FAIRFIELD, Ohio — A Cincinnati staple renowned for its foreign flair, international superstore Jungle Jim's has kept a close eye on tariffs, long before the November 2024 election.
"I know tariffs is a huge subject right now, but believe it or not, it's always been a part of our day-to-day here at Jungle Jim's," said Zack Cobb, creative director for the supermarket. "It's just doing our best to keep that line of communication open, not only with our suppliers, but also with our customers."
Jungle Jim's two locations carry more than 200,000 products representing about 75 different countries, Cobb said.
"It means a lot of employees, a lot of products, a lot of different vendors," Cobb said.
WATCH: Could reciprocal tariffs impact the renowned international market based in Cincinnati?
While tariff concerns mount for competition, the international market said it's taking a more vigilant approach.
"I don't want to diminish the issue at hand," Cobb said. "Obviously, tariffs mean increased price to the consumer."
The business has seen price hikes on a few products recently, mostly in the seafood and produce aisles, Cobb said.
"At this time, there's nothing really specific. We're just kind of keeping our hand on the pulse," he said. "Being a small but mighty local business, we do have a lot of flexibility when it comes to buying. I think it's still hard to tell what that means as far as the tariffs go."
In an interview with CNN on Saturday, Jungle Jim's podcast host Mark Borison said the company's independence makes it more flexible.
"We will squeeze the margins on our end as long as humanly possible, so that hopefully customers are not seeing a ton of increases in prices," he said.
ABC News reports the Trump Administration's plan for blanket reciprocal tariffs on April 2 will now be more targeted and narrow than previously threatened.
"We're kind of just in the same place as everybody else. Just see what happens and see how we can adjust from there," said Cobb.
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