P&G, Colgate, Unilever use ads, prices, innovation to lure shoppers back from store brands

Consumers hand big brands rising sales

PRICE, PRODUCTS, PROMOTION: Consumer products companies are winning back price-conscious shoppers with innovation, marketing and by cutting prices, and three of the major players all reported sales increases Thursday.

NEWER MARKETS: Emerging markets such as China, Brazil and India continue to provide accelerating sales growth.

PROFIT HITS: Unilever quarterly profit was up 33 percent. But P&G was off 1 percent after a charge for the U.S. health care overhaul, and Colgate-Palmolive fell 30 percent after a hit from currency devaluation in Venezuela.