The last one month has witnessed a steep rise in prices of staples in India, especially the prices of soaps, detergents, toothpastes, shampoos and select foods (coffee, biscuits and juices). Adding to the woe there has been further inflation in crude and edible oils, and rise in prices of wheat and barley, dairy products and many other staples and commodities. All this is likely to hit the monthly budgets of households in the country.
As per a recent report by Kotak Institutional Equities, there have been price hikes in soaps, detergents, toothpastes, shampoos and select foods. The report observes that there was a continued price hike in soaps due to elevated palm oil prices. Hindustan Unilever raised the prices of Lifebuoy and Dove soaps by about 6 and 4 per cent respectively. Godrej Consumer Products Limited increased prices of Godrej No 1 soap by about 17-27 per cent and Cinthol soap by 3-4 per cent. Hindustan Unilever also hikes the prices of all its face-wash brands in the range of 5-9 per cent and prices of its Surf Excel and Rin detergent powders by 2-5 per cent while Proctor and Gamble (P&G) has taken about 3 per cent hike in its detergent brand Tide.
As per an observation in the Kotak report many other players such as Dabur have also increased prices of its brand Sanifresh toilet cleaner by about 16 per cent. Price hike has not spared even the dental and the oral segment and in toothpastes, Colgate raised prices of select toothpastes by 7-11 percent while mouthwash prices went up by 7-15 per cent. In the shampoos segment also Hindustan Unilever increased prices of its brand Tresemme by about 7 per cent while P&G raised the prices of Pantene and Head & Shoulders shampoo by around 10 per cent. Besides this price hikes were also seen in fabric conditioners, dishwashing bars and men’s grooming products across companies.
In the food and beverages segment tea prices remained largely stable but a hike was seen in the coffee products. Nestle raised the price of Nescafe coffee by 6 per cent and Nestea Ice Tea by 11 percent. Hindustan Unilever has raised the price of Bru coffee by about 3 per cent. Britannia hiked the price of curd by around 25 per cent and cakes by around 10 per cent. Hindustan Unilever has also hiked the price of select range of Horlicks by 2-4 percent while Dabur has taken hikes in select range of Real juices by 4-5 per cent. In biscuits, ITC has raised prices of a select range of Sunfeast by 3-17 per cent while Britannia has raised prices of Tiger glucose by 15 per cent. Parle has increased the price of Krackjack by about 18 per cent. ITC has also further increased the price of its flour brand Aashirvaad Atta by 2 per cent.
The inflationary trends were also seen across key raw materials, particularly oil and agri commodities and agri inputs. Though the price hike was seen during the last one month, new launches and re-launches by many of the staples brands were also seen. For instance Dabur has launched ‘Virgin Coconut Oil' and also entered the healthy snacking market with the launch of Real seeds range with Chia seeds and Pumpkin seeds. The company has also expanded its healthcare range by launching Dabur Kesarprash. Dabur International has forayed into the premium hair care segment with the launch of ‘Vatika Ayurveda’ brand in the Middle East.
Companies like Hindustan Unilever has also expanded its skin care offerings by launching Dove Body Love range to sell a variety of hand and body lotions and has also expanded its beverages range by launching Bru beaten coffee and Lipton Darjeeling tea. Similarly companies such as Marico has forayed into Onion oil by launching Parachute Advanced Onion hair oil and has broadened its presence in the anti-hairfall segment with the introduction of Marico Jataa for Men, an ayurvedic hair oil. Tata Consumer has expanded its salts portfolio by launching ‘Shuddh’ salt, an iodized packaged salt in select markets across India. The company has also launched Tata Sampann dry fruits to sell a range of premium nuts including cashews, almonds, pistachios and raisins. The company has also expanded its Tata Tea portfolio by adding a new variant of Tata Tea Agni with ginger and launching eight new variants of 1868 range of premium teas.
