Officials with Procter & Gamble announced plans this week to raise prices for its laundry detergents, fabric softeners and other products as consumers continue to grapple with rising inflation.
“Effective Feb. 28, we are increasing pricing on the balance of our fabric care portfolio,” Andre Schulten, chief financial officer for P&G, said Wednesday during the company’s second-quarter earnings call, Fox News reported. “This includes Tide, Gain, Downy, Bounce, and Unstoppables and includes all forms: liquid and unit-dose detergents, scent beads, liquid fabric softeners and dryer sheets.”
The consumer goods giant’s fabric care portfolio also includes Ariel, Cheer, Dreft, Era and Rindex.
Prices will rise by an average of 8%, CNN reported. Prices are further slated to increase for some of the company’s personal care products beginning in April, according to CNBC.
“The degree and timing of these moves are very specific to the category, brand and sometimes the product form within a brand,” Schulten said Wednesday, according to CNBC. “This is not a one-size-fits-all approach.”
The company’s decision came after officials with the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that consumer prices rose 7% in December, marking the biggest hike in about 40 years.
Prices for P&G products rose 3% in the latest quarter, helping to offset the rising prices of labor, raw materials and transportation amid the ongoing pandemic, according to an earnings report released Wednesday. Officials said the company also increased the volumes of its shipments, helping to push sales to $21 billion, up 6% from the same time last year.
“The consumer is very resilient and very focused on these categories of clean home and health and hygiene,” Schulten told The Wall Street Journal.
Prices for P&G products are expected to continue to rise throughout 2022, according to the newspaper.
