Below is a summary of our interview with Caroline Cookson. You can listen to the full interview using the embedded media player below or on your favorite podcast platform (e.g., Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Amazon Music).
In this episode of Pricing Heroes, we sit down with Caroline Cookson, Founder of Cookson Partners and former global strategy and analytics leader at Brown-Forman. Caroline’s career spans commercial finance, brand management, and market leadership on some of the world’s most admired spirits brands, including Glendronach, Gin Mare, and Diplomático. That combination of financial discipline and brand storytelling gives her a uniquely holistic perspective on pricing.
Our conversation explores how brand-side pricing leaders can balance global guardrails with local flexibility, align pricing with purpose and values, and navigate the ethics of AI and consumer trust. Caroline explains why pricing is never just a financial decision; it’s a reflection of brand identity, customer psychology, and organizational maturity.
From Finance to Brand Strategy to Pricing Consultancy
Caroline’s career began in finance at KPMG before she transitioned to Brown-Forman, where she led pricing and strategy across a diverse global portfolio that included Jack Daniel’s, Glendronach, and Gin Mare. Working across functions — from finance to general management to global strategy — gave her a holistic understanding of how pricing decisions influence brand equity, customer trust, and long-term growth.
That breadth of experience ultimately led her to launch Cookson Partners, a consultancy dedicated to helping ambitious, values-led companies use pricing as a lever for sustainable performance. Her philosophy combines the rigor of finance with the empathy of brand leadership. “Pricing isn’t a spreadsheet decision,” she explained. “It’s a brand decision and a customer decision.”
Through her work, Caroline helps founders and teams move beyond ad hoc price-setting toward disciplined systems that align positioning, profitability, and values.
From Shelf Price Backwards: Influencing Without Control
In industries like spirits, brand owners rarely control the final shelf price — yet the shelf is where the brand’s value is ultimately judged. Caroline’s approach begins there and works backward. The key, she said, is to “start from what the customer actually sees and experiences, then map everything else to that.”
At Brown-Forman, she often had to balance global price structures with local distributor realities and retail variation. Rather than dictate, she emphasized alignment, sharing data and strategic intent so every stakeholder understood how pricing supported the brand’s positioning.
That collaborative approach allowed her to maintain consistency across markets without suppressing local expertise. The goal was not to control every number, but to ensure that prices across the value chain reflected the same story of value and trust.
Global Guardrails, Local Flexibility
Caroline’s experience leading strategy across multiple markets taught her that global consistency and local freedom can coexist when framed correctly. “You can’t impose one price globally,” she noted, “but you can define the principles that guide it.”
At Brown-Forman, this meant establishing guardrails that defined how brands should be positioned — not fixed prices. Local teams then had the flexibility to adapt based on taxes, regulation, and competitive realities. That approach provided both structure and autonomy, enabling teams to protect long-term brand integrity while reacting to local conditions.
She now applies that same philosophy with smaller businesses. Governance and clarity, she explains, aren’t about bureaucracy — they create freedom. By defining clear principles, organizations make better local decisions and maintain coherence across markets, even when prices differ.
Values-Led Pricing and the Courage to Premiumize
For Caroline, pricing is also a reflection of purpose. She believes that brands rooted in strong values can — and should — price confidently. Many smaller companies, she explained, associate ethics with affordability, but “being values-led doesn’t mean you have to be the cheapest option.”
She helps founders clarify what their values mean commercially: whether it’s supporting small producers, sourcing sustainably, or paying fair wages. When those commitments are communicated clearly, higher prices become part of the story rather than a contradiction of it.
Caroline also advocates for “premiumization with integrity,” charging more when the product and experience genuinely support it. She points to brands like Tony’s Chocolonely, which combine storytelling, transparency, and strong moral positioning to justify a premium price. For her, the courage to premiumize is the courage to stand behind one’s value.
Beyond Cost-Plus: Building Long-Term Pricing Discipline
One of Caroline’s key observations is that many organizations rely too heavily on cost-plus pricing or reactive discounting. These approaches create short-term results but weaken strategic control. “The buyer doesn’t care about your costs,” she noted. “They care about the value you bring.”
At Brown-Forman, she developed promotion frameworks that clearly defined when, how, and why discounts should occur, particularly for super-premium brands where excessive discounting damages credibility. The same logic applies to smaller businesses: discounts should reinforce, not undermine, brand perception.
She advises companies to view discipline as a source of freedom. Defined rules allow teams to make faster, more confident decisions while protecting the brand’s long-term health. “When everyone knows the boundaries,” she said, “you spend less time firefighting and more time growing.”
Pricing Foundations: Data, Process, and People
For growing companies, Caroline’s advice on scaling pricing capabilities is practical: start small, but start early. A clear strategy and solid data are more valuable than an expensive toolset. “You don’t need a big team right away,” she said. “Start with someone who understands data and can link it to commercial outcomes. Once you see results, the investment pays for itself.”
She emphasizes that pricing is as much about people as it is about numbers. Strong cross-functional relationships — especially with finance, marketing, and sales — are what make pricing sustainable. Tools and automation can enhance capability, but without governance, clear roles, and defined goals, they can amplify confusion rather than clarity.
As AI becomes more embedded in pricing, she believes data integrity and process maturity will determine which organizations thrive. “AI can be powerful,” she said, “but if your data is messy or your strategy unclear, you’ll just make bad decisions faster.”
Trust, Fairness, and the Ethics of AI
Caroline and Aaron also discussed the rising scrutiny of AI-driven pricing and the challenge of maintaining customer trust. She believes that ethics and transparency will define the next era of pricing leadership.
“Just because you can personalize pricing doesn’t mean you should,” she said. “The line between optimization and exploitation is thin, and customers can tell the difference.”
As retailers adopt electronic shelf labels and algorithmic pricing systems, Caroline urges leaders to think proactively about fairness and communication. Consumers accept planned promotions but recoil at perceived manipulation. By being transparent about how prices are set — and by reinforcing the principle of fairness — retailers can transform technology into a trust-building tool rather than a reputational risk.
Recommended Resources
Caroline shared a few of her favorite thinkers and books that have shaped her approach to pricing and consumer behavior:
- Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely
- Rory Sutherland’s talks and essays on behavioral economics
- Mark Ritson’s insights on brand strategy and pricing alignment
About Pricing Heroes
Pricing Heroes is the leading retail pricing podcast for pricing practitioners and retail executives focused on building smarter strategies, protecting margins, and earning customer trust. Each episode features leading voices in retail and pricing who share practical lessons on pricing strategy, technology, leadership, and transformation. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your preferred platform.
