The food group Unilever once again recorded higher sales in this quarter. Because the companies behind brands like Dove, Knorr and Magnum are largely passing the increased costs of raw materials, transportation and energy on to consumers. The company’s supermarket prices rose an average of more than 12 percent.

Unilever earned almost 16 billion euros in the third quarter, around 18 percent more than a year earlier. Although slightly fewer products were sold in the past three months – around 1.6 percent – this did not affect sales. It has long been known that consumers tend to ignore premium brands due to inflation.

Products can be even more expensive

Unilever’s competitors also increased their prices to offset the increased costs, resulting in higher sales. Nestlé and Kraft Heinz did the same recently, as their figures show.

Unilever’s outlook is more positive than before. The company expects growth of 8 percent this year, compared to 6.5 percent three months ago.

However, the food company expects costs to rise, partly because wages for its suppliers are rising. Unilever products could get even more expensive next year — the company cites “pricing” as one of the ways it’s maintaining its margin.