Food prices are going up next year

 

Major food giants Mondelez, Hershey Co, Nestle SA, Unilever and Coca-Cola Co. have all announced they will need to hike prices in 2019 to offset higher freight and ingredient costs.

 

Even Kellogg Co., which reported Wednesday, said profits took a hit in the third quarter amid record-high shipping costs. While the company didn’t announce price increases yet, it did say in September that its new flavor of Eggo Waffles had to be priced 12 percent higher than similar ones.

 

Dirk Van de Put, chief executive for Mondelez International, said earlier this week that at first many retailers were reluctant to accept the increases but now they see the need.

 

“There has been more openness to price increases,” Van de Put told The Wall Street Journal, adding that they already raised prices on some of their brands, such as Fig Newtons, Wheat Thins and Triscuits over the summer.

 

A company spokesperson told FOX Business that additional price increases will be in effect early next calendar year to help offset both commodity cost and freight inflation.

“This specific pricing is limited to the U.S. and only certain biscuits, gum and candy products in our U.S. portfolio,” the company added.

Earlier this month, Hershey’s CEO Michele Buck announced her plans to charge more for chocolate and other candy next year and she added that both consumer spending and the strengthened economy have helped ease retailers towards the idea.

Hershey’s and other food makers have been hit by record-high shipping costs this year due to a trucking capacity shortage and rising prices for some ingredients.

Two of the world’s largest consumer goods companies, Unilever and Nestle SA, also said in addition to food items, they will charge more for some of their beauty and personal-care products because of higher oil and chemical prices.

Nestle is also raising its prices for bottled water in the U.S. to offset higher packaging and distribution costs.