After 33 years of tradition – and not budging on it’s famous ($)0.99 per can price point – AriZona beverages’ stalwart leadership now admits that Trump’s tariffs might just be the straw that breaks the brand’s back…
Family elder Don Vultaggio says he’s continuing his fight to keep
the iconic 22 oz. / 650 ml AriZona tall boy at $0.99…
AriZona’s unique 22 oz. / 650 ml tall boy and it’s official $0.99 price tag have been hallmarks of the iconic iced tea brand for almost exactly a third of a century.
Now, it appears the family-run business is on the verge of raising the price. Which would thrust a whole industry into mourning.
And the trigger for such an historical hike would be… Trump’s tariffs.
‘Worth fighting for…’
Proud leader of a family beverage dynasty, Don Vultaggio says: “A price tag is [a thing] worth fighting for.”
Vultaggio’s billionaire status lets him price his product anywhere he wants. But when you consider that 80 percent of the aluminum he uses for his cans comes from Canada. And that mountain of metal is now subject to Trump’s 50 percent tariffs…
In a recent TODAY show interview with high-profile host Savannah Sellers, Vultaggio laid it on the line:
Sellers: “Are you raising the price of your big cans above 99 cents?”
Vultaggio: “Right now, we have no plan to do it. We’re trying to hold the line.”
Fighting back
Meanwhile, Vultaggio is actually fighting back, where he can, such as he can. The main target of his war against rising costs is the iconic aluminum can. He says the company is, for the foreseeable future, absorbing the $40 million per year costs that result from tariffs.
And he’s already announced plans to lower the price of his coventional 20 oz. / 591 ml plastic bottles.
Vultaggio has told a variety of news outlets he intends to hold the line as long as he can. Out of his own pocket. And, as the billionaire chief of the company, that means any decision to raise the price rests with him and him alone.
My take
So… The iced tea giant who’s already an icon is positioning himself to become a legend.
But from what I’ve learned recently about Don Vultaggio… It sounds as though that would suit him, personally, just fine!
~ Maggie J.