b'CHANGING MARKETSintroduction of unprecedented tariffs,Led by its founders, Anthony andNuez Acres has launched its products and warnings of more tariffs to come.Nancy Wingham, Nuez Acres was firstin 241 Walmart retail locations across The company had plans to expandformed from an idea stemming fromCanada as well as 51 Fred Meyer loca-into the U.S. retail market in 2025, asa previous trade warone betweentions in the U.S. We just signed on with it currently reaches U.S. consumersChina and the U.S. in 2018. MyUNFI (United Natural Foods Inc.). That\'s through online sales and corporatewife\'s family grows pecans in Mexico,the largest natural product distrib-gifting. However, with all the uncer- and the state that she comes from,utor in the United States. So we\'ve tainty, MINI TIPI has decided to pivotChihuahua, is a massive producer ofbeen pretty busy in the last five years, and continue to focus its efforts onpecans, explains Anthony, who is ofAnthony says.growing its Canadian market. Mtis heritage and the chief oper-ating officer for Nuez Acres.The most challenging aspect of growing We decided to expand and penetrateand expanding into these markets has more into the Canadian market, andDuring the last Trump administra- been managing production require-focus more on our presence in Canada,tion, and the trade war betweenments and access to capital. [Weve and also increase our brand visibilityChina and U.S., the price of pecansgone] from local farmers markets where here, Bernard says. We think its thehad collapsed," continues Anthony.we were selling maybe a couple [of] right moment to strengthen our part- "Going down and visiting my wife\'sthousand dollars worth and worrying nership with our retailers and with otherfamily, we saw firsthand the impactabout carrying lower inventory levels collaborations within Canada. It will beof the price collapsing and nobodyto where we are nowdistributing part of our growth strategy to eventu- buying pecans and the impacts onto Walmart and Fred Meyer, having ally explore the opportunities in the U.S.the families. So we figured out ato have a bigger amount of inventory So, for now, it\'s not a goodbye [to thedifferent way to sell the pecans. Ion hand, and then realizing the impact U.S. market]; it will just be later. started looking at what was inside ofon the actual business. This includes pecans, like the minerals and vitamins. the cost to hold all this stuff on a shelf NUEZ ACRES compared to having it as cash that Nuez Acres, Canadas only IndigenousAnthony and Nancy took 100 kilo- we could use for the business itself, pecan oil producer, offers unique water- grams of pecans with them back homeAnthony says.free skincare and haircare solutions thatto Langley, B.C., and started their are sustainable from seed to skin.beauty products business just shortlyThe recently announced U.S. tariffs have Derived from pecans, these beauty prod- before the COVID-19 pandemic hit.already had an impact on their business ucts are designed to offer an environ- The couple relied on governmentwith shipping costs spiking shortly after mentally friendly option to consumers programs and technologies like Zoomthe first calls for tariffs in January, as from their sustainable packaging to theirto initially help them grow their busi- companies raced to get excess goods small-batch waterless production andness, and since then, demand for theirover the border to store in warehouses. low-carbon footprints. products has exploded.Even without the tariffs, having to meet Nuez Acres is the brainchild of husband and wife team Anthony and Nancy Wingham, pictured left. Their company produces water-free skincare and haircare products derived from pecan oil that they import from Mexico.44A CCIB PUBLICATIONSummer 2025'