Some household items are about to start costing more.
The American manufacturer Church & Dwight Co. recently increased prices on 30% of its products, including Arm & Hammer baking soda and cat litter, and OxiClean products, The Wall Street Journal reports.
Church & Dwight’s CEO Matthew Farrell said last week that the company is in talks with retailers to raise prices on other products as well, including on personal care items.
Some of the 2019 price increases are expected to address the company’s gross margin, which was lower than expected in the last quarter due to the quickly growing household business, and U.S. tariffs impacting the costs of raw materials and transportation, the Associated Press reports.
Competitors responded to Church & Dwight’s price hikes with increases of their own, Wells Fargo Securities analyst Bonnie Herzog told WSJ. Consumers might now be paying more for P&G’s Pampers diapers and Charmin toilet paper, among others.
Church & Dwight is also introducing new products it expects will drive further growth in 2019. Products will include more Arm & Hammer cat litter options, new OxiClean laundry detergents, and the first combined flossing toothbrush. “Innovation continues to be a big driver of our success,” said Farrell, according to the AP.
But some consumers aren’t willing to pay more. Tyler Aftab, a 35-year-old teacher in New Jersey told the Journal that after noticing some of the higher prices on Charmin and Bounty while shopping at Costco, he instead purchased the Costco brand.
“I am a fairly loyal consumer of Charmin, but I will not pay $23 for the pack. I will wait until those prices come down,” he said.
