A premium brand strategy positions your company as the superior choice in the market, emphasizing the quality and value that set your products apart from less expensive alternatives.
The Canadian fashion brand Bedi Studios takes this approach with winter coats. Founder Inder Bedi justifies a $900 price point by educating customers about the brand’s local manufacturers, premium recycled materials, and lifetime guarantee.
“Yes, you’re spending a bit more or sometimes double or even more, but you’re getting a better product that’s going to cost you less in the long run,” he says on an episode of the Shopify Masters podcast.
Here's how to develop a premium brand strategy, plus examples of small businesses that have successfully used premium positioning to stand out.
What is a premium brand strategy?
A premium brand strategy is a plan for positioning a company as the superior, more expensive choice in its category. Premium brands charge more than their competitors due to higher quality materials, craftsmanship, performance, or a white-glove customer experience. A premium brand strategy communicates these differentiators to build a strong perceived value. The goal is to give customers compelling reasons to choose the brand over alternatives—and pay more for it.
Premium branding differs from luxury branding. Although both rely on upmarket positioning, luxury branding emphasizes prestige, exclusivity, and status, often deriving value from luxury goods’ cachet and a strong emotional appeal. Premium branding emphasizes superior quality and value, giving customers tangible reasons to pay more than they would for competing products.
Examples of premium brand differentiators
- Quality
- Craftsmanship
- Performance
Real-world premium brands use a few differentiators as pillars of their brand strategy:
Quality
Nonalcoholic beverage retailer Curious Elixirs differentiate themselves through the use of premium ingredients. Despite a Shark Tank investor passing on the company because their products were “too expensive,” founder JW Wiseman remained committed to investing in high-quality ingredients rather than lowering the price point.
“I actually think it's a point of pride,” JW says on Shopify Masters. “No one is going to make better nonalcoholic cocktails and wine alternatives than we are because we spend so much money on ingredients. Our rosé is infused with actual roses. I challenge any other company to do that.”
Craftsmanship
Rocky’s Matcha founder Rocky Xu turned a flea market side hustle into a cult brand favorite by highlighting the craftsmanship behind the products he sells. Rocky travels to Japan to meet matcha producers and traditional craftspeople, building relationships with partners whose work reflects the quality and attention to detail he wants his brand to represent.
Rocky also uses storytelling to help customers understand why artisanal products command premium prices.
“Sometimes people don't understand why something costs what it does, but then it’s our job to sort of tell that story,” he says on Shopify Masters.
By sharing the work of producers and craftspeople, Rocky can show customers what they’re paying for.
“The craftsmanship and the attention to detail and the hours that that person spent making that object,” he says.
Jonathan Grahm’s commitment to quality helped him transform Compartés Chocolate from a small family chocolate shop into a premium brand. Now they routinely collaborate with the likes of Cartier and Hermès.
Compartés still makes every piece of chocolate by hand using traditional methods, an approach Jonathan says he’s not willing to sacrifice as the company grows.
Another manifestation of this insistence on excellence is the brand's high-end, fashion-inspired packaging, which was featured in the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum in New York.
“I wanted to make it look like fashion, not like what everyone else had on the market,” Jonathan says on Shopify Masters. “I have to outdo myself when I’m working with these brands, and that pushes me to create even better, more beautiful, more luxurious chocolate.”
Performance
The premium footwear brand Scarlett Chase combines Italian craftsmanship with performance features designed to make high-heel shoes more comfortable and supportive. Founder Sandra Powers Murphy spent five years developing the shoes, which include specialized insoles and outsoles alongside premium materials and handcrafted construction.
With prices ranging from about $400 to $950, Scarlett Chase appeals to a narrower market, and Sandra is comfortable with that trade-off.
“I don’t want to cheapen the product in order to broaden the market,” she says on Shopify Masters. “I would rather people wait.”
Staying focused on customers who value the combination of performance, craftsmanship, and comfort allows the company to preserve their core value proposition rather than compromising the product to reach a larger audience.
How to create a premium brand strategy
- Develop a premium unique value proposition
- Design your branding
- Set prices
- Choose sales channels
- Invest in premium marketing strategies
Here's what you need to know about building premium brands, including aligning your products, pricing, branding, and marketing to communicate the value you offer customers:
1. Develop a premium unique value proposition
Budget brands may create unique value propositions (UVPs) that emphasize affordability and accessibility. Premium brands need to clearly communicate why their offering is worth more than the less expensive alternatives.
Depending on your primary differentiator, your messaging might emphasize craftsmanship, expertise, passion, attention to detail, or rigorous development, design, and testing processes. The footwear retailer Scarlett Chase, for example, highlights multiple sources of added value: “Premium footwear, designed with elegance, performance, and comfort in mind.”
2. Design your branding
Your brand identity should reflect the quality and value behind your premium positioning, so choose visual branding and a brand voice to match your position in the market. Use high-end packaging and other materials to signal your positioning.
3. Set prices
Quality costs. If you’re spending a premium on materials, you’ll need to charge a premium price.
Higher prices don’t create premium brands, but what you charge can also affect how customers view your company. Consumers may associate higher prices with improved quality, and they can be suspicious of a bargain.
For example, Laura Thompson found that low prices at launch actually worked against her skincare brand Three Ships.
“Our initial prices were so cheap that people didn’t associate us with high-quality products,” she says on Shopify Masters.
As the company expanded into retail, Three Ships learned that their prices needed to increase to better align with the products and retailers they were targeting.
Premium companies can use value-based pricing. This strategy sets prices in part according to the perceived value to the customer rather than relying solely on the cost of producing the product or service.
4. Choose sales channels
Choose sales channels that reach your target customers and support your premium positioning. Consider where your customers prefer to shop and whether the shopping environment communicates the value behind your premium price.
Three Ships learned the importance of channel fit after expanding into a large discount retailer. The brand pulled out after about six months when their products failed to gain traction. Laura says the products were “probably too premium,” and the brand had little opportunity to explain how its products differed from an $8.99 alternative.
“What we learned through that was that it’s much better for us to be the more affordable price point at a more premium prestige retailer than to be the more premium product at a mass retailer,” she says.
5. Invest in premium marketing strategies
Use marketing strategies that promote your premium positioning and help customers understand the value behind your higher price. Depending on your target audience and differentiator, tactics might include influencer partnerships, public relations, and product demonstrations. It can also include high-quality content that shows what sets your company apart.
Dr. Julie Chung invested in public relations and influencer partnerships for the launch of T3, a premium hair tool company offering products eight times more expensive than drugstore alternatives. As she explains on Shopify Masters, the company hired a beauty publicist, enlisted celebrity stylists to demonstrate its performance, and introduced the product to magazine editors.
The strategy earned T3 coverage in InStyle. That led to coverage from other publications and coverage at New York Fashion Week. This premium public relations strategy helped attract the attention of Sephora, where the product quickly sold out online and later in stores.
Premium brand strategy FAQ
What is a premium marketing strategy?
Premium marketing strategies are designed to reinforce messages about quality, craftsmanship, performance, or other sources of value, helping customers understand what differentiates the brand and justifies the premium price point.
What’s an example of a premium brand?
Niche chocolatier Taza Chocolate is an example of a premiumbrand. The founders pay farmers well above fair-trade organic market prices to secure high-quality cacao beans, operating with small volumes and charging customerspremium prices for their products, according to an interview on the Shopify Masters podcast.
How do you market premium products?
Effective marketing campaigns for premium products communicate the quality and value that differentiate the brand from less expensive alternatives. Strategies can include content marketing that demonstrates expertise or craftsmanship, influencer partnerships that showcase product quality or performance, and storytelling that helps customers understand the value behind premium pricing.
