Make every basket count
by navigating today and anticipating tomorrow.
From raw inputs to finished goods, see every cost driver with clarity.
The grocery sector faces a “permacrisis” of unstable growth, rising costs, and brand-agnostic shoppers. Retailers need foresight that links costs, categories, and shopper value.
Expana provides that foresight by analyzing ingredients, packaging, labor, and logistics to forecast risks up to three years ahead. The result is smarter deals, faster action, and fewer price shocks for shoppers.
Electricity prices
Electricity prices in Europe and the US fell by less than 1% m-o-m in August.
Shipping costs
40ft container composite decreased by 13% m-o-m and 57% y-o-y to $2,286 per unit.
Recycled aluminum
In 2024, the average aluminum can in the US contained 71% recycled aluminum.
Private label
Private label now represents around 39% of grocery sales value across Europe.*
Feed costs
Feed costs drive up to 70% of protein price volatility.
Energy
Energy accounts for up to 30% of total costs for producers and manufacturers
Packaging
Packaging represents 10-40% of a product's retail price for most companies.
Transportation
Transportation costs increased to 34.4% between 2020-2024
*stats from McKinsey & Company report and Private Label Manufacturers Association (PLMA)
The Challenge
When costly inventory meets shifting demand
In a retail landscape no longer built for stability, you need more than signals. You need speed. Precision. Foresight.
Grocers have long weathered economic cycles. Even when consumers change how they buy, the market keeps moving under a new rules. Resilience keeps you in the game; foresight moves you ahead.
But the pressures shaping the industry today go far beyond the familiar/normality. Inflation, tariffs, and trade friction are driving costs up, while rapid digital adoption is compressing response times. At the same time, shoppers are redefining value, moving away from traditional brands toward private label and value-for-money alternatives.
The result is a tougher playing field: Volume holds, but profitability slips. Margins tighten, and price perception becomes the new battleground.
Staying competitive means moving beyond traditional providers and static processes. It means gaining a real-time, connected view of markets - turning uncertainty into informed action before it erodes margin and market share.
That’s where foresight matters.
UK private label
UK private label growth: +13% in the past two years.
US meat/poultry
US meat/poultry costs account for 30-40% of total grocery inflation impact.
Asia’s online grocery
Asia’s online grocery sector is projected to grow 20%+ annually in key markets.
Tech stack
65% of retailers say their current tech stack cannot deliver the omnichannel experience customers expect.
The Opportunity
Broaden coverage. Build resilience. Deliver consistency.
Expana connects upstream costs to downstream value, protecting categories shoppers rely on.
Expanding Expana coverage turns reactive monitoring into proactive foresight. It’s not about replacing decisions; it’s about empowering better ones.
Price data
gives individuals and/ teams the visibility to link commodities with key categories, validate supplier quotes, and align promotions around optimal buying windows.
Forecasting
stress-tests scenarios and helps you anticipate market shifts before performance is hit.
Cost modelling
combines raw and non-raw material inputs to show the total-cost impact on pricing, promotions, and supplier negotiations.
The Outcome
Sharper visibility. Stronger margins. Smarter decisions every day.
With Expana, you can move beyond spot benchmarks to unlock full coverage:
Expanding Expana coverage turns reactive monitoring into proactive foresight. It’s not about replacing decisions; it’s about empowering better ones.
20+ years of 1,400+ forecasts
spanning cereals, oilseeds, and biofuels through to bakery and packaged goods across 19 forecast categories.
Multiple daily protein updates
across beef, poultry, seafood, and eggs including plant-based - covering meat and chilled segments.
IOSCO-assured
feed indices that track key drivers of protein volatility.
Forward-looking fundamentals
analysis across coffee, cocoa, sugar, wheat, and corn, powered by Strategy Grains and Tropical Research Service insights on crop development and supply.
Comprehensive coverage
of ingredients and packaging to manage input volatility, strengthen private-label competitiveness, and protect brand margins.
Continuous news
and market insight linking macro context to category impact.
Single integration
for seamless access, ensuring data, models, and forecasts work together.
By broadening coverage, teams gain foresight that links commodities to SKUs, protects promotions, and strengthens margin retention.
With Expana, you move from monitoring prices to managing performance. Seeing risk, opportunity, and return with absolute clarity.
About Expana
The Expana platform brings six specialities together with deep expertise in the commodities that matter most to retail.
Together, they give procurement, finance, category, and supply-chain teams the foresight to act early and decisively.
For retailers, that means sharper negotiations, unified data, and resilience in volatility. For shoppers, it means affordability, stable private-label ranges, and trust that lasts - even in a permacrisis.
How it works
Identify gaps. Extend coverage. Integrate data. Generate insight. Measure impact.
Identify gaps
average retailer customers add 2-3 new categories in year one.
Extend coverage
proteins, feed, tropicals (such as cocoa, coffee and sugar), and packaging fill blind spots.
Integrate
API feeds benchmarks into ERP, sourcing, and planning systems in real time.
AI-generated insights
SKU-level margin exposure and contract timing windows.
Measure
retailers using Expana saw up to 15% improved forecast accuracy in key categories
The Outcome
Retailers act with speed and confidence; shoppers see consistency across channels and categories.