Soap & Toilet Preparation Manufacturers

The 2,280 soap and toilet preparation manufacturers in the US produce soap, detergent, polish, surface active agents, leather finishing agents, toilet preparations, and other cleaning and personal care products. Consumer soap and toilet preparation products are typically sold through distributors and retailers, such as mass merchandisers, grocery stores, warehouse clubs, and drugstores. Commercial products are sold directly to large customers or through distributors and wholesalers to smaller customers.

Mature Markets

In the US, many categories within the soap and toilet preparation industry are classified as low growth and mature.

Variable Raw Materials Costs

The cost of raw materials can vary depending on global market conditions.

Jul 27, 2026 - Sponsored In-Store Entertainment

• Procter & Gamble and Albertsons launched "Rico's Tacos," a short-form scripted comedy-drama series that integrates P&G’s consumer products into entertainment delivered through in-store digital screens, mobile apps, and social media, The Wall Street Journal reported in June. The initiative reflects a growing shift toward retail media and shoppable content that connects advertising directly to purchases. Albertsons will measure the campaign's effectiveness by tracking app engagement and comparing sales at participating stores, while P&G aims to improve consumer reach as traditional media becomes more fragmented and to drive more sales. For soap and toilet preparation manufacturers, the campaign illustrates the increasing importance of retail media networks, first-party shopper data, and in-store digital marketing as tools to drive brand awareness, influence purchasing decisions at the shelf and improve returns on advertising spending.
• Consumer spending is expected to be cautious and highly segmented this year, creating a mixed demand environment for consumer goods companies, according to new YouGov data. While 34% of consumers expect financial improvement, 28% expect worsening conditions, driving divergent spending behaviors. A growing share of Americans (53%) are budgeting, primarily to cover essentials and increase savings, reflecting continued cost-of-living pressure. For consumer goods companies, this means steady demand for essentials like groceries, but increasing price sensitivity and reduced volumes, as some consumers plan to cut back even in core categories. Discretionary categories like subscriptions and convenience purchases face greater downside risk, especially among financially strained households. Meanwhile, more optimistic consumers plan to increase spending in areas like travel, wellness, and premium goods, creating targeted growth opportunities. Overall, companies must navigate a bifurcated market, balancing value-oriented offerings with premium positioning to capture demand across different income/confidence levels.
• 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.
• Producer prices for soap, cleaners, and toilet preparation manufacturers hit another new high in June, up 2.8% compared to a year ago, after rising 1% in the previous June-to-June annual comparison, according to the latest US Bureau of Labor Statistics data. At the same time, retail prices for personal care products rose 2.7% year over year, while household cleaning products prices rose 2.9%, according to the Labor Department’s June 2026 Consumer Price Index report. Makers of soap and toilet preparations are hiking prices to preserve margins as tariffs inflate their raw materials costs. Employment by the industry was unchanged year over year in May, while the average industry wage fell 1.2% over the same period to $24.61 per hour, but remained historically high, BLS data show.

Industry size & Structure

The average soap and toilet preparation manufacturer operates out of a single location, employs about 50 workers, and generates about $35 million annually.

• The soap and toilet preparation manufacturing industry includes about 2,280 companies that employ about 113,600 workers and generate $80.4 billion annually.
• The industry is highly concentrated; the top 50 companies account for 70% of industry revenue.
• Soap and detergent manufacturing accounts for about 44% of firms and 45% of revenue; toilet preparation manufacturing accounts for about 38% of firms and 37% of industry revenue; surfactant manufacturing accounts for about 3% of firms and 10% of revenue; and polish and other sanitation goods manufacturing accounts for 15% of firms and 8% of revenue.
• Large companies with soap and toilet preparation manufacturing operations include Procter & Gamble, Colgate-Palmolive, Ecolab, and Clorox. Most large companies manufacture a variety of consumer and commercial products in addition to soaps and toilet preparations.
• Large companies may generate a significant percentage of their sales in international markets.
• The average American family washes between 300-390 loads of laundry per year, according to Procter & Gamble. Globally, 67% of people say they do laundry at least twice per week, another 31% claim to do it every day.