Even MrBeast is upset about tariffs — and he might make Feastables somewhere else

Not everyone is feeling so cuckoo about cocoa these days.

YouTuber MrBeast has said that President Donald Trump’s tariffs are going to hurt his ethically sourced chocolate brand, Feastables. As a result, it might be cheaper to make the candy bars outside the U.S.

“Ironically because of all the new tariffs it is now way cheaper to make our chocolate bars we sell globally NOT in America because other countries don’t have a 20%+ tariff on our cogs [cost of goods sold],” MrBeast, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson, wrote on X (formerly Twitter).

According to Business Insider, Feastables drove roughly half of the revenue at MrBeast’s company, Beast Industries, last year — to the tune of $215 million.

“Btw we pay our farmers a living income, use fair trade certified beans, etc. so I was already spending a lot on cocoa,” Donaldson wrote. “A random price hike was pretty brutal ngl. We’ll figure it out. I feel for small businesses though. Could really be a nail in the coffin for them.”

According to the product website, Feastables’ products are “designed” in Donaldson’s hometown of Greenville, North Carolina, the cocoa is entirely sourced from Fairtrade-certified cooperatives, and the chocolate is made in Peru and the U.S. But on a recent appearance on the “Diary of a CEO” podcast, Donaldson said the company has begun to explore West African supply chains as Feastables has grown.

In 2023, Côte d’Ivorie was the largest exporter of cocoa beans (42% of the world’s exports, or $3.32 billion), while Ghana was the third-largest (14.2%, or $1.1 billion), and Nigeria was the fourth-largest (8.62%, or $669 million). Trump’s tariffs have imposed a 10% universal duty on every country; Côte d’Ivorie and Nigeria face additional reciprocal tariffs of 21% and 14%, respectively.

For the most part, shares of major chocolate manufacturers have held steady since Trump’s April 2 “Liberation Day” announcement of the sweeping tariffs. Hershey (HSY+1.18%), which has two manufacturing plants in Pennsylvania is down 1.4%, while the Swiss company Nestle is down 3%.