Reckitt Benckiser Group plc and Unilever plc have BLITZED the FTSE 100

Whats not to like about household goods giantsReckitt Benckiser Group (LSE: RB)and Unilever (LSE: ULVR)?

Bathroom blitz

The two companies offer the perfect blend of domestic drudgery andglobal ambition. They sell the boring, practical stuff that people use almost every single day,and drop thoughtlessly into their shopping trolleys wheneverthey hit the supermarket. In the case of Reckitt Benckiser, that means Harpic, Dettol, Cillit Bang, Nurofen, Vanish, Clearasil and Calgon. For Unilever, it spells Axe/Lynx, Comfort, Domestos, Dove, Flora, Omo and Surf. They sellplenty more besides, but I lack the space.

The exciting part is that they sell this humdrum stuff in around 200 countries across the world. This gives them fantastic diversification becausewhen, say, the West isretrenchingconsumers in countries as diverse as Egypt, South Africa, Peru, Russia and Singapore may be feeling flush. In fact, Unilevers recent growth has been best in some of the worlds worst hit economies, notably Brazil, Russia, and China. Everybody wants clean bathrooms, fresh clothes, soft skin and flowinghair, wherever they are in the world.

Global power spray

The result is that they have been the perfect way to play the emerging markets boom and crucially, the bust as well. When Chinese, Brazilian, Russian and India consumers were feeling wealthier, they upgraded to Reckitt Benckisers and Unilevers brands. When they felt slightly less wealthy they cut back on lifes luxuries rather than essentials, as investors inglobal spirits giant Diageo and fashion house Burberry Groupcan testify.

Reckitt Benckiser has shown a clean pair of heals to race ahead111% over the past five years whileUnilever is up 58%,thrashing the6% growth acrossthe FTSE 100. Theres nothing humdrum about that level of outperformance. Theyve also sparkledover the last year, growing 12% and 6%. respectively, in marked contrast to the hefty 12% drop on the FTSE 100, which hit its high of just over 7,100 almost exactly a year ago.

Health and beauty

Naturally, given their global clout, neither stock iscorrelated with the fortunes of the UK economy. Unilevers euro dividend should benefit from recent sterling weakness. Reckitt Benckiser endured the recent stronger pound, which hit overseas profits once converted back into sterling, but should be helped by recent Brexit-inspired weakness.

RB reported a good start to the year in itsrecent first quartertrading statement, with the company on track to meet full year targets of 4%-5% like-for-like revenue growth. Unilever continues to trail its rival,with Q1results showing underlying sales up 4.7% but falling2% due toa 7.1% negative currency headwind.

Theres one thing not to like about these stocks: they routinely trade at a premium price. Today, investors value Reckitt Benckiserat a whopping 25.51 times earnings, while Unilever is only marginally behind at 23.48. The result is that the yields are a humdrum2.08% and 2.83%, respectively. Every time I write about these stocks I warn about their hefty valuations. And every time I return, theyve justified those valuations.