As a very small brand that is just getting started, my order quantities for production goods are low, so the price of each unit is relatively high. I chose to work this way for two reasons—first, it meant I could fund things myself, without outside investors or loans. Second, that in turn meant I could grow the business fairly organically, testing and learning as I went. Don't get me wrong, there are still financial pressures. As the costs of freight, fulfillment and shipping (among other things) continue to rise, it means I have to sell more than I originally projected just to make ends meet. And if the business fails, it's my personal savings that vanish with it.
Despite all of that, I've decided that I can absorb some of the tariff costs by increasing the number of units I order to slightly lower the price of each unit. There's definitely risk here—the same risk that any business assumes when carrying more inventory. But I don't want to give up the years I spent building this business and lose everything I've already invested.
One other thing: I spent 2021 looking for suppliers in the U.S. I liked the idea of visiting the factories and supporting local industry. While I thought I’d come close a couple of times, my plans didn't work out for technical reasons—the manufacturing capability simply didn't match my needs. In fact, there were actually very few manufacturers to choose from. I only turned up two ceramics production factories in the entire country, though I sent emails out to many ceramicists asking if they might be interested in partnering or able to point me in the direction of someone that would. Similarly, the large majority of silicone manufacturers I found either specialize in an industry (like medical), make equipment parts for other industries or are working at a such large scale that they won't even entertain a small business like mine. Trust me, I tried—even after being told the costs would most likely be too high, I submitted my designs to one factory only to be ghosted by the contact in question. Many, many others just never responded. Once I began looking abroad, I found factories that were prepared to work with businesses like mine. So I understand the need for this kind of manufacturing capability in the U.S. I just couldn’t make it work.
I’ll never say never when it comes to tariffs and my pricing—I have no idea what the future holds. Even as I am posting this, a 90-day agreement has been announced that drops the 125% tariff on goods from China to 30% (that’s on top of the other pre-existing tariffs). So there’s been a temporary reprieve, just another twist in a volatile situation that makes long-term planning difficult, to say the least. Come July, the reprieve for reciprocal tariffs on goods from Sri Lanka might end.
I could never have foreseen any of this in 2021 when I decided to start this venture. If I’d been able to, I likely wouldn’t have chosen to go down this path. The good news is that I’m extremely proud of what we’ve made and my suppliers have been wonderful to work with. As with anyone who has the belief that something is worth making, I hope you also feel that Minimal Animal addresses a hole in the pet market, a hole I think of as human-grade design for your pets. Feeding and enrichment tools in materials you’d use in your own kitchen, as beautiful as anything you’d put on your own table. I still think it's worth fighting for.