-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- DOCUMENT CONTROL (HEADER) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Document ID : DARX_BI_PRICING_REC_001 Title : Retail Pricing Recommendation, 0.5L Single-Estate EVOO Version : 1.1 Status : ACTIVE Classification : Internal, Confidential Prepared By : PYB / Daralbeida Brands LLC Reviewed By : (pending) Approved By : (pending founder approval) Approval Date : (pending) Owner : PYB / Daralbeida Brands LLC Date Created : 2026-04-01 Last Revised : 2026-06-13 00:00 UTC Update Cycle : Before any investor distribution; upon Morocco Gold price change; upon launch price decision finalization Next Review Due : Upon founder resolution of the price discrepancy flagged in COMPLIANCE Annual Review : Yes Retention : 3 years from date of creation Department : BI Style : BPGP Keywords : pricing, EVOO, Amazon, FBA, Morocco Gold, staged price architecture, price floor, unit economics, Cobram Estate Related Docs : DARX_BI_EVOO_PRICE_LIST_001; DARX_BI_PRICE_QUALITY_MTX_001; 20260401_DARX_STRAT_BP_SECT6_3_001.TXT Supersedes : DARX_BI_PRICING_REC_20260401.txt Superseded By : (none, current version) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- OUTLINE -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Purpose and Scope 2. Governing Principle 3. The Key Insight From the Matrix, Morocco Gold 4. The Recommendation, Three-Stage Price Architecture 4.1 Stage 1, Phase 1 Launch Price 4.2 Stage 2, Phase 2 Price 4.3 Stage 3, Maturity Price 5. Summary Table 6. Channel Pricing Consistency 7. Promotional Guardrails 8. Price Floor, Permanent 9. Price Adjustment Triggers 10. Final Recommendation 11. One-Paragraph Summary 12. AI Prompts 13. Revision History 14. Acronyms 15. Glossary DOCUMENT CONTROL (FOOTER) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ================================================================================ 1. PURPOSE AND SCOPE ================================================================================ This document is the Daralbeida retail pricing recommendation for the 0.5L single-estate EVOO. It synthesizes four inputs simultaneously: the price-quality matrix, unit economics, cash flow model, and Amazon conversion reality. It defines a three-stage price architecture with explicit entry conditions for each stage. This document supersedes any single-price recommendation and should be read alongside the price-quality matrix (DARX_BI_PRICE_QUALITY_MTX_001). NOTE: This recommendation proposes $27 as the launch price. The business plan states $26 as the launch tier. This discrepancy must be resolved by the founder before finalizing either document for investor distribution. See COMPLIANCE. ================================================================================ 2. GOVERNING PRINCIPLE ================================================================================ This recommendation is built from four inputs simultaneously: the price/quality matrix (where competitors sit and why), the unit economics (what each price generates after all costs), the cash flow model (what the business needs to survive Year 1 and fund Year 2), and the Amazon conversion reality (what a first-time buyer with zero prior brand exposure will actually pay). A price that satisfies three of the four fails. The result is not a single number. It is a three-stage price architecture: a launch price, a Phase 2 price, and a maturity price. Each stage has explicit entry conditions. The price moves when the conditions are met, not before, not on intuition, and not in response to competitive pressure. ================================================================================ 3. THE KEY INSIGHT FROM THE MATRIX, MOROCCO GOLD ================================================================================ One brand in the matrix changes the analysis materially: Morocco Gold. Brand Retail Quality Score Channel Morocco Gold $28 78 Amazon Daralbeida $26 76 Amazon Morocco Gold is the only other Moroccan brand in the Premium Justified quadrant. It is already on Amazon. It already holds $28. This is not a threat, it is market validation. A Moroccan single-estate EVOO can hold $28 on Amazon with no incumbent brand awareness behind it. The market has already proven this. This shifts the question from "can we hold $28?" to "what do we need in place before we claim it?" The answer is: confirmed demand signal, not brand equity. Brand equity is what you need for $32. Demand signal is what you need for $28. Morocco Gold at $28 also sets the ceiling for the gap between Daralbeida and the next established cluster (Pasolivo/Kosterina at $32). That $4 gap ($28 to $32) is where the premium Moroccan narrative has room to grow without directly competing against four-generation Greek and California estates on their home turf. Second key insight: at $26, Daralbeida is only $4 above Cobram Estate ($22, quality 71), and Cobram is a well-reviewed, broadly distributed brand. The consumer choosing between Cobram at $22 and Daralbeida at $26 is making a $4 decision, not a premium/value decision. That gap is too small to carry the brand's positioning weight. It risks pulling Daralbeida down into the value benchmark perception rather than up into premium justified. Raising to $28 doubles that gap to $6, which is the minimum distance needed to signal a different product tier to a first-time Amazon buyer scanning a category page. ================================================================================ 4. THE RECOMMENDATION, THREE-STAGE PRICE ARCHITECTURE ================================================================================ 4.1 STAGE 1, PHASE 1 LAUNCH PRICE Attribute Value Price $27 Duration Phase 1 only (100-500 unit proof-of-concept shipment) Purpose Demand signal collection, review seeding, algorithm activation Rationale: $27 is not a round number. That is deliberate. On Amazon, odd-dollar prices ($27, $29, $31) consistently outperform round prices ($26, $28, $30) in A/B tests across food categories because they read as "precisely calculated" rather than "arbitrarily set." The $1 above $26 adds $4,000 gross across 4,000 units, not transformative, but free. The $1 below $28 keeps a clean $1 gap below Morocco Gold, which is the correct posture when you have zero reviews and they have an established listing. Position on matrix: $27 / Q76 Gap Amount Signal Gap above Cobram Estate $5 Sufficient to signal premium tier Gap below Morocco Gold $1 "Comparable, slightly more accessible" Gap below Pasolivo/Kosterina $5 Not competing with them yet Unit economics at $27: Line Item Amount Retail price $27.00 Amazon referral (15%) - $4.05 FBA fulfillment - $3.22 FBA storage (allocated) - $0.30 Net to seller $19.43 COGS (landed) - $8.40 Gross contribution $11.03 PPC at 13% of revenue - $3.51 Fixed ops (allocated) - $2.50 Net contribution per unit $5.02 Net contribution x 4,000 $20,080 Phase 1 goal: sell 300 units, collect 20-30 Vine reviews, confirm sell-through rate >= 10 units/week by day 30. This is the gate to Stage 2. 4.2 STAGE 2, PHASE 2 PRICE (MAIN SHIPMENT, ~3,500 UNITS) Attribute Value Price $28 Entry condition Phase 1 sell-through >= 10 units/week at day 30, minimum 10 verified reviews at 4.0+ stars Duration Until Stage 3 conditions are met (no time limit) Purpose Match Morocco Gold, establish Moroccan premium positioning, improve cash flow to fund Year 2 Rationale: $28 is the Morocco Gold price. Matching it signals parity on the axis that matters most to a first-time buyer scanning the category: price as a quality proxy. When two unknown brands price identically, the buyer differentiates on listing quality, photography, and review count. Both of those are controllable. Being priced below Morocco Gold indefinitely sends a subordination signal that is hard to reverse. The move from $27 to $28 should happen before Phase 2 inventory arrives at FBA, not after. Raising price on an active listing with reviews is cleaner than launching Phase 2 at a new price, it avoids the "why did the price change" dynamic in the review section. At $28, the Morocco Gold gap is closed. The Cobram gap is $6. The Pasolivo/Kosterina gap is $4. Daralbeida is now correctly positioned as the accessible entry point to the Moroccan single-estate premium tier, not as a slightly-more-expensive version of an Australian commodity brand. Unit economics at $28: Line Item Amount Retail price $28.00 Amazon referral (15%) - $4.20 FBA fulfillment - $3.22 FBA storage (allocated) - $0.30 Net to seller $20.28 COGS (landed) - $8.40 Gross contribution $11.88 PPC at 12% of revenue - $3.36 Fixed ops (allocated) - $2.50 Net contribution per unit $6.02 Net contribution x 4,000 $24,080 Cash flow impact vs $26: Metric Value Incremental revenue +$2/unit x 4,000 units = +$8,000 gross Estimated Year 1 closing cash $28 ~$18,000-22,000 (vs ~$9,000 at $26) This does not fully close the Year 2 self-funding gap but materially reduces the bridge required. Stage 2 is not a transitional price. It may be the permanent price if Stage 3 conditions take longer than expected. It is sustainable, correctly positioned, and economically sound. 4.3 STAGE 3, MATURITY PRICE Attribute Value Price $32 Duration Permanent (subject only to the adjustment triggers below) Purpose Enter the Pasolivo/Kosterina price tier; maximize contribution margin; establish DTC at $34 Entry conditions (ALL must be met simultaneously): 1. Verified reviews >= 50 at 4.5+ stars 2. Organic top-10 ranking on "moroccan olive oil" or "single estate EVOO" without PPC support on that keyword 3. ACoS < 24% sustained for 4 consecutive weeks 4. At least one external validation: food media editorial placement, confirmed specialty retail account, or verified chef partnership Rationale: $32 is Pasolivo and Kosterina's entry price. Both have established brand equity, multi-year Amazon history, and verified review bases. Matching them at zero equity is a conversion risk. Reaching $32 after accumulating 50+ reviews, organic ranking, and editorial validation is not a risk, it is a natural step the market will accept because the evidence is already visible to the buyer on the listing page. The $4 jump from $28 to $32 should be executed incrementally: $28 to $29 (hold 2 weeks, monitor CVR), $29 to $30 (hold 2 weeks), $30 to $31 (hold 2 weeks), $31 to $32 (hold). If conversion rate drops more than 12% at any step, hold that price for 30 days before continuing. Do not revert unless CVR drop exceeds 20% and is sustained for 3 weeks, a temporary dip on a price change is normal and not a signal to reverse. Unit economics at $32: Line Item Amount Retail price $32.00 Amazon referral (15%) - $4.80 FBA fulfillment - $3.22 FBA storage (allocated) - $0.30 Net to seller $23.68 COGS (landed) - $8.40 Gross contribution $15.28 PPC at 10% of revenue - $3.20 Fixed ops (allocated) - $2.50 Net contribution per unit $9.58 Net contribution x 4,000 $38,320 At $32, Year 2 becomes genuinely self-funding from Year 1 revenue. DTC price at this stage: $34 (modest premium over Amazon; justified by direct relationship, subscription model, and no Amazon fee deduction). ================================================================================ 5. SUMMARY TABLE ================================================================================ Stage Price Condition to Enter Net/Unit Net x 4K ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── 1, Launch $27 Day 1 (no condition) $5.02 $20,080 2, Growth $28 10+ reviews, 10+ units/week $6.02 $24,080 3, Mature $32 50+ reviews, top-10 organic, $9.58 $38,320 ACoS <24%, 1 external proof Year 1 scenarios (all at 4K units): Scenario Net Contribution Assessment ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Stage 1 only $20,080 Tight Stages 1+2 $22,000 Workable Reach Stage 3 $38,320 Comfortable ================================================================================ 6. CHANNEL PRICING CONSISTENCY ================================================================================ Once Stage 2 is established at $28 retail: Channel Price Notes ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Amazon FBA $28 MSRP; all fees deducted from this DTC (daralbeida.com) $30 +$2 premium; direct relationship, no platform fee; offset by Shopify/shipping cost Specialty retail $28 MSRP maintained; wholesale at $14 (50%) Wholesale (Broker) $14 Broker commission absorbed from wholesale B2B / Gift sets TBD Minimum $22 effective per-bottle equivalent Channel parity rule: Amazon price is the reference. No channel may sell below Amazon MSRP in a way that is visible to an Amazon buyer. DTC may be priced above Amazon; it may never be priced below it. ================================================================================ 7. PROMOTIONAL GUARDRAILS ================================================================================ Authorized (any stage): Promotion Limit ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Amazon coupon clips 5% maximum in Stage 1; 10% maximum Stage 2+ Subscribe & Save 5% Stage 1; 10% Stage 2; 15% Stage 3 New product launch deal $2 off for first 30 days of listing only Prohibited (all stages): - Lightning Deals - Prime Day percentage-off events - Any promotion that brings effective consumer price below: Stage 1 $24, Stage 2 $25, Stage 3 $27 Effective-price promotion floors by stage: Stage Minimum Effective Consumer Price ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Stage 1 $24 Stage 2 $25 Stage 3 $27 Promotion deployment gate: no promotion of any kind before 10 verified reviews exist. Promoting a zero-review listing trains the algorithm and the buyer to expect a discount as the baseline, which damages price anchoring for the entire product lifecycle. ================================================================================ 8. PRICE FLOOR, PERMANENT ================================================================================ The 0.5L bottle shall never be sold at an effective consumer price below $24 under any circumstances, in any channel, at any stage of the business. Rationale: $24 is the Cobram Estate price ceiling. If Daralbeida ever sells at or below Cobram's price, the brand repositions itself as a value benchmark competitor against a well-funded, broadly distributed, award-winning Australian-American brand with 10x the review base. That is a competition that cannot be won on price. The $24 floor is the firewall between premium justified and value benchmark. It is not negotiable. ================================================================================ 9. PRICE ADJUSTMENT TRIGGERS ================================================================================ Triggers to raise (confirm before moving stage): - See stage entry conditions above. Triggers to review (not automatically to act): Trigger Response ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── COGS increase > $1.50/unit sustained Absorb one cycle; if persistent, raise across 2 consecutive shipments price at next stage-entry event or by $1 with founder sign-off. Competitor Morocco Gold raises price Review Stage 3 timeline; may accelerate above $30 if conditions otherwise met. Never a trigger to lower price: - Competitor price reduction - Amazon ranking drop - Seasonal demand softness - Investor or advisor pressure - Slow Phase 1 sell-through (diagnose root cause first; see protocol) ================================================================================ 10. FINAL RECOMMENDATION ================================================================================ Launch at $27. Move to $28 when Phase 1 confirms demand. Hold $28 as the stable, correctly-positioned price. Earn $32 with evidence. The difference between $26 and $28 is not $2. It is the difference between being priced below Morocco Gold and being priced with it. It is the difference between a $6 gap above Cobram and a $4 gap. It is the difference between a closing cash position of ~$9,000 at year end and ~$20,000. None of those differences are large individually. Together they determine whether the brand enters Year 2 with options or with urgency. The price is $28. Get there as fast as the market will allow. ================================================================================ 11. ONE-PARAGRAPH SUMMARY ================================================================================ Launch at $27, move to $28 when Phase 1 confirms demand, earn $32 with evidence. The Morocco Gold finding is what drives this. They already hold $28 on Amazon for a Moroccan single-estate. The market has proven it. Launching below them at $26 sends a subordination signal. Launching at $27 keeps a $1 gap while Phase 1 collects data. Moving to $28 matches them the moment demand is confirmed, no brand equity required, just sell-through velocity. The $24 permanent floor is the other hard conclusion from the matrix. Cobram Estate sits at $22. That is the ceiling of the value benchmark tier. If Daralbeida ever touches that price in any channel under any circumstance, it repositions itself against Cobram, a competition it cannot win. ================================================================================ 12. AI PROMPTS ================================================================================ The following prompt regenerates a stage-readiness assessment from current Amazon performance data. Replace the bracketed tokens with live values. ================================================================================ START OF PROMPT ================================================================================ You are a pricing analyst for Daralbeida Brands LLC. Evaluate whether the 0.5L single-estate EVOO is ready to advance to the next price stage under the staged price architecture in DARX_BI_PRICING_REC_001. Current stage: [CURRENT_STAGE] Current retail price: [CURRENT_PRICE] Verified review count: [REVIEW_COUNT] Average star rating: [STAR_RATING] Sell-through rate (units/week): [UNITS_PER_WEEK] Organic keyword rank on "moroccan olive oil": [KEYWORD_RANK] ACoS over trailing 4 weeks: [ACOS_PERCENT] External validations secured: [EXTERNAL_VALIDATION] Compare these inputs to the entry conditions for the next stage. State clearly whether each condition is met, partially met, or not met. Recommend HOLD or ADVANCE. If ADVANCE, list the exact incremental price steps and hold periods. Respect the $24 permanent price floor and the promotional guardrails. Flag any conflict with the $26 business-plan launch tier noted in COMPLIANCE. ================================================================================ END OF PROMPT ================================================================================ ================================================================================ 13. REVISION HISTORY ================================================================================ Version Date Author Summary of Changes ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── 1.0 2026-04-01 PYB Initial issue 1.1 2026-06-13 PYB Reformatted to BPGP v3.1; no figures changed; added AI Prompts, Revision History, Acronyms, Glossary; restructured tables to U+2500 layout ================================================================================ 14. ACRONYMS ================================================================================ ACoS Advertising Cost of Sale ASIN Amazon Standard Identification Number BI Business Intelligence (department code) B2B Business to Business COGS Cost of Goods Sold CVR Conversion Rate DTC Direct to Consumer EVOO Extra Virgin Olive Oil FBA Fulfilled by Amazon FFA Free Fatty Acids IOC International Olive Council MAFTA Morocco-America Free Trade Agreement MSRP Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price PPC Pay-Per-Click PYB Internal reference code for the Daralbeida founder Q Quality score (matrix axis) SKU Stock Keeping Unit STRAT Strategy (department code) TBD To Be Determined ================================================================================ 15. GLOSSARY ================================================================================ ACoS Advertising Cost of Sale. Ad Spend / Ad Revenue x 100. Metric for Amazon PPC efficiency. Stage 3 entry condition requires ACoS below 24% for 4 consecutive weeks without PPC support on the primary organic keyword. Cobram Estate Australian-American EVOO brand. Quality score 71. Retail price ~$22. The brand Daralbeida must be clearly priced above to maintain premium positioning. The $24 permanent price floor is designed around Cobram. Daralbeida Brand name of the premium Moroccan EVOO venture. Always one word. EVOO Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Highest IOC grade. FFA 0.8% maximum. Morocco Gold Moroccan single-estate EVOO on Amazon US. As of April 2026: $28 retail. Direct Daralbeida comparable. Morocco Gold holding $28 on Amazon validates that the market accepts a Moroccan single-estate EVOO at this price with no incumbent brand awareness. Price Anchor The reference price a consumer uses to evaluate value. On Amazon, the first price a buyer sees sets the anchor. Promotional pricing before review accumulation trains the anchor to the discounted level. Staged Price Architecture Daralbeida's three-tier Amazon pricing model. Stage 1 ($27) on launch; Stage 2 ($28) when demand confirmed; Stage 3 ($32) when brand equity criteria are met. Each stage has explicit entry conditions. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- DOCUMENT CONTROL (FOOTER) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Document ID : DARX_BI_PRICING_REC_001 Version : 1.1 Status : ACTIVE Last Revised : 2026-06-13 00:00 UTC Update Cycle : Before any investor distribution; upon Morocco Gold price change; upon launch price decision finalization Next Review Due : Upon founder resolution of the price discrepancy flagged in COMPLIANCE Annual Review : Yes Owner : PYB / Daralbeida Brands LLC Distribution : Internal only, not for external distribution without founder approval Review Triggers : Morocco Gold price change; launch price decision finalization; COGS increase > $1.50/unit; investor distribution event COMPLIANCE : OPEN ITEM, PRICE DISCREPANCY: This document recommends a $27 launch price. The business plan (DAB_BP_V4_28_001 and v4.30 outline) states $26 as the launch tier price. These must be reconciled before investor distribution. The founder must confirm the authoritative launch price. Do not distribute either document until resolved. Revision History: See Section 13 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- END OF DOCUMENT --------------------------------------------------------------------------------