The Trump Administration’s moving-target import tariffs have had significant impacts on the U.S. supply chain and manufacturing industry. While the full impact is still unfolding, it’s beginning to look like the trade deal tactics could do the unthinkable: raise the price of AriZona Iced Tea.
AriZona Iced Tea has been a shining beacon in the cooler sections of gas stations and grocery stores across the country for decades. Since 1997, the company has sold its tallboys for 99 cents, a price point that’s so set it’s actually printed right on the can. But according to the New York Times, the iconic cost could be in jeopardy.
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Company founder Don Vultaggio told the publication that Trump’s 50% tariffs on aluminum imports could finally force AriZona to bump up the price on its iced tea. Even though 80% of the aluminum used to manufacture the iced tea tallboys is recylced, it still needs to source the other 20% from Canada. The tariffs combined with rising costs from domestic suppliers has forced Vultaggio to possibly reconsider consumer prices.
He said, “I hate even the thought of it. It would be a hell of a shame after 30-plus years.”
AriZona has kept its canned beverage prices so low for so long partially by adjusting prices on other products but also by running a very vertically integrated production process. That even includes building its own railroad to bring tankers of sugar directly into its New Jersey factory, AriZonaLand. As the report points out, it also helps that AriZona Iced Tea primarily consists of easy-to-get materials like water, sugar and flavorings.
But it still needs aluminum. If foreign import tariffs stick around and, as Vultaggio put it, American manufacturers “gouge the marketplace because of that protection,” it could mean the end of 99-cent iced tea.
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