How to Write a Supplier Price Increase Into Your Own Pricing Without Blaming Them

17 September 2026·2 min read

Quick answer: Own the new price as your own, even when a supplier increase is the real cause — "our pricing is adjusting from [date]" reads as confident business management. "Our supplier put their prices up, so we have to as well" reads as an apology, and quietly signals your pricing was never really in your control to begin with. 📈

Here's a subtle credibility trap 💖: blaming a supplier for your own price increase. It feels honest in the moment, but it frames your pricing as something that just happens to you rather than something you actively manage — which is a strange message to send customers who are trusting you to run a stable, well-managed business.

What Most Businesses Get Wrong

The common mistake is over-explaining the cause of a price increase in a way that shifts responsibility elsewhere. Customers don't need or particularly want a detailed supply-chain explanation — they want clarity on the new price, the date it applies, and confidence that the business managing it knows what it's doing.

The Formula

Instead of: "Our supplier has increased their prices, so unfortunately we have to pass this on."

Try: "Our pricing for [product/service] is adjusting to $[new price] from [date], reflecting current costs. Thanks for your continued support."

Same underlying reason, entirely different tone — one sounds apologetic and uncertain, the other sounds like ordinary, confident business management.

A local service business facing rising material costs: updates its pricing page with a simple "effective from" date and new figures, with no reference to suppliers at all — customers respond to the clarity, not the cause.

A B2B firm passing on a software licensing cost increase: frames the change around the value delivered rather than the cost driver — "reflecting the investment we continue to make in [capability]" — rather than naming the specific vendor increase behind it.

The Mechanics: Where and When to Communicate

Give reasonable notice, update pricing consistently across every channel (website, invoices, quotes) at the same time, and avoid mentioning suppliers by name in any customer-facing communication, even if asked directly — a simple "our costs have changed" is enough.

💡 Ownership reads as confidence: a business that owns its pricing decisions, even when the underlying driver is external, comes across as more in control than one that visibly passes the blame along.

Mistakes to Avoid

Naming or blaming a specific supplier in customer-facing communication
Over-explaining the cause instead of clearly stating the new price and date
Updating some channels with the new price but leaving others outdated
Sounding apologetic in a way that undermines confidence in your pricing overall

Frequently asked questions

What if a customer directly asks why the price went up?

A brief, honest "our costs have increased" is enough — there's no need to go into detail about specific suppliers or contracts.

Should this apply to B2B pricing too, not just consumer-facing?

Yes — the same principle holds; B2B clients respond just as well to confident, clear pricing communication as consumers do.

Is it ever appropriate to explain the cause in detail?

For a very large, unusual increase, a brief explanation can help set context — but it should still be framed as your business responding to conditions, not apologising for them.

How much notice should a price increase get?

This varies by industry and relationship, but more notice is generally received better — aim for at least a few weeks where practical.

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Written by

Kate, founder of Chronically Online

I help Gold Coast and Brisbane businesses grow with branding, websites and marketing that actually works.

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