Unilever Raises Prices 2.3% on Commodity Costs
The consumer goods maker lifted prices across its portfolio in the third quarter, with home care products rising most sharply.
Updated on Nov. 5, 2026 in Consumer Goods
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Unilever increased prices across its product portfolio by 2.3% overall in the third quarter, citing elevated commodity costs. The increases were disclosed on an October 28 earnings call.
Why it matters
The move follows relatively flat pricing in the first half of the year and reflects pressure from rising input costs across the consumer goods sector. Rival Colgate-Palmolive is also offsetting higher costs with pricing and productivity gains.
Unilever's home care division, which houses brands including Comfort and Sunlight, saw prices rise 3.6% overall, and half of the company's cost inflation sits in that business. Whether the increases will be sustained beyond the third quarter has not been disclosed.
The players
Unilever
A multinational consumer goods company whose brands span home care, personal care and food, and which reports results on a global scale.
Colgate-Palmolive
A global consumer products company known for oral care and household brands, cited as offsetting higher costs through pricing and productivity improvements.
The details
Unilever applied the increases through pack price architecture across its home care portfolio after waiting for clearer visibility into supply and commodity costs. The company cited kerosene prices, logistics costs and foreign exchange rates as factors in higher commodity spending, with vegetable and palm oil costs at historically high levels.
Timeline
First half of 2026: Unilever kept prices relatively flat.
Third quarter 2026: Unilever increased prices 2.3% overall.
October 28, 2026: Earnings call disclosed the price increases.
Second half of 2027: Unilever expects some stability in commodity costs.
Market Landscape
Unilever's increases mirror the input-cost pressures that have periodically pushed packaged goods makers to pass costs to shoppers when palm and vegetable oil prices run high. The move also positions the company alongside Colgate-Palmolive, which is pursuing a similar mix of pricing and productivity gains to protect margins.
Shoppers buying Unilever's home care products such as Comfort and Sunlight may see higher shelf prices following the 3.6% division-wide increase. Pricing on other portfolio items rose 2.3% overall, so household budgets for everyday goods could feel the change.
The takeaway
Rising commodity costs are feeding directly into grocery and household goods prices, so tracking input-cost trends can help consumers anticipate where price increases may appear next.
What happens next
Unilever expects further cost inflation in 2027 that will cool as the year progresses, with some stability anticipated in the second half of 2027.
Further reading
Explore more in Consumer Goods for context on how commodity costs are reshaping packaged product pricing.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Supply Chain Dive.
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