Brooklyn Baby Brand Struggles with Tariff Uncertainty and Price Stability

Impact of Tariff Uncertainty on Small Businesses

• 🎯 Tariff uncertainty is making it nearly impossible for small online businesses to plan ahead and keep prices stable.
• 💡 The White House has delayed tariffs on the European Union until July 9th, while continuing negotiations.
• 📈 The US trade deficit with the EU was $236 billion last year, highlighting the scale of trade relations.

Embembly's Challenges with Global Supply Chains

• 👶 Embembly, a Brooklyn-based baby brand founded in 2009, faces significant challenges due to tariff "whiplash."
• 📊 The company uses spreadsheets to model scenarios for potential tariff rates ranging from 10% to 145%.
• 🇨🇳 Even with a temporary China-US truce lowering tariffs for 90 days, future expectations remain unclear.

Sourcing and Manufacturing Dilemmas

• 🇺🇸 While Embembly manufactures some products in the US (skincare in Wyoming, laundry products in Massachusetts), they rely on global supply chains for other components.
• ♻️ Packaging made from 100% recycled plastic is sourced from China, and tariffs directly impact its cost.
• 🇵🇰 The company faced a 39% tariff on organic cotton sourced from Pakistan, impacting their diaper line.

Financial Strain and Future Outlook

• 💰 Embembly is absorbing as much cost as possible, but anticipates raising prices for customers in the coming months.
• 💸 Attempting to be entirely US-made proved unsustainable due to higher production costs.
• ⏳ The co-founder expresses the difficulty of running a company amidst such significant uncertainty, with personal money and 15 years of time invested.