May 27th, 2025 | by Carina Hamel
Oof, the last eight weeks have been a doozy.
In early April, new tariffs were imposed on goods from China. Our bottles—like 95% of the stainless steel bottles in the world—are made just outside of Shanghai. The new tariff hit was staggering: 154% on insulated bottles and 47% on non-insulated. These numbers weren’t just painful—they were unsustainable.
To be honest, it was gutting. We looked at the math and knew we couldn’t keep running the business the way we had been. And for a moment, we wondered—can we survive this?
But here’s the thing: we’ve never been the type to give up when things get hard. And what’s more, you didn’t let us.
The emails, the comments, the shares—your support showed up when we needed it most. One message from a customer in France, after Robby spoke at the Vermont State House, said:
“Thank you for making such a great product in the Bivo Bottle, I will never go back to plastic. My wife and I own six bottles, and I have interchangeable lids to match my bikes… Please keep up the great work—and hopefully sense will prevail.”
That message, and hundreds more like it, reminded us that Bivo isn’t just a business. It’s something people care about. And that’s what gave us the energy to move forward.
Oof, the last eight weeks have been a doozy.
In early April, new tariffs were imposed on goods from China. Our bottles—like 95% of the stainless steel bottles in the world—are made just outside of Shanghai. The new tariff hit was staggering: 154% on insulated bottles and 47% on non-insulated. These numbers weren’t just painful—they were unsustainable.
To be honest, it was gutting. We looked at the math and knew we couldn’t keep running the business the way we had been. And for a moment, we wondered—can we survive this?
But here’s the thing: we’ve never been the type to give up when things get hard. And what’s more, you didn’t let us.
The emails, the comments, the shares—your support showed up when we needed it most. One message from a customer in France, after Robby spoke at the Vermont State House, said:
“Thank you for making such a great product in the Bivo Bottle, I will never go back to plastic. My wife and I own six bottles, and I have interchangeable lids to match my bikes… Please keep up the great work—and hopefully sense will prevail.”
That message, and hundreds more like it, reminded us that Bivo isn’t just a business. It’s something people care about. And that’s what gave us the energy to move forward.
Europe was packed with meetings - from Amsterdam to Germany to Switzerland, France and the UK. But I did get out on one super cool ride in Paris around Versailles for a good break. Side note - the cars were so good to cyclists, a refreshing treat (minus around the Arc de Triomphe, that was terrifying). Curious about the route? Here's a link - if you go to Paris, do it! I rented from le Peleton Café and they were awesome.
Europe was packed with meetings - from Amsterdam to Germany to Switzerland, France and the UK. But I did get out on one super cool ride in Paris around Versailles for a good break. Side note - the cars were so good to cyclists, a refreshing treat (minus around the Arc de Triomphe, that was terrifying). Curious about the route? Here's a link - if you go to Paris, do it! I rented from le Peleton Café and they were awesome.
We got to work. I booked a flight to Europe to explore how we might expand internationally. Robby headed to China to meet face-to-face with our factory partners. We talked with advisors, leaned on mentors, and mapped out every path we could find. With what we are calling “triage mode,” we jumped on opportunities and created plans.
And through it all, something really awesome happened: the disruption cracked something open in us. It forced us to test and to see what else Bivo could be.
Cycling has always been and always will be our foundation. But it’s not the whole story anymore.
Back in late 2024/early 2025, we ran a test with the UVM men’s hockey team—and 89% of the players said they’d switch to Bivo. Our team saw them around campus and their coaches sent us photos on the bus - it was so cool to see them adopt a new brand. That result shook us in a different way—it made us realize just how much room there is to grow. We’ve now partnered with Vermont Green FC and are listening closely to athletes in all kinds of sports about what they need from a hydration product.
And honestly, we’ve been hearing it from you for years. The number of people who say “my kid stole my bottle, so I had to buy another” is hilarious… and also telling. Bivo isn’t just for rides anymore. It’s for the pool deck, the gym, the car, the sidelines, the lunchbox (just remind them to close the nozzle….dust caps help with that :))
We got to work. I booked a flight to Europe to explore how we might expand internationally. Robby headed to China to meet face-to-face with our factory partners. We talked with advisors, leaned on mentors, and mapped out every path we could find. With what we are calling “triage mode,” we jumped on opportunities and created plans.
And through it all, something really awesome happened: the disruption cracked something open in us. It forced us to test and to see what else Bivo could be.
Cycling has always been and always will be our foundation. But it’s not the whole story anymore.
Back in late 2024/early 2025, we ran a test with the UVM men’s hockey team—and 89% of the players said they’d switch to Bivo. Our team saw them around campus and their coaches sent us photos on the bus - it was so cool to see them adopt a new brand. That result shook us in a different way—it made us realize just how much room there is to grow. We’ve now partnered with Vermont Green FC and are listening closely to athletes in all kinds of sports about what they need from a hydration product.
And honestly, we’ve been hearing it from you for years. The number of people who say “my kid stole my bottle, so I had to buy another” is hilarious… and also telling. Bivo isn’t just for rides anymore. It’s for the pool deck, the gym, the car, the sidelines, the lunchbox (just remind them to close the nozzle….dust caps help with that :))
We’re seeing it everywhere—and that’s changing how we think about where we go next.
These last eight weeks were intense. And if I’m being totally honest, I’m really freaking tired. Our brains have been spinning, we have so many great (and hard) things in front of us to execute. But they also pulled us closer to our community, to our mission, and to each other.
We’ve always believed in doing things differently—ditching plastic, delivering performance, and building something stronger with the people like you who’ve had our back.
Thank you for being here. We’re so grateful.
Carina
We’re seeing it everywhere—and that’s changing how we think about where we go next.
These last eight weeks were intense. And if I’m being totally honest, I’m really freaking tired. Our brains have been spinning, we have so many great (and hard) things in front of us to execute. But they also pulled us closer to our community, to our mission, and to each other.
We’ve always believed in doing things differently—ditching plastic, delivering performance, and building something stronger with the people like you who’ve had our back.
Thank you for being here. We’re so grateful.
Carina
