From Toilet Paper to Mayonnaise, Staples Stay Strong

Makers of everyday household goods say consumers are sticking with them despite double-digit price increases. 

A raft of American and European companies producing packaged food and other staples such as tissues and cleaning products have reported results over the past week or so, and the results are encouraging. The latest was Colgate-Palmolive on Friday, which said organic sales—a key industry metric that strips out the impacts of currency fluctuations, acquisitions and divestitures—rose 10% from a year earlier in the first quarter. Analysts had expected growth of 6.9%, according to VisibleAlpha.