Coffee company ‘on the back foot’ as US tariffs hit home

From large multinationals to small family-run businesses, the trade war emerging due to newly announced US tariffs is impacting on companies of every size.

Included in that is Brady’s Coffee, which operates out of an industrial estate on the edge of Wicklow Town, Co Wicklow.

Co-found Craig Brady set up the business in 2017 and has 15 employees.

The US market is of growing importance to the company, now accounting for around a quarter of the business.

Brady’s Coffee is now available in all 50 states.

“We had a very strategic plan for this year about what we wanted to do in America, and all of it is on hold,” Mr Brady said.

“It’s part of our strategy for growing the company, and we’ve invested heavily in equipment and production to manage the growth over in America. So it is a vital part of what we’re doing.”

The initial news of the tariffs, announced by US President Donald Trump last week, came as a surprise, he added.

Since this morning though, a 20% tariff has been put on products.

“It came as a little bit of shock because you can’t grow coffee in North America. So, we all felt that we would avoid the tariffs. It’s not something they can bring home production to.

“I wasn’t expecting it, if I was honest. I’ve been on the back foot a bit since we heard.”

Mr Brady now expects the price of his coffee to go up, with US consumers feeling the rise.

Normally retailing for around $16, he predicts that the price of a 227g tin of coffee could rise to as much as $22 and fears for any knock-on effect that could have.

“That is a concern for sales. But we are a premium product in America. So, we’re hoping that it can take the price rise. We’re hoping we can get through this and come out the other side.

“It’s creating uncertainty, which is actually the most dangerous thing you can deal with.

“We’ve dealt with rising coffee prices over the past year – that’s something we can deal with, but the uncertainty is something where it really makes people nervous.

“They don’t know what’s coming down the line. They hold off, and that’s our biggest issue at the moment,” he said.

Currently the company is preparing for a sizeable order that is due to ship to the US next Tuesday. An even bigger one is due to go out in the summer.

“We’ve got our largest order ever due at the end of June, and we’re unsure if that order is still going to go ahead. We’re in discussions at the minute about it,” he said.

At the moment, like many other business owners, Mr Brady does not know when or if this trade war will end but says help may be needed to be provided if it continues.

“I don’t know what the end solution to this is.

“We can’t be bullied, but there needs to be an urgency to come up with a solution as soon as possible. If there isn’t an immediate solution, they may need to look at supports for business that are exporting to America to help us get through this difficult time.”