MrBeast says it'll be 'way cheaper' to make his Feastables chocolates outside the US because of Trump's tariffs
Feastables
- MrBeast said Trump's tariffs are "pretty brutal" for his chocolate brand Feastables.
- He said that due to the tariffs, it would be "way cheaper" to make the candy bars outside the US.
- Feastables is the predominant profit driver for the YouTuber's company Beast Industries.
MrBeast's ethically sourced chocolate brand, Feastables, is feeling the pain of President Donald Trump's tariffs.
"Ironically because of all the new tariffs it is now way cheaper to make our chocolate bars we sell globally NOT in America," the YouTube star — whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson — shared Tuesday on X.
According to its website, Feastables products are "designed" in Donaldson's hometown of Greenville, North Carolina, and produced in Peru and the US. But in a recent interview on the "Diary of a CEO" podcast, Donaldson said that while Feastables used to source in Peru, the company began to explore West African supply chains as it grew.
Donaldson said Tuesday it's cheaper to produce and sell the candy bars from abroad because "other countries don't have a 20%+ tariff on our cogs," he added, using the acronym for cost of goods sold.
Cote D'Ivoire, for instance — the world's largest exporter of cocoa — was hit with a 21% tariff. The reciprocal tariffs go into effect on Wednesday.
Trump has said part of the justification for the tariffs is to bring manufacturing back to the US (which is an exporter of chocolate and cocoa products). But Donaldson's comments show that tariffs on certain parts of a product — in this case, cocoa and other ingredients — could drive some businesses that sell across the world to actually move their operations outside the US.
The Feastables brand is currently available in most of North America and much of Europe, as well as India and Malaysia.
Donaldson added that because he already spends a lot on cocoa to ensure it's ethically sourced — including paying farmers a living wage — the "random price hike" precipitated by the tariffs was "pretty brutal."
"We'll figure it out. I feel for small businesses though," he wrote. "Could really be a nail in the coffin for them."
A representative for Donaldson did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.
Feastables makes up a significant portion of Donaldson's revenue at his company, Beast Industries. It drove roughly half of the company's revenue in 2024, to the tune of $215 million, according to a pitch deck obtained by Business Insider.
And it's far more profitable than his media business, which includes his YouTube channel and Amazon Prime show. That accounted for roughly as much revenue but lost money due to high production costs, Bloomberg reported.
Trump announced wide-ranging global tariffs on April 2, which he referred to as "Liberation Day," subsequently sending markets into a freefall. Several companies have said they're raising prices to offset costs.