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Supply Chain Satire

Baking Soda Box Reaches Day 4,018 In Area Fridge

Church & Dwight's volume rose 4.6%. One box in Duluth has not moved since 2015 and considers itself part of that.

By , Supply Chain Correspondent DULUTH, Minn. · · 1 min read

Based on real news: Church & Dwight Delivers Strong Third Quarter Results (Stock Titan)

Illustration of an open purple refrigerator lit by a pink light, nearly empty except for a plain box on the middle shelf, a jar of purple pickles and a pink lemon
The box, Day 4,018. The pickles are new. The lemon is passing through. Illustration: The Daily SKU

DULUTH, Minn.—A one-pound box of baking soda reached its 4,018th consecutive day at the back of a refrigerator shelf on Friday, the same day its maker reported a strong quarter.

The box was placed in the refrigerator of the fictional Lindqvist family in October 2015 to absorb odors. It has not been opened at the spout. It has not been replaced. It has absorbed a casserole, two Thanksgivings, a fish that the family does not discuss, and a move across town in 2019, which it made in a cooler.

"We forgot it was there," said Karen Lindqvist, 47, fictional. "Then we remembered and agreed it was doing a great job. That was 2018. We have not checked since."

Then we remembered and agreed it was doing a great job. That was 2018. We have not checked since.

What The Box Has Absorbed Since 2015Share of total odors absorbed, by source, as estimated by a man who counts days
0%10%20%30%40%A fish nobodydiscusses34%Two Thanksgivings27%One casserole, 201718%The 2019 move, in acooler13%Nothing since 20168%
What The Box Has Absorbed Since 2015
A fish nobody discusses34%
Two Thanksgivings27%
One casserole, 201718%
The 2019 move, in a cooler13%
Nothing since 20168%

Source: The Daily SKU Supply Chain Desk; one box, sealed

Church & Dwight, which makes ARM & HAMMER, said third-quarter sales rose 1.0% to $1.602 billion while organic sales rose 5.1%, ahead of its 3% outlook. Volume rose 4.6%. Adjusted earnings rose 13.6% to 92 cents a share. The company credited ARM & HAMMER liquid laundry detergent and cat litter, along with THERABREATH, and raised its full-year organic sales outlook to about 5%.

Paula Engstrom, a fictional household odor consultant, said the box likely stopped absorbing anything in 2016. "At this point it is not working," she said. "It is attending. A lot of employees are."

The box did not respond to questions. It has a dent on one corner from the move. It faces the back wall.

Supply Chain Desk notes. The box: 4,018 days, one location, status known. Container DSKU 401177-3: Day 934, status "in transit." Checked at 5:41 a.m. Unchanged. The two have never met. Both are sealed. Both are, in their way, on the job.

Lindqvist said the family will replace the box "next time we're at the store." She has said this since 2017. The box has heard it before. It absorbed that too.

Gus Ternberg covers supply chain and is still tracking Container DSKU 401177-3. Status: in transit.

More on ARM & HAMMER · Church & Dwight · THERABREATH

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Riffing on: Church & Dwight Delivers Strong Third Quarter Results, Stock Titan