
Richmond-based Keya's Snacks chips are selling out online, but locals can grab them all over town
Why it matters: Locals don't have to battle online shoppers to get their fix. Keya's Snacks are on the shelves at roughly two dozen Richmond stores.
State of play: Wingfield, who was born in Mumbai and moved to Richmond as an adult, originally launched her snacks in 2021 as Bombay Chips.
The chips, and the process of creating them, was how she channeled her grief after she lost her infant son, Daksh, who died when he was just 55 days old.
His name appears on every bag of Keya's chips as her way of keeping his memory alive.
Keya's Snacks come in two flavors: Bombay Spice, made with 29 spices, including her "OG masala blend" and Black Salt, which she describes as "a cultural cousin of sea salt and vinegar."
Zoom in: Wingfield relaunched the chips in January with perfected recipes, colorful branding and an online store.
The relaunch was when folks really started to take notice.
A review of the vegan and gluten-free chips hit the national food site The Kitchn last week and a flood of orders crashed her website, Wingfield tells Axios.
"Our internet commerce team (a 19-year-old named Sanjay) is threatening to quit," Wingfield jokingly posted to Insta last week.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Axios
20 hours ago
- Axios
Sales tax holidays begin as families face higher school costs
Nine states are kicking off tax-free holidays this weekend —as back-to-school inflation hits hard and families rush to lock in savings. Why it matters: It's a rare tax break for families preparing for a new school year and dealing with higher prices because of President Trump's tariffs. Four states — Alabama, Mississippi, New Mexico and Tennessee — held tax holidays in July, and four more tax-free breaks are held later in August. The big picture: Retailers like Walmart and Target are freezing or lowering prices on select items to court budget-conscious shoppers. Looming tariffs on Chinese imports — including tech and school supplies — are expected to drive prices up 12–15% this season, according to retail analysts. What they're saying:"With uncertainty around costs this fall, both shoppers and retailers are trying to lock in value now while they can," Stephanie Carls, RetailMeNot retail insights expert, told Axios. Mary Hines Droesch, head of consumer and wealth management products at Bank of America, tells Axios, that spreading out purchases can help consumers avoid impulse buys and lets families catch late-season deals. Sales tax holidays 2025 include online orders Sales tax is waived for in-store purchases and online shopping during the holidays, but exclusions apply. Arkansas tax-free weekend 2025 Arkansas holds its annual sales tax holiday on the first weekend of August each year for two days — Saturday and Sunday. Tax-free items: Clothing and shoes: Less than $100 per item. Clothing accessories or equipment: Less than $50 per item. School supplies and electronic devices used by students for study are also included, the state said. Florida sales tax holiday 2025 The Sunshine State's annual sales tax holiday is now a monthlong tax break every August. Tax-free items: Clothing, footwear and accessories: $100 or less. Most school supplies: $50 or less. Computers and accessories for personal use: $1,500 or less. Learning aids and jigsaw puzzles: $30 or less. Iowa sales tax holiday weekend 2025 The Hawkeye State's tax holiday is held annually on the first weekend in August and lasts two days, Friday and Saturday. No state or local option sales tax will be collected on clothing or footwear less than $100, according to the state. Missouri tax-free weekend 2025 Missouri's annual three-day tax holiday runs Friday through Sunday, Aug. 3, per the state. Tax-free items: Clothing: $100 or less. Personal computers and computer peripheral devices: Up to $1,500 and software up to $350. School supplies: Not to exceed $50 per purchase, graphing calculators up to $150. Ohio expanded sales tax holiday 2025 Ohio expanded its annual sales tax holiday into a two-week event, which ends at 11:59pm Aug. 14. The sales tax holiday includes "all tangible personal property that is $500 or less," including electronics, clothing, books, home goods, sporting goods, food and more. Oklahoma sales tax holiday 2025 Oklahoma's three-day sales tax holiday is held the first Friday through Sunday in August annually. Tax-free items: Clothing and footwear: Less than $100. South Carolina tax-free weekend 2025 The annual sales tax holiday in South Carolina is Friday through Sunday, Aug. 3 and exempts eligible purchases from the 6% state tax and local taxes. Tax-free items: Regardless of price, all computers, printers, school supplies, clothing and accessories, shoes and certain bed and bath items. Virginia sales tax holiday 2025 Virginia's three-day sales tax holiday — Friday through Sunday — waives tax on school supplies, clothing, footwear, emergency preparedness items as well as select appliances. Tax-free items: Clothing and footwear: $100 or less per item. School supplies: $20 or less. West Virginia sales tax holiday 2025 West Virginia's sales tax holiday runs Friday through 11:59 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 4, the state says. Tax-free items: Clothing: $125 or less. Laptop and tablet computers: $500 or less. School supplies: $50 or less. School instruction material: $20 or less. Sports equipment: $150 or less. Upcoming sales tax holidays


Axios
a day ago
- Axios
Tariffs are coming for your breakfast — but not your OJ
New tariffs are poised to make your breakfast a bit pricier, especially your morning cup of coffee — but your orange juice caught a break. Why it matters: Your morning staples are caught in the crossfire of global trade politics. The new tariff rates — the highest in nearly a century — will cost the average family about $2,400 this year, according to the Yale Budget Lab's latest analysis. The big picture: American consumers have been navigating sticky inflation for food prices, and breakfast costs have been a sore point. Coffee prices have been volatile due to crop issues in Brazil, while chocolate has soared on cocoa shortages. A new wave of tariff hikes targeting certain European and Latin American imports is expected to push prices higher. Coffee and chocolate prices By the numbers: Brazilian coffee will face a 50% tariff, up from 10%. Even a modest 10% tariff on Brazilian coffee could raise U.S. retail prices 6–8% within 90 days, Francisco Martin-Rayo, CEO and co-founder of Helios AI, tells Axios. Swiss chocolate and coffee are being hit with a 39% tariff, up from the 31% tariff on Switzerland exports announced in April. This could affect Nespresso, as parent company Nestlé says every capsule sold in the world is produced in one of three factories in Switzerland. Rising tariffs to hit fruit and vegetable prices Zoom in: Martin-Rayo said his firm is tracking price shocks across the produce aisle — from tomatoes and mangoes to avocados — where tariffs compound climate disruptions. The biggest consumer price impacts are expected to hit fresh fruits, including bananas and vegetables, as well as processed imports like canned tomatoes, he said. "In some cases, we're projecting 10–15% retail price hikes within a single quarter," he said. Why orange juice got an exemption The intrigue: Orange juice from Brazil was exempted from tariffs, even though oranges are grown in Florida and California. Chris Brigati, chief investment officer at San Antonio-based investment firm SWBC, told Axios the reason for the exemption "remains unclear," especially given Brazil's coffee was hit with a 50% tariff. "Perhaps Trump wanted to limit the potential pain to higher prices from tariffs, as supply shock impacts are likely to occur," Brigati said. Zoom out: U.S. production has plunged to the lowest level in 88 years due to " unfavorable weather and continuing disease problems," USDA data shows, noting citrus greening has been battering Florida crops. Imports now account for 90% of the U.S. orange juice supply — with half coming from Brazil, which dominates global production under brands like Tropicana, Minute Maid and Simply Orange.


Axios
a day ago
- Axios
Top White House economist: I believe jobs numbers, but agency needs fixes
Top White House economist Stephen Miran tells Axios a key economic statistics agency needs "fresh eyes," but he stopped short of repeating President Trump's claim that Friday's jobs data was politically manipulated. Why it matters: President Trump ordered the the firing of the Bureau of Labor Statistics commissioner on Friday after alleging — without evidence — that disappointing jobs numbers were "rigged." The bureau later confirmed commissioner Erika McEntarfer was terminated, with her deputy William Wiatrowski stepping in as acting commissioner. Catch up quick: The July jobs report, released earlier on Friday, showed just 73,000 jobs added last month. The BLS also announced massive revisions that showed employment was a combined 258,000 lower than previously thought. It was the second-largest two-month downward revision on record, behind only the pandemic. What they're saying: "There's been very little attempt to actually fix this problem and come up with creative solutions to make the data more reliable," says Miran. "It is absolutely time for fresh eyes on this to try and come up with solutions to improve the reliability of the data and get those revision levels down." Miran said the agency should try to incentivize faster responses or delay the data publications by a week or two, if it means smaller revisions down the line. Catch up quick: "In my opinion, today's Jobs Numbers were RIGGED in order to make the Republicans, and ME, look bad," Trump posted on Truth Social. Trump accused the agency of boosting jobs figures to support his opponent's presidential candidacy. Reality check: The BLS, a nonpolitical agency housed within the Labor Department, has faced plummeting response rates to the surveys that comprise the report. It has scaled back some of its data collection — the Consumer Price Index report, for instance — due in part to proposed budget cuts. "Economic data are always noisy and this has always been a problem that has plagued economic research and economists — it's one that we make the best of," Miran said. Asked if he believes the numbers released by the BLS, Miran said "I think if the BLS tells me that there were 14,000 jobs created [in June], I don't have a competing survey that tells me otherwise." Between the lines: Miran said that revisions were largely a result of statistical artifacts — namely adjustments to account for seasonal quirks. He said that Trump's immigration policies would "inevitably show up in one way or another in the labor market data. I think that some of what we saw is also due to that." "If we're swapping out foreign-born job holders for American-born job holders, I think that's a win," Miran said. What to watch: Mainstream economists say the economy and labor market will likely slow further this year.