As a small business owner, Ramon van Meer is no stranger to the conversation surrounding consumer preferences for products made in America. With the rising sentiment that many shoppers are willing to pay a premium for domestic goods, van Meer decided to put this theory to the test. The catalyst for his experiment was President Donald Trump's decision to increase tariffs on Chinese imports by an astonishing 145%.
Intrigued by the potential impact of these tariffs, van Meer sought to determine if consumers would indeed support American-made products with their wallets. As the founder of Afina, he aimed to gather actionable insights that could benefit his company. His focus was on his best-selling item: a specialized filtered shower head.
Van Meer undertook the challenge of finding U.S. suppliers to produce this popular product. While he successfully sourced the filters domestically, he also relied on materials from Vietnam, with the final assembly taking place in China through a single supplier. In his quest to shift production entirely to the U.S., he realized the complexity of the supply chain, needing to identify four to six different suppliers to handle various components of the manufacturing process.
After conducting a thorough analysis, van Meer discovered that producing the shower head in the U.S. would cost him three times more than simply absorbing the tariff. Armed with these figures, he decided to conduct a real-world test. He presented visitors to Afina's website with two identical products: one made in China priced at $129 and a U.S.-made version at $239.
“I’m big on just testing it out with real data and real purchases,” van Meer emphasized. “Not asking customers, not a survey, not even add-to-carts. When somebody has to pay for it, that's the actual real data.” After several days and over 25,000 website visitors, van Meer reported selling 584 units of the lower-priced shower head, while the U.S.-made alternative saw zero sales. In a viral blog post, he described the results as “sobering,” expressing disappointment that consumers did not support American labor as expected.
Following this enlightening experiment, van Meer is now focusing on relocating production out of China to countries with lower tariff rates. He stated, “Staying in China is not sustainable because even if they make a deal, we don’t know what’s going to happen.” Unfortunately, he noted that the U.S. is not a viable option either, as there are currently no facilities available to support his manufacturing needs.
Currently, Afina has stocked enough inventory in its U.S. warehouses to last until August. However, van Meer is aware that once this stock runs out, he will have to start accounting for the tariff costs. When asked whether he would absorb these costs into product pricing or implement a surcharge, he mentioned he has yet to make a decision but is considering further testing.
As the landscape of international trade continues to evolve, Ramon van Meer's experience serves as a critical case study for other entrepreneurs grappling with the complexities of manufacturing and consumer behavior in today's market.
