Increasing prices is “the last lever we have,” said Campbell’s CFO Todd Cunfer.
Food Industry Warns of Price Hikes
Bloomberg reports From Campbell’s to Conagra, Food Industry Warns of Price Hikes
Conagra Brands Inc. has told retailers to expect increases on products including Healthy Choice and Banquet frozen dinners. Campbell’s Co. said it plans to raise prices by 4% to 5% on roughly 60% of its products, mostly meals and snacks. Spice and condiment maker McCormick & Co. has said it expects higher prices, which were already implemented earlier this year, to bolster results in the second half of 2026.
Food and grocery companies’ efforts to keep prices down are sputtering following a sustained rise in energy and fertilizer costs along with tariffs on imports. On top of this, the El Niño weather pattern is on track to become the most powerful of the past 76 years — potentially putting even more pressure on prices if severe weather damages harvests and disrupts trade.
Increasing prices is “the last lever we have,” Campbell’s Chief Financial Officer Todd Cunfer said this week at the Barclays Global Consumer Staples Conference. Cost-cutting measures couldn’t keep up, he added: “Unfortunately, that was not enough given the extreme amount of inflation that we are seeing right now.”
Also on Friday, Kroger Co., one of the biggest US supermarket operators, cut its sales forecast, warning that the volume of items sold has slowed since the start of the year. The company also said it expects inflationary pressures to mount, putting additional strain on shoppers.
Conagra, which makes Birds Eye frozen vegetables and Marie Callender’s meals, has told retailers it will raise prices on a range of goods effective late September, according to memos viewed by Bloomberg News.
“The magnitude of sustained increases in input costs, including packaging and ingredients” is significant, Chief Customer Officer Derek De La Mater wrote to retail customers in a recent memo. Absorbing these costs isn’t sustainable, he said, adding that price increases are needed in part to maintain profit margins.
Kraft Heinz Chief Financial Officer Andre Maciel hit a similar note. The maker of Oscar Mayer hot dogs and Classico pasta sauce is trying to keep price increases “as minimum as possible.” But “if you see the whole market moving because in some categories there will be significant inflation pressure, we will just go along,” he said.
Clorox Co. which makes Hidden Valley ranch dressing, said this week it’s raising prices on its food, as well as Glad trash bags and some cleaning products.
CPI Food at Home vs Away from Home Year-Over-Year
- CPI: 3.4 percent
- Food Away from Home: 3.4 percent
- Food at Home: 2.2 percent
- Food: 2.7 percent
CPI and PPI Beef Components Index Level
Since pre-Covid the index for ground beef has gone up from 299.6 to a record 536.7.
That’s a gain of 79.1 percent.
CPI Ground Beef Price per Pound vs PPI Slaughter Cows
Price Changes
- Pre-Covid to Now: 3.87 to 6.92 up 78.8 percent
- Biden Years: 3.95 to 5.61 (4 years) up 42.0 percent
- Trump Years: 5.61 to 6.92 (1 year, 8 months) up 23.4 percent
Given the time difference, the price of beef is not favorable to Trump. But it’s also cherry picking one of the worst items for Trump.
The lead chart is a much better representation of food inflation under Biden vs Trump.
Ironic Whataboutism
Highest Levels
A Bit of a Problem
The Diesel Relation
Trump, not Biden, is responsible for the idiotic war in Iran. Food is the least of the inflation problem, but it adds to the misery, and is seen every day.
Republicans own the war, the price of gasoline, the price of diesel, oil-related and tariff-related price hikes.
Blaming everything on Biden is a losing election tactic, but it’s all Trump has.
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Taco probably owns stock in both of them.
One might think that the Hormuz sqeeze on fertilizers might not yet be factored into food prices in N. America. But should impinge on the fall crops.
“For the rest of the year”
Reminds me of the Mitch Headberg bit:
”I used to do drugs. I still do drugs, but I used to.”
Geez, Clorox owns Hidden-Valley Ranch? Sounds like a terrible combination.
How do you think they keep that buttermilk from curdling