The tariff policies imposed by U.S. President Trump at the beginning of his second term in office turned 2025 on its head for marketers.
Joshua Scherz was among them. Scherz is the founder of Bela, a family-owned seafood brand based in Maine that imports canned sardines from Portugal. Hoping to take advantage of rising demand for premium canned seafood among U.S. consumers, Bela rebranded and launched a direct-to-consumer (DTC) business at the end of January — right into the teeth of President Trump’s trade war.
What should have been a celebratory year for the 28-year-old business proved to be one of its hardest. “We took a margin hit,” said Scherz. And Bela wasn’t the only one.
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