Aloha Market showcases Hawaii entrepreneurs in New York City

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - A group of Hawaii entrepreneurs hope to win over shoppers this weekend in one of the most competitive retail markets in the world.

Two dozen small business owners from across the state flew 5,000 miles to New York City for the inaugural Aloha Market in Manhattan.

Co-hosted by Hawaii venture fund Mana Up and Canadian e-commerce company Shopify, the three-day event in SoHo features Hawaiian cultural workshops like lei making and showcases products from about 60 companies, ranging from aloha wear and cookies to Hawaii Island tea and wellness oils.

Organizers say the goal is to bridge the gap between Hawaii and major retail markets.

“There are so many companies that leverage the brand of Hawaii that have nothing to do with Hawaii,” said Mana Up cofounder Meli James.

“Hawaii does not benefit from it. Hawaii doesn’t profit from it. What our goal here is to help more of our locally grown locally headquartered, locally owned companies, giving them a leg up giving them opportunities, so they can scale. They there can be more awareness about them, and they can compete at those levels.”

“That’s always been a challenge for Hawaii businesses, who have primarily sold to in market tourists or local residents. But with Shopify, you can sell your products to customers, audiences around the world pretty easily,” said Chris Schmicker, brand marketing director of Shopify.

It’s a big opportunity for entrepreneurs to share what’s special about Hawaii with consumers who can’t always make it to Hawaii, said Melia Goodenow, founder of Hawaiian Rainforest Naturals, which promotes wellness through flower essences and lotions.

“Small local family farmers, mostly husband and wife teams, our mother and daughter team. They’re doing everything by hand extremely artisanal,” said Jamie Lyons, of Kauai, who founded Hobbs Tea.

“The brand of Hawaii I think is really powerful,” said Tom Walker, founder of Ohana Nui, which makes cookies and brittle. “It’ll really sell here, I think with people it’ll really resonate.”

An Aloha for Maui section highlights wildfire recovery efforts and 10 companies — including Napili Flo Farm, which makes kim chee, sauces and other fermented products.

“Everything that our companies have pretty much lost opportunities on Maui, we now get an opportunity to showcase it to the world,” said farmer and founder Monica Bogar.

“My mom’s restaurant was really known for her kalbi sauce. And so we wanted to honor her legacy by bottling it so everyone could have her sauce because her restaurant is no longer there. It was all in the 90s and she closed like in ‘97. So if you were from Lahaina, Maui, and you grew up in Lahaina, you would know Song’s Kitchen kalbi sauce.

Honolulu-born Schmicker hopes to show the world that Hawaii offers more than just luaus and pineapples.

“It’s gonna be really powerful I think to showcase not just the aloha spirit of Hawaii, but also the entrepreneurial spirit of Hawaii,” he said.

For more information, visit manaupalohamarket.splashthat.com or manauphawaii.com.

The event runs through Sunday at Shopify NY on 131 Greene St.

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