MrBeast Says Trump’s Tariffs Make It Cheaper To Make Chocolate Outside The U.S.
US President Donald Trump’s rising tariffs are already sending shockwaves through the food industry, and YouTuber-turned-chocolate-tycoon MrBeast isn’t staying quiet. In a recent post on X (formerly Twitter), the Feastables founder said he’s seriously considering moving more of his chocolate production out of the U.S. thanks to looming costs tied to the former president’s economic plans.
“Ironically because of all the new tariffs it is now cheaper to make our chocolate bars we sell globally NOT in America because other countries don’t have a 20%+ tariff on our cogs,” MrBeast wrote. (For the uninitiated, “cogs” means “cost of goods”—basically, the cost of making the thing you’re selling.)
The irony here is thick: the whole point of these tariffs is to boost American manufacturing. Instead, it’s pushing one of America’s most successful digital entrepreneurs to look overseas. MrBeast already manufactures some of his chocolate in Peru, so the infrastructure’s there—now it’s just a matter of whether he leans all the way in rather than swallowing the price hike.
“Btw we pay our farmers a living income, use fair trade certified beans, etc., so I was already spending a lot on cocoa. A random price hike was pretty brutal ngl,” he added in a follow-up tweet.
And he’s not just tweeting from a chocolate-scented soapbox. MrBeast’s Feastables brand pulled in $251 million in chocolate sales last year—more than he made from YouTube. So yeah, he’s taking this seriously.
Even though Trump paused the tariffs for 90 days, that temporary breather isn’t exactly comforting to smaller businesses who don’t have the same global reach or cushion MrBeast does. The whiplash nature of tariff hikes, pauses, and vague economic plans still leaves the industry on edge. For many small-scale snack makers, this isn’t just an inconvenience—it could be the final blow.
As of now, it’s hard to say how the tariff war will impact American business owners. MrBeast, nonetheless, felt confident about the future of Feastables: “We’ll figure it out. I feel for small businesses though. Could really be a nail in the coffin for them.”
