The Top 50

The Top 50, our annual look at the biggest US companies in the global household and personal products industry, remains little changed this year; what has changed dramatically, of course, is the reality in which every company in our industry operates. COVID-19 has upended every company’s projections and results. For manufacturers of household and industrial and institutional cleaners, the pandemic has been a boon for business. In fact, executives at top companies such as Clorox admit that they can’t make sanitizers, disinfectants and hard surface cleaners fast enough to keep up with consumer demand.

Meanwhile, things have gotten downright ugly for many beauty companies that compete in traditional retail space. Cosmetics companies felt the brunt of US, Asian and European retail closings. On top of that, with so many consumers sheltering-in-place, the demand for beauty products dropped considerably in critical segments like color cosmetics and fragrances.

As May gave way to June, much of Asia had successfully relaxed its pandemic restrictions, Europe was getting back to normal and even hard-hit US states began to return to some kind of normal or new normal anyway. But as we went to press, there are reports that COVID-19 cases are beginning to spike in states which had relaxed or lax-to-begin-with restrictions. Further down the road, health officials are warning that COVID-19 could return with a vengeance in the fall; if they’re right, expect more financial havoc in the second half of 2020.

Unlike previous years, no single company charged up the Top 50 rankings this year. As it has since our list of top companies debuted in 1978, Procter & Gamble is No. 1 on our list, with Estée Lauder a distant No. 2. Rounding out the top 10, are Colgate, SC Johnson, Coty, Johnson & Johnson, Ecolab, L Brands, Mary Kay and Church & Dwight.

If you think your company belongs in The Top 50, please contact us at [email protected]. We will be sure to take a hard look at your numbers next year.