Consumer Staples are generally defined as companies that sell goods with inelastic demand, meaning that economic conditions generally don’t impact a consumer’s need for the product.
They are also referred to as ‘non-cyclical,’ meaning that demand should not significantly waver even if the economy enters a recession. Because the earnings of consumer staples stocks is generally less volatile, they have historically outperformed other stocks during prolonged market downturns.
They are also generally dividend payers. Some examples of consumer staples are household items like toothpaste, paper towels, and other non-luxury items that people use on a daily basis.
An example of a Consumer Staples company is Unilever.