Mai Nguyen
New Product Planning
Professor Patton
3/5/14
Metabical:
Pricing, Packaging, and Demand Forecasting for a New Weight-Loss Drug Case

1. How does Metabical compare to current weight-loss options?

There are only several other weight-loss options in the market competing with Metabical. The first is prescription drugs. These are prescribed for use only by obese and severely obese individuals. This meant that only individuals with BMI of over 30 who were prescribed weight-loss drugs were using appetite suppressants and fat-absorbing blockers. They had serious side effects associated as well, which meant only a doctor could approve them. But these prescription-drug options did not account for the overweight segment with …show more content…

Printup had to find the right balance between individuals’ ability to pay and maximizing the likelihood that they would complete the entire program without interruptions.

4. What package size would you recommend?

I think the best package size for consumers would be to have enough pills for 6 weeks in a package similar to birth control packages. This way, consumers can experience half the program and decide whether or not they are satisfied with it. This also reduces costs for consumers since a package of pills for 12 weeks would be too expensive for most consumers.

5. What pricing strategy approaches would you suggest Printup explore?

Printup has considered three different pricing strategies to decide on how to price Metabical. The first was to use the current over-the-counter drug, Alli, as a benchmark and price Metabical as a premium to it. This would mean $75 for a four-week program. The advantages of this would be that individuals would regard Metabical as better since it is generally believed that higher price means higher quality. And because Alli is the only real competitor in over-the-counter weight-loss drugs, individuals won’t have a hard time distinguishing between the two. The disadvantage with this pricing strategy is that it is difficult for a new product to enter the market and generate sales with an