Navigating New Tariffs: How to Scale Your Wholesale Brand Without Losing Retailers

On April 2, 2025, United States President Donald Trump announced a sweeping new set of tariffs on imported goods that are shaking up global trade, and creating challenges for brands that produce goods overseas. The new tariffs range from a 34% tax on goods imported from China to a 46% tax on goods from Vietnam. In retaliation, other countries are beginning to impose tariffs on U.S. exports, complicating the international trade landscape even further.

For brands that rely on wholesale channels to reach retailers and customers, this latest wave of trade taxes may feel like a devastating blow. Margins are shrinking and pricing strategies are being questioned by retailers and consumers making the path forward seem uncertain.

But here’s the good news: you can still grow your business without just raising your prices, which could cause retailers (and consumers) to walk away from your brand entirely. 

Below are three practical and strategic ways your brand can navigate the new tariffs and thrive in the wholesale world, even in the face of economic pressure.

Double Down on Your Most Profitable SKUs

In times of uncertainty, product optimization is your best friend. Analyze your product assortment and identify your most valuable SKUs. Products with strong sales velocity in wholesale channels and have healthy profit margins should be the products that you focus on and build around. 

Instead of spreading your resources thin by continuing to produce low-margin or slow-moving products, focus on your best-sellers. This may mean temporarily pausing the production of certain products that aren’t essential to your bottom line. While in the short-term this may seem like a blow to your business, in today’s uncertain economic environment, all of your products need to be optimized to drive profitable growth for your business.

Yes, narrowing your line might seem like a step backward, but it’s a smart survival tactic and you don’t need to say goodbye to these SKUs forever. Once the tariff environment stabilizes, you can reintroduce them strategically. In the meantime, doubling down on top performers can help you maintain your financial health and even grow stronger.

Expand Your Wholesale Footprint by Lowering Minimum Order Quantities (MOQ’s) 

Another way to grow during this turbulent time is by expanding your reach to more retailers, even if their initial order is less than you typically like to accept. By lowering your minimum order quantity (MOQ), you’re likely removing a key barrier for smaller and or more cautious independent retailers to potentially carry your products.

It’s possible that many independent retailers may have been interested in your products in the past but were held back by a high MOQ. Now’s the time to rethink that. 

Just by lowering your MOQ, it can help to:

• Increase brand visibility with more eyeballs looking at your product on the store shelves

• Build long-term retail relationships with retailers first testing your product and then turning into long-term customers once your products begin to sell 

• Create more revenue streams with new retailers 

• Open the door to what could become high-volume accounts in the future

Even if the total dollars per order are smaller initially, the net exposure and volume could make up for it. Just by being creative with your MOQ’s, it’s possible that you can open up hundreds of new accounts that in turn could attract thousands of new customers now, and in the future.  

Own the Retail Relationship (and Avoid Marketplace Fees)

Wholesale marketplaces like Faire have become popular discovery tools for brands and retailers. But they come at a steep cost: 15%+ fees on each order. In a tariff-heavy environment, where every dollar counts, that percentage eats into your already thin margins and can evidently sink a business.

By managing retail relationships directly, you can:

• Build deeper, more loyal relationships with stores which will put your brand in the best position from a long-term perspective anyways 

• Avoid marketplace commissions which will allow you to potentially keep pricing consistent with your current pricing offering (even with increased tariffs). 

• Control brand experience and communication, as opposed to be stuck with the marketplaces look and feel 

This approach can be a game-changer. Instead of raising your prices to retailers (and risking losing them), you can keep pricing competitive by reclaiming that 15% fee you’d otherwise lose to a marketplace.

Brands like Onesto Foods are seeing reorders 2x faster than they previously were, while saving 13%+ profit margin per order.  If you’re looking for tools to help manage wholesale accounts directly, Vanik is a platform designed to help you do just that. It offers everything you need to keep track of orders, communicate with retailers, and build meaningful relationships with them, all without the marketplace middleman.

Adapt, Don’t Panic: This Is a Cycle

Tariffs, taxes, and trade wars are not permanent. Historically, these changes come in cycles. While this new round of tariffs may feel extreme, the businesses that survive (and thrive) are the ones that adapt quickly and strategically.

Focus on lean operations. Streamline your product line. Prioritize margin-rich channels. Find new customers with fewer barriers. And build direct, resilient relationships with retailers.

This is not the time to panic. It’s the time to pivot.

The 2025 tariff changes have made it more expensive to import and export goods, but they don’t have to stop your wholesale business from growing. By focusing on your strongest SKUs, reducing MOQs to gain new accounts, and cutting out marketplace fees, your brand can not only survive this economic shift, but come out stronger on the other side.

If you’re looking to take back control of your wholesale growth, set-up with Vanik to learn more about how we can help you grow your wholesale channel, while saving time and money.