Goya CEO Says Inflation Is Forcing Company To Hike Prices

Goya CEO Bob Unanue revealed that the food company will hike prices due to inflation.

During an interview with Fox Business, the executive said that “inflation is here to stay at least for a good while and everybody has these costs.” Unanue also cited supply chain bottlenecks and labor shortages as factors exacerbating the higher price levels — which are now rising at a 6.2% pace for consumers.

Fox Business summarizes:

“We’re vertically integrated,” he said, noting that his company makes their own cans and bottles. “The cost of all those packaging materials have gone way up,” Unanue continued. 

He noted that the increased cost for raw and packaging materials is a contributing reason as to why prices for some products increased this year…

“We bring products like coconut water from Thailand [and] from Vietnam and a container with about 1300 cases of coconut water in it used to cost about $1800, $1.40 a case; it’s gone up to $20,000 to get on a container ship if you can,” he noted. 

In addition to transportation issues, like many other companies, Goya has been struggling to secure trucks and staff warehouses as well as production facilities… “We are running with less people,” Unanue said. “We are doing more with less.”

Other food companies have likewise been forced to raise prices.

In July, Nestlé CEO Mark Schneider said that “what we’ve seen this year is some kind of a turning point, where after several years of low inflation, all of a sudden it accelerated very strongly.” Though he hoped that inflation would be transitory, the world’s largest food and beverage company hiked prices by 2% to offset cost increases of 4%.

One month later, Tyson Foods — the second-largest meat and poultry producer in America — also revealed a price increase. In the second quarter of 2021, Tyson raised pork, chicken, and beef prices by 39%, 16%, and 12%, respectively.

During the 2020 election cycle, Unanue drew ire from progressives after he praised President Trump for his economic performance.

“We’re all truly blessed … to have a leader like President Trump who is a builder,” he said during an event at the White House. “We have an incredible builder, and we pray. We pray for our leadership, our president.”

Though Goya faced a boycott as a result, Unanue said that he would not apologize for his comments. 

“You’re allowed to talk good or to praise one president but you’re not allowed — when I was called to be part of this commission to aid in economic and educational prosperity, and you make a positive comment, all of the sudden that’s not acceptable,” Unanue continued, who has also worked with President Barack Obama. “Especially if you’re called by the President of the United States, you’re going to say, ‘No, I’m sorry, I’m busy, no thank you?’ I didn’t say that to the Obamas and I didn’t say that to President Trump.”

The boycott appeared to backfire after consumers bought out supermarkets’ supplies of Goya products.