This is not, however, a doomsday prepper’s guide. I will not prod you to order 200 Vitamix blenders from Amazon like they’re hand sanitizer à la 2020. But, since that’s a perfect example of how tariffs could spike prices on electronics, appliances, produce, specialty foods, and other imports, I will remind you that while Vitamix blenders are assembled in America, many of their parts are sourced globally, and in particular from China, which has been participating in one of the President’s most deranged tariff tangos — meaning that they’re on the long list of things that could get way more expensive in the second half of 2025.
I am not going to be “finally” buying a German sportscar or a flight of Densuke watermelons, but in the weeks before the effects of these tariffs start to hit, I will be using some of my tax return to finally bring home, say, a cult-fave Japanese toaster that I have been drooling over for the past few years, or stock up on cobanero chile flakes and non-toxic silicone tools. Everything from vanilla extract to headphones could see a big increase in import costs which will ostensibly be passed on to consumers.
Here’s what we’d recommend picking up now before a potential price hike.
Spices, coffee, and even chocolate
Economists are sweating over the projected prices of food goods such as spices, coffee, and chocolate, all of which are commonly grown or produced outside the US and thus will need to be imported, and thus, subject to tariffs. There’s especially concern over products of single-origin sourcing; single-origin products — think vanilla, coffee beans, cinnamon, and spirits such as European wine and Mexican tequila — have legally protected designations of origin, making them even more susceptible to price increases due to tariffs. In April, Primal Wine sent out an ominous email to shoppers on its natural wine platform, saying, “In the short term, we foresee a shortage of European wines once the existing pre-tariff inventory is depleted.In the medium to long term, If these tariffs are upheld or expanded, we expect to see significantly increased costs on European wines.” Love French Champagne or Italian Grana Padano cheese? It could be smart to buy now.
While fresh herbs are often grown in the US and are therefore relatively safe from major price swings, dried spices are not, and commonly sourced from abroad. Many of the spice companies we love (as detailed in this Eater guide to buying spices online) are subject to price increases due to tariffs, as are cocoa and coffee. Dandelion, a San Francisco-based chocolatier that only uses globally-sourced, single-origin cocoa told The Guardian, “Dandelion is considered a very, very small chocolate maker. There’s no chance that [the US] can make all the cocoa that we actually need.”
Burlap & Barrel chose to rebrand its spring sale as a tariff sale to raise awareness about this issue and demonstrate solidarity with its farmers. As the brand stated on Instagram, “What we do know is that we’re a social enterprise, and we will not cut payments to our partner farmers. Our spices are grown in their ideal climates by expert farmers who are connected to the history and cultural heritage of their crops.” If anything, I will be restocking on some of my most-used spices to support these smaller-scale spice companies that are committed to paying their farmers liveable wages.
