A Tariff Meltdown for American Chocolate Makers

WSJ article and more Tariff Talk

Besides dealing with a third consecutive year of a global cacao shortage (due to supply issues driven by weather, disease and a historical lack of investment) that has driven up prices to 3X the price from two years ago, what is the impact of tariffs on America’s artisan chocolate businesses when huge duties raise the cost of cacao, an ingredient that only grows some 20 degrees above and below the equator?

Cacao CANNOT be sourced from the United States in the quantities needed. There are ~4.5 million MT of cacao produced globally, and only about 100 tons of production in Hawaii and Puerto Rico combined - a tiny, tiny fraction of global production. There is no domestic production that is being protected by the tariffs. Refusing to exempt raw materials that cannot be grown in the US makes absolutely no sense for the chocolate industry.

CLICK HERE to read a recent Wall Street Journal article featuring commentary from Emily Stone, CEO of Uncommon Cacao, our primary cacao sourcing partner as well as from Dahlia Graham, our chocolate friend and CEO of Fruition Chocolate Works un upstate New York.

For a (mcuh) deeper dive into the topic of how tariffs impact small busionesses like ours, both directly and indirectly, grab your favorite chocolate bar and beverage, then CLICK HERE to  spend an hour with Emily Stone, CEO of Uncommon Cacao, Bhavani Veerapaneni, President of Diamond Custom Machines (source for our stone grinders), Ori Zohar, Co-founder & Co-CEO, Burlap & Barrel  (through whom we purchase spices for our rubs and some of our bonbons) and Yelena Caputo, Co-Owner and VP, A Priori Specialty Food Importing & Distribution (distributor of craft chocolate and other awesome craft foods)