Toothpaste, shampoo, soup, and cereal prices increased

 

Toothpaste, shampoo, soup, and cereal prices increased

Consumer product companies continue to raise prices because of increased packaging, components, transportation, and labor costs.

Now's the time to stock up on your favorite non-perishable items - before prices go up any further. What is happening? Consumer product companies point to the increased costs of packaging, ingredients, transportation, and labor, noting that rising consumer prices should offset these costs. Here is a summary of the surprising price tags you can expect to see in August:

Canned food. General Mills (Cheerios Cereals, Betty Crocker Cake Mix, Haagen-Dazs Ice Cream, Yoplait Yogurt, Pillsbury Cookie Dough), Campbell's Soup (Goldfish Crackers, Prego Pasta Sauce, Salted Bunnyder), GM Smoker (Peanut Butter, Folgers Coffee, Miao cat food mix), Kellogg (Frosted Flakes, Cheez-It cereal, Pringles chips), and Unilever (Hellmann mayonnaise, Breyers ice cream, frozen Klondike treats) are just some of the food manufacturers that have recently announced price hikes for their products. General Mills says its costs are up 7% and that while the company will make up for half of that with internal cuts, it will continue to raise its prices.

Used and rental cars. The shortage of computer chips has limited the production of new vehicles, partly driving up the prices of used cars. Also, car rentals are costly these days because rental companies have sold off their fleets to survive during the pandemic.

Make-up and toiletries. Unilever (Dove soap and Ax Body Spray), Kimberly-Clark (Huggies nappies, Scott and Depend on underwear products), and Procter & Gamble (Tide cleanser, Gillette, and Olay skincare products) are all raising prices. Unilever already increased prices by 1.6% in the second quarter of this year. She planned a slow, gentle price hike but has since changed her tune, citing the rapid rise in costs of just about everything (ingredients, packaging, and transportation). The company said this week that consumers would see higher prices imminent. P&G noted back in April that it would implement price increases in September. Kimberly-Clark has already raised its prices by 4% to 9%.