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Procter & Gamble wants you to pay $14 for all-over body deodorant.
That’s double the price of a regular stick.
But hey, it’s for your whole body!
They’re calling this bold pricing strategy “upflation” — finding new uses for old products to justify premium pricing.
The pattern is pretty much everywhere:
- Gillette selling $15 “intimate area” razors
- Head & Shoulders launching a “simplified” formula at twice the price
- Carefree expanding what their pads catch (and charging more for it)
This tells you something about need creation. In “I Need That,” I talk about how products succeed when they fulfill genuine, deeply felt needs.
But what happens when companies try to manufacture needs instead?
The numbers tell a bit of a story:
- Razor blade sales down 20% since 2019
- Deodorant sales have dropped 6.5%
- Even beloved snacks’ sales are declining
Consumers are buying less, choosing stores’ house brands, or just deciding they didn’t need these items as frequently as they thought when money was less scarce.
The industry’s response to this strife?
Naturally, try to convince us we need more specialized versions — at premium prices.
One dermatologist’s take on all-over deodorant: “I don’t think most people need them.”
Really, do you need deodorant in more than a few key places?
For product makers, there’s an important lesson here.
Creating genuine need is different from manufacturing it. P&G tried 100+ prototypes of their “simplified” shampoo — but did anyone ask for it?
Nope.
True innovation solves real problems.
Manufacturing needs rarely works long-term.
Let’s see what happens with this strategy.
Have you bought in? Tried your own version of “upflation”? Hit reply and tell me!
Action for you: List your product’s use cases. Which ones solve genuine problems, and which ones might be manufactured needs?
Laurier
P.S. The industry keeps trying to rename price increases. First “shrinkflation,” now “upflation.” Maybe just call it what it is?
P.P.S. Happy winter solstice! Great news — the days start getting longer tomorrow if you live in the northern hemisphere. My colleague Lori in New Zealand is now going the other way. 🙃