General Mills is planning to raise prices on all of their cereal, snacks, and other foods by 20 percent in January.
The company has notified retailers that the increase will apply to dozens of their brands, including Annie's, Progresso, Yoplait, Fruit Roll-Ups, Betty Crocker, Pillsbury, Cheerios, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Lucky Charm's, Wheaties, Reese's Puffs, Trix and more.
According to a report from CNN Business, General Mills is not alone in their plans to hike prices. Other companies who have announced increased prices for next year include Tyson, Kraft Heinz, Mondelez, Procter & Gamble, Kimberly Clark and others."Grocery prices have increased sharply during the pandemic, after stagnating from 2015 through 2019. Prices climbed 1% in October from September and were 5.4% higher than at the same time last year, according to the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics," the CNN Business report noted.
In September, General Mills said that they were expecting the input cost inflation to be between seven and eight percent during the 2022 fiscal year.
"Inflation on food, beverages and household basics will climb to 8% during the first half of 2022 before settling at 4% during the latter half of the year, projects IRI, a market research firm," the report continued. "IRI tracks prices, point-of-sale and volume data, promotions and trends at big-box stores, wholesale clubs, supermarkets, pharmacies and other consumer channels."
In a statement about the high price increase, General Mills cited inflation and labor shortages.
"The current operating environment is as dynamic as we've experienced in at least a decade, resulting in significant input cost inflation, labor shortages, and challenges servicing the business," the statement from General Mills said.
Walmart, the largest retailer of groceries in the United States, has been absorbing some of the costs of inflation in order to keep prices lower than their competitors. Over one fourth, 29 percent, of General Mills sales are through the retail giant.
