Soap & Toilet Preparation Manufacturers NAICS 3256

Sep 27, 2025 - SBA Working Capital Loan Program

• The US Small Business Administration has launched what it calls its first-ever loan program dedicated to supporting America’s small manufacturers by providing additional credit for working capital needs. Effective Oct. 1, the Manufacturer’s Access to Revolving Credit (MARC) Loan Program will provide a maximum of $5 million to borrowers engaged in manufacturing (NAICS 31-33), according to the agency. The money must be used for working capital needs, such as inventory purchases or new projects. MARC capital can be structured as a term loan for up to 10 years or a revolving line of credit for up to 20 years and the loan can be used in combination with other SBA and conventional commercial loans. The MARC loan program is part of the Trump administration’s larger effort to strengthen US manufacturing.
• Makers of household and health and beauty products are facing increasing competition from private label brands, Chain Store Age reports. As retail prices remain high, consumers are gravitating toward private-label products, according to the latest Private Label Trends report from Numerator. Across 10 major product sectors, private-label products accounted for nearly a quarter of unit volume (24%). Sectors with the highest percentage of US households buying private label brand products include health & beauty (99.2%) and household products (98.9%). Aldi and Trader Joe’s rely most heavily on private brands, accounting for 76% and 75%, respectively, of their overall sales volume, while Sam’s Club, Costco, and Walmart see more than a quarter of their overall sales volume coming from private-labels. Numerator found that 41% of surveyed consumers purchase private label items to save money and 25% think they’re as good as name brands.

• President Trump’s trade war is taking a toll on the world’s largest consumer products company Procter & Gamble, which announced in June that it would cut 7,000 jobs globally over the next two years, or 15% of its total nonmanufacturing workforce. P&G, which makes Tide detergent and Pantene shampoo, has seen demand for its products sag amid consumer uncertainty after the administration announced tariffs on the US’s top trading partners. In April, P&G said it would raise prices on some products and in May lowered its sales and profit guidance for 2025. While about 90% of what P&G sells is produced in the US, it imports raw ingredients, packaging materials, and some finished products from China. Its rival Unilever, maker of Dove soap, said in March that it had made 6,000 job cuts under a plan to reduce its workforce by 7,500.
• Producer prices for soap, cleaners, and toilet preparation manufacturers hit another new high in August, rising 1.2% compared to a year ago, after rising 1.2% in the previous August-versus-August annual comparison, according to the latest US Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Manufacturers are hiking prices to preserve margins as tariffs raise their raw material costs. Employment by soap and toilet preparation manufacturers was flat year over year in July, while the average industry wage jumped 7.8% over the same period to $24.90 per hour, BLS data show. Retail prices for personal care products, as measured by the consumer price index, rose 1.1% YoY in August and 0.4% from July, BLS data show. Rising consumer prices are cutting into sales for makers of soaps and detergents, including industry bellwether Procter & Gamble.