'We got hit': Grocery chain CEO resorts to 'shrinkflation' to combat Trump tariffs

The CEO of a Northeast grocery chain lamented to CNN viewers that he's had to raise some prices significantly on certain items, and blamed the policies of President Donald Trump.

Stew Leonard Jr., the president and CEO of Stew Leonard’s grocery chain, joined CNN on Thursday to discuss prices, as grocery prices have climbed during Trump's second term, with the sharpest single-month jump in the last three years happening between July and August. Leonard initially shared what he called "good news," saying he's lowered prices on some staples, including eggs, chicken breasts, butter and flour, noting the market has a lot to do with that.

To boot, lobster prices have fallen, he said, because China is not importing as many.

Then he delivered the bad news.

"There’s also some tough things, like this — how do you like this baby right here?" he said, holding up a "nice big ribeye tomahawk, Fred Flintstone-type steak right there."

The price is up about 15% on beef," he said, noting he's seen beef prices at a 60-year low for the herd sizes. Leonard again blamed supply and demand.

Shrimp, he said, is being imported from Ecuador, which got hit with a 15% tariff from Trump.

"I don’t see how prices can go down overall between now and the end of the year," he said. We’ve got to make some big buying decisions right now for coffee in Brazil. We import our coffee direct, and roast it here at Stew Leonard’s. So, so I don’t see the window for costs to come down. Our labor is going up at our family business here in the tri-state area. So it’s going to be a challenge, really, for customers to see their grocery bill go down this year, I think."

Later in the segment, Leonard said bags of coffee have reached $15. His chain has been forced to try "shrinkflation" to make coffee "a little more pocketbook-friendly."

"We’re making $10 bags right now, which are flying off the shelf," he said.

He said some customers may choose to buy smaller shrimp as well to cut costs, as consumers can see shrimp at $2 less per pound for smaller shrimp.

Lenard then picked up a push toy of a milk carton made in China, and lamented that prices have soared for such products.

"We got hit with a 35% China tariff on these things. So we had to raise the price. Normally, they’re $10 for these in the store. We had to raise the price up to $14. You know, so it’s having an impact right here," he concluded.