CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) – People shopping for Valentine’s Day gifts should expect to pay more this year as the cost for staples like flowers and chocolate are increasing.
Flowers
In Cedar Rapids, Al Pierson, who runs Pierson’s Flower Shop and Greenhouse, says tariffs affect nearly everything he sells. Many of his products come from overseas, if they’re grown domestically then the cuttings and seeds are imported.
“Everything we sell has tariffs on it,” Pierson said.
This has resulted in him cutting certain products, a first for the store’s 98-year history.
“The Vietnamese pottery is 50% tariffed, we’re not going to buy it,” Pierson said.
Valentine’s Day is one of the busiest times of year for the shop, and with high demand for the holiday, prices are usually already. Pierson says his most popular item for the holiday, roses, come from South America, meaning they’re also seeing tariff-related price increases.
Chocolate
The Hershey Company paid more than $150 million in tariffs last year as the core ingredient for chocolate, cocoa, comes from outside the United States. That’s a challenge also seen by Matthew Maloy, the owner of Simply Divine in Cedar Rapids.
Many of the products at Simply Divine come from vendors across the country, those vendors have increased their prices.
Maloy has just recently been forced to raise certain prices. Even the products Maloy makes in-house have been hit.
“Our melting chocolate prices have probably doubled,” Maloy said. “Prices have definitely increased.”
Chocolate is Maloy’s biggest product and Valentine’s Day is the busiest time of year, raising prices can be a tough call for a local shop.
“People come here to because they want to support us and I know that’s an added burden on them,” Maloy said.
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