Chapter Foods Update: Ingredients, Categories, and What’s Coming
It’s been almost 7 months since we first launched Chapter Foods, and even though a lot has shifted behind the scenes, we haven’t updated our website or made any official announcements. That’s because we’ve been busy answering the tough questions, figuring out the bottlenecks, pain points, and everything in between.
And the thing about pursuing answers is that you never end up with just one. In fact you usually end up with even more questions. Every single project coming through our pipeline reveals new angles and puzzles to solve. It’s definitely challenging, but it’s also what makes this business fun. It pushes you to make things come alive, even when it means you need to go above and beyond.
A good example right now is a new functional snack brand we’re working with. We didn’t just match them with manufacturers; we literally jumped in to help those manufacturers source ingredients and even supported part of their product development. You might ask if that’s scalable, and no, it probably isn’t, but as Paul Graham says, “you have to do things that don’t scale” when you’re just getting started.
On the ingredient front, we’ve recently brought on board some really amazing suppliers, from billion-dollar players to agile startups. Now we can help source a huge range of ingredients like functional ingredients, natural colors, various flours, plant proteins (like hazelnut, sunflower seed, pumpkin seed, rice protein), dried fruits, sugars, organic spices, essential oils, powdered dairy products, oleoresins, fruit concentrates, extracts, you name it.
Beauty update: even though we started out focused purely on food & beverage CPG, things moved quickly. Recently, we started accepting projects in the supplements and beauty categories as well. If you need help with anything from white-label and private-label products to ingredients, we have some really great manufacturing and supplier partners lined up.
And finally, packaging. We’ve seen packaging become a real bottleneck for some projects–so much so that a few actually stalled out completely. To fix this, we recently started partnering with Wiles Enterprises, who’ll handle packaging needs for the projects coming through our pipeline.
The story behind this partnership is unexpectedly serendipitous. Last February, while leading a beverage project and searching for a co-packer in Europe, I connected with Trinity Wiles, their founder. Although that particular project ultimately fell through due to internal hurdles, it had a hidden upside: it introduced me to Trinity. Now, a little over a year later, we’re officially collaborating.
Credit: Library of Congress
Tariff Countdown: August 7 Rewrites the Price List
US President Trump signed an executive order officially ending the tariff pause and reshuffling rates for nearly 70 countries. The new tariffs take effect August 7, ranging from a baseline of 10% up to a daunting 41%, depending on where you’re sourcing from.
This isn’t the relief brands were hoping for, far from it. India’s now facing 25%. Southeast Asian countries, including Indonesia, Thailand, and the Philippines, land somewhere between 18-19%, and even familiar sourcing hubs like the EU, Turkey, Japan, and South Korea aren’t exempt, each coming in around 15%.
It’s another curveball in a year full of them. For anyone sourcing globally, especially food and beverage brands already navigating tight margins and stretched timelines, this news raises critical questions about inventory planning and cost management. And once again, uncertainty is the biggest hurdle.
Products already in transit before August 7 have a small reprieve, with goods allowed through without the new duties if they land before October 5. But any attempts to bypass the rules through transshipping will trigger a steep 40% penalty and further complications.
Do you rush orders now, absorbing potentially higher costs later? Or do you wait, hoping things stabilize? Either way, the message is clear: the ground’s still shifting under our feet.
Here’s a quick snapshot of the updated rates:
30-41%: Algeria, South Africa, Serbia, Iraq, and countries with strained trade ties
10%: UK, Brazil, Falkland Islands
15%: EU, Turkey, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, Switzerland and 35+ others
18-19%: Southeast Asian countries including Indonesia, Philippines, and Thailand
20-25%: India, Taiwan, Vietnam
30-41%: Algeria, South Africa, Serbia, Iraq, and countries with strained trade ties
That’s it for this week.
If you’re building something in CPG and need the right supplier or co-manufacturer to make it happen, Chapter Foods can help. We match brands, brokers, distributors and retailers with partners who are ready to move.
And if you’re a manufacturer looking to unlock new business or source higher-quality ingredients, we’re your direct line to the right buyers and better suppliers.
Can Koyuncu, Co-Founder & CMO