lead, prioritize Upsize and Upscale. In low-consumption markets where you lag, prioritize Entry and Routine. Role assignment is not a labeling exercise. It is a strategic allocation of pricing, shelf space, trade spend, and innovation investment.
Master these portfolio strategy concepts before exploring the simulator
19 concepts- Purpose
- Assign one of the four core pack roles (Entry, Routine, Upsize, Upscale) to each SKU and see whether the portfolio covers every job or clusters into cannibalisation.
- How to use
- Pick a role from each SKU's dropdown. Start with Routine for the 200g baseline at index 100, then slot the others using RSP/kg indices: Entry about 115 to 120, Upsize about 70 to 85, Upscale above 120.
- What to watch
- Coverage at 100% means every role is filled; concentration above 50% means two or more packs are fighting for the same shopper. Fix both, not just one.
Simulator
Assign a strategic role to each pack. Watch how your portfolio coverage score, role balance, and margin profile change as you give each SKU a clear job.
A senior RGM director's read on every move you make. Toggle off any time.
AI RGM Strategist
Senior-RGM-director coaching on your simulator moves
The AI Strategist reads your simulator state and replies in four parts: interpretation, commercial implications, cross-lever effects, and one specific recommendation. Free signup unlocks 20 lifetime insights.
Sign up free to unlockAlready a member? Sign in
Assigning Pack Roles for a Frozen Fish Fingers Portfolio
You are the pack strategy lead at a major frozen foods manufacturer, responsible for the fish fingers portfolio in the UK. The range includes: 10-piece (280g), 15-piece (420g), 28-piece (560g), and 30-piece (840g) packs. Each pack needs a clear role (Entry, Routine, Upsize, or Upscale) with corresponding pricing index, promotion intensity, and target shopper. Recent data shows the 15-piece pack drives 63% of unit share, while the 10-piece sits at 11% and the 28-piece at 26%.
The 15-piece Fish Fingers pack (420g, $3.69, 63% unit share) is the highest-volume SKU with the baseline RSP/kg index of 100. Which pack role does this represent?
You Assigned the Roles. Now Make the Price/kg Curve Connect Them.
This lesson assigned a strategic job to every pack: Entry recruits constrained shoppers at an affordable absolute price (NSV/kg index about 120 because small-pack economics raise per-kg cost). Routine anchors the architecture at index 100 and runs Hi-Lo to drive frequency. Upsize rewards weight-of-purchase shoppers with index 70-85 (15-30% per-kg discount). Upscale captures premium occasions at index above 120 with no deep deals. You also met two guardrails: the Net Incrementality gate above 60% that stops portfolio bloat, and the Portfolio Solution Matrix that tests every proposed SKU against role gap, occasion, incrementality, and Triple Win.
Role assignment alone cannot guarantee that the NSV/kg gaps between the roles actually drive the trade-up behaviour the framework predicts. A portfolio with all four roles filled but with the Upsize pack accidentally priced at NSV/kg index 95 (instead of 70-85) has a complete architecture on paper and a broken incentive in reality. The Pricing Lesson 8 Zone of Indifference (a band of about plus or minus 5 percent) tells you why: the consumer cannot perceive a 5% gap as a meaningful trade-up, so the Upsize pack stops earning weight-of-purchase volume and becomes a margin drag. The fix is to engineer the per-kg ladder, not the role label.
That ladder is the Incentive Curve: RSP/kg plotted against pack weight, with the Routine pack as anchor. A healthy curve slopes downwardfrom small to large. The bigger the pack, the lower the per-kg price. A broken curve has upward kinks (the Q8 fish-fingers diagnostic from this challenge). The Incentive Curve is the single most diagnostic tool for catching architecture failures before they hit the P&L. That is next.
Every preview is free and crawlable. Interactive simulators and challenges unlock with a free signup.