How to Make the Most of the Tariff Time-Out
Founders who operated through the last round of tariff spikes remember the scramble. Prices jumped, margins collapsed, and sourcing plans were rewritten overnight. For many CPG and wine brands relying on overseas materials, labor, ingredients, or packaging, the result was operational chaos.
That’s why now is the time for tariff preparation. They haven’t gone away , but they’re on pause. According to the Office of the United States Trade Representative’s most recent updates, multiple tariff programs are under review through 2025. That includes the Section 301 tariffs on Chinese imports, affecting everything from glass and cork to packaging components. Any of those rulings could reset your landed cost structure with little notice.
In this piece, we'll walk through how to treat this lull as a strategic gift and cover supplier diversification, pricing flexibility, margin health, and risk planning — not in theory, but in practice for a founder trying to grow a brand without getting blindsided.
Use the Calm to Audit Your Supplier Base
If your packaging, ingredients, or materials are tied to a single country or vendor, you’re exposed to port delays and fuel spikes that turn into expenses overnight. Diversification sounds expensive, but in practice, it gives you space to respond without panic.
Haven’t started diversifying suppliers yet? Begin with the components most vulnerable to geopolitical or tariff-driven disruption. Even running a one-off with a secondary vendor can surface options you didn’t know about. Here are other things to try:
For each SKU, list out core components, where they’re sourced, and what you’re paying (including freight and duties). Don’t just track cost, track dependency as well.
Flag anything coming from a single geography. If tariffs hit that region, what’s your plan?
If 15% duties came back tomorrow, which SKUs would become unprofitable? Which packaging choices would you scramble to replace?
Reach out to current vendors and ask about tariff contingencies. Can they source from other facilities or offer alternate terms?
Test a domestic or near-shore option on one component, even if it’s at a smaller scale or higher cost. Optionality matters more than optimization when policy moves faster than production.
Wine producers should take particular care with imported closures, capsules, and bottle glass. These components are often produced in high-tariff regions and have long lead times. Even a small change in trade status can ripple through DTC inventory availability and distributor fulfillment timelines. Having local alternatives gives you control when timing matters most.
Let’s say your DTC wine subscription uses imported foil capsules and Italian labels. If tariffs return on both, are you ready to explain a price increase, or can you run a small batch with local alternatives while you sort your long-term strategy?
Tariffs or not, strong CPG sourcing strategies are built around optionality and speed of response. If your team can’t pivot fast, you’re in trouble.
Revisit Pricing Strategy While You Have Room
No one likes raising prices, but if your margin only holds when inputs are stable, you’re priced for luck rather than growth.
Right now, while tariffs are quiet and freight is relatively predictable, you have space to reassess. The worst time to adjust pricing is when you’re in a bind; the best time is when you still have control.
Start here:
Pull the contribution margin by SKU. Is each product covering its share of fixed costs and marketing spend, or are you relying on blended margin to hide losses?
Look at your lowest-margin products. Could a 5% increase go unnoticed or at least feel justifiable with a packaging refresh or added benefit?
Consider rounding strategies: If you’re selling at $7.49, would $7.99 hold? That buffer might save you from a future fire drill when COGS creep up.
Talk to your retail partners: If you're wholesaling, are your price points still aligned with expectations, or do you need to plan a cadence for increases?
It’s a rare opportunity to stress-test your pricing strategy for 2025 before volatility returns. If you can make small adjustments now, you’ll protect customer trust while creating more financial resilience.
Have you modeled what happens if packaging costs increase by 12% next quarter? If not, now’s the time to run that through your forecast. See our Protecting Your Margins in 2025 pricing guide for more advice.
Shore up Margins and Build a Cushion
If you’re running lean, you’re not alone. Most founders can’t absorb a 20% cost spike or run two sourcing streams in parallel. But that doesn’t mean you’re powerless.
Even if tariffs never return, the work you do now to strengthen your margin will serve you later. If they do return, that cushion could be the difference between staying flexible and going reactive.
I don’t mean trimming just for the sake of efficiency. I mean reworking your operating model so it can take a hit without derailing your plan.
Here’s what that might look like:
Reduce packaging complexity. Are you running five types of boxes for six SKUs? Can you streamline formats and increase order volume for lower unit cost?
Adjust fulfillment zones. Can you shorten delivery distance without reducing coverage? Regional carriers or micro-3PLs can cut freight spend if mapped correctly.
Negotiate vendor terms. Can you push out payment timelines, lower MOQs, or trade volume for cost breaks?
Hold off on expensive tests. If you’re running Facebook ads for a SKU with 20% margin, consider pausing and redirecting spend to better-converting SKUs or retention flows.
Margin strength doesn’t always come from pricing. In many cases, it comes from knowing where you’re bleeding quietly and fixing that before it becomes a headline. The goal here is operational resilience, which is the ability to absorb shocks and adapt without losing traction. Tariffs may be the catalyst, but the benefit goes far beyond that.
Tariff Preparation Starts Now
Tariff prep doesn’t need to be complicated. You don’t need a 50-page strategy deck or six new tools, just a working understanding of your risks and a plan you can act on when the time comes.
This quarter:
Map your top five cost exposures. Where are you most sensitive to price changes: freight, ingredients, packaging, labor, or tariffs?
Talk to your vendors. Ask about contingency sourcing, alternate pack formats, or volume-based pricing models.
Model a 10-15% tariff impact on your most vulnerable SKUs: What happens to margin, retail price, and reorder timelines?
Review your cash buffer. Could you absorb a sudden $5K or $10K cost spike without delaying your next production run?
Try BBG’s CPG Tariff Nerd. We built our custom GPT to help you explore how tariff changes could affect your COGS and unit economics.
The brands that do this well aren’t panicking; they’re preparing quietly, confidently, and with systems in place that let them react without improvising. In case import tariffs on goods return without warning, you’ll want your response plan ready rather than rushed and written under pressure. We don't know what the future holds for tariffs, so being ready for any outcome is the smartest strategy.
Tariff Lulls Are for Operators, Not Optimists
There’s a good chance this window won’t last, so make the most of it while you can. Brands that stay calm and act now are better positioned, faster to adapt, steadier under pressure, and more confident when the landscape shifts again.
At BBG, we help founders turn risk into process. That means smart tariff preparation with better supplier planning and financial systems that support operational resilience.
We can help you plan for the next tariff announcement and for the forecasting, margin, inventory, and pricing conversations that come along with it. Looking for expert support building your contingency plan or shoring up your vendor strategy? Let’s talk.
