By Justine Irish D. Tabile, Reporter
CONSUMER GOODS company Procter & Gamble (P&G), the maker of Pampers and Whisper, will discontinue the sale of certain brands in the Philippines to concentrate on its core product lines.
“Consistent with our strategy of investing in innovation and brand superiority to drive sustainable growth, P&G will refine our portfolio in the Philippines by discontinuing three categories,” P&G Philippines Communications Director Anna Legarda said in an e-mail interview with BusinessWorld on Wednesday.
“The cessation of production and commercial operations in baby care, feminine care, and laundry bars will enable the company to allocate resources towards enhancing our core offerings and better serve consumers,” she added.
In a call to the company’s customer care service, an agent confirmed that Pampers, Whisper, and Tide Bar have not been sold in the Philippines since November.
“We thank our partners for their continued support of P&G as we pursue future growth opportunities in the country with our strong, trusted portfolio that will continue to serve Philippine consumers,” said Ms. Legarda.
“We remain committed to providing consumers with superior products, to caring for our employees, and to positively impacting communities and society,” she added.
In separate messages, the Facebook pages of Tide Philippines and Pampers confirmed the discontinuation.
“Tide Bar will no longer be available in stores starting in November. The timing will be varied by channel and variant,” Tide Philippines said.
Pampers said the change aligns with the company’s global strategy.
“This will enable the company to allocate resources and invest in innovation and superiority that better serve consumers and fuel sustainable growth,” it added.
Toby Allan C. Arce, head of sales trading at Globalinks Securities and Stocks, Inc., said P&G’s decision should be “viewed through the lens of global portfolio optimization rather than as a retreat from the local market or a loss of investor confidence in the country.”
“As a multinational consumer goods company, P&G regularly rationalizes its brand and stock-keeping unit portfolio to concentrate resources on higher-margin, faster-growing, or more defensible categories,” he said.
He added that in markets like the Philippines, where competition in fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) is intense, price sensitivity is high, and input and logistics costs have risen, some product lines may no longer meet internal return thresholds or strategic priorities.
“Rather than maintaining a wide but less efficient product mix, P&G may be choosing to double down on its strongest franchises where it enjoys scale, brand leadership, and pricing power,” he said.
“This kind of pruning is consistent with how global FMCG players manage mature or highly competitive markets and does not necessarily signal weaker demand overall,” he added.
He also noted that the move should not be interpreted as a negative signal about investor confidence in the Philippines, which remains one of Southeast Asia’s largest and youngest consumer markets.
“P&G’s continued presence — and likely reinvestment in core categories — suggests confidence in the market’s fundamentals, even as it adapts to near-term cost and competitive realities,” he said.
“For investors, this underscores a broader theme in the Philippine consumer sector — growth opportunities remain, but winning companies will be those that manage costs well, understand shifting consumer behavior, and focus capital where returns are most sustainable,” he added.
Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort said competition may also have influenced the decision.
“This could be partly a function of competition amid lower-priced competing brands and effects on margins,” he said.
“It may also be a pure business decision since Filipinos, facing higher prices in recent years, became more price sensitive. So, their lower-priced version, especially targeted to the masses, could be prioritized instead,” he added.
