One of the foods trending on social media right now is dot cakes — single serving desserts in cups, covered with rainbow sprinkles. CB Stuffer, a chocolate treats company in Massachusetts, can’t make enough dot cake peanut butter cups to keep up.
“Our nonpareils are suddenly very popular,” said owner Erin Calvo-Bacci. “We have seen a 40% spike, which is insane.”
A trend Calvo-Bacci is less excited about is inflation. She’s seen it in key ingredients, like peanuts. “We’ve received word that that price is going to increase,” she said, along with the boxes the business ships candy in.
Price increases and tariff uncertainty are causing some business owners to order and import goods earlier than usual to prepare for the holidays. Containerized freight rates have reached their highest prices in nearly two years, reflecting demand. Wholesale inventory numbers for May were up 0.1% from the month before.
Calvo-Bacci now has enough containers to get her through the end of the year. It means she’s dedicating a lot of warehouse space and cash to packaging. “It’s become okay, fine, what additional cost am I facing today?” Calvo-Bacci said.
Greg Shugar owns menswear accessory shop Beau Ties in Vermont. He said he has enough fabric to get him past the holidays and even into 2027.
“I was really just afraid of another erratic, unexpected tariff coming, so I stocked up,” he said.
It means leaning into more standard designs, like the classic black tie.
“We try to make it a little interesting, adding either different fabrics like a grenadine silk or velvet,” said Shugar. “But men's neckwear trends fortunately don’t change too drastically, too quickly.” | 
