AriZona has been holding it down for skateboarders with tall cans of iced tea stuffed into backpacks session after session still rocking that classic 99 cent mark.
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But now there is talk that the price could finally go up and it has a lot to do with President Donald Trump’s new aluminum tariffs.
For more than 30 years the company has kept its price the same even as the cost of everything else climbed.
They skated through recessions supply chain hiccups and the pandemic without touching that printed number on the can.
According to reports, President Donald Trump is calling for a 50 percent tariff on imported aluminum co-founder and chairman Don Vultaggio says they might be forced to make a change.
AriZona uses around 100 million pounds of aluminum every year to make its cans.
About 20 percent comes from Canada and the rest from recycled material in the United States. Even with most of it made domestically the imported portion could cost much more under the new tariff rules and that is where the squeeze is coming from.
“I hate even the thought of it” Vultaggio told reporters. “It would be a shame after more than 30 years.”
The 99 cent price tag is not just a number. It is a part of skate culture. For a lot of skaters AriZona’s tall cans were the go to drink after a long day hitting rails or learning a new line at the park. Cheap enough to grab with spare change cold enough to make summer sessions bearable.
Vultaggio says AriZona is still successful and debt free and they have always preferred to absorb the extra costs instead of passing them on to customers. “Why have people who are having a hard time paying their rent have to pay more for our drink?” he said earlier this year.
The company’s skate team has been growing its presence in the street scene and keeping the cans affordable helps them stay connected to the community that actually rides. From local park jams to city wide contests AriZona has shown up without flashy ad campaigns. Just the can the tea and a logo you can spot from across the lot.
But tariffs are a different kind of grind. Aluminum prices have dramatically increased according to Vultaggio and if things do not change he says at some point the consumer is going to have to pay the price.
Fans online are already reacting with some calling it the end of an era for budget beverages and others joking it is a sign the world has gone off balance.
For now AriZona is keeping things steady but if aluminum costs keep climbing skaters might be looking at $1.29 or $1.49 cans in the near future. Until then every trip to the corner store for a cold 99 cent tallboy feels like landing your trick before the rain hits.