Every June, representatives from chambers of commerce, county governments, elected officials, and food manufacturers from across Hawaii travel to Washington, D.C. for the annual Hawaii on the Hill event, including the Maui Chamber of Commerce! The event is the brainchild of Hawaii Congresswoman Mazie Hirono who recognized the need for Hawaii to have a tasting event at the U.S. Capitol (like other states often do) and worked with her team and the Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii to coordinate the effort. In addition to the pinnacle Taste of Hawaii event, attendees garner valuable knowledge through events like the Talk Story with Senator Hirono, Policy Summit with federal agency leaders, and other important meetings and learn about new opportunities that can be brought back to Hawaii and implemented in our local communities.
This year, we attended Hawaii on the Hill from June 15-18. We had a great time making new connections and showcasing 8 small Maui County businesses at Taste of Hawaii. Over the course of 3 short hours, thousands of Congressional members and their top staffers visited Taste of Hawaii and got to experience the incredible tastes of Maui County, including boutique chocolates and cookies, infused Maui honey, oat energy bites, pineapple hot sauce, chili pepper shoyu, iced mamaki ulu herbal tea, and local kombucha and cold brew coffee drinks.
For some, the event will be the first time their Maui County products have been displayed on the East Coast. We’re excited to introduce them and help to extend their customer reach beyond Hawaii shores.
Three generations of beekeepers have helped to lay the foundation for Tierra Sierra-Gosin to produce bee-related products, including honey and salves now sold at various locations, including Mama’s Fish House and the Four Seasons Restaurant. Sierra-Gosin has developed a blue spirulina product infused with honey and containing nutrients and vitamins.
Also being exhibited are two boutique Maui sweets – Lahaina’s Maui Ku’ia Estate Chocolate and Makawao’s The Maui Cookie Lady ranked by Bon Appetit magazine as among the best cookies in the world.
Maui Ku’ia Estate’s founder Gunars Valkirs is grateful for the Chamber’s help, after the Lahaina wildfire last year, and feels fortunate that his business suffered little damage compared to many others. His business’ presence at the Taste of Maui shows parts of Lahaina remain open and a vital part of the Maui’s economy. Valkir’s business received the Gold Award in the Asia-Pacific Region in the International 2021 Cocoa of Excellence Awards and the 2022 Good Food Award in the dark chocolate category.
The Maui Cookie Lady entrepreneur Mitzi Toro featured in The Oprah Magazine and Good Morning America ships to customers in the United States and Europe. Introducing her cookies to political power brokers provides her an opportunity to reach a new group of people. She’s grateful for “a great opportunity for brand awareness and leads.”
The Maui County exhibit also promises to add heat to one’s island gourmet experience with chili pepper soy sauce from Naike Ltd. of Molokai and HI Spice’s pineapple hot sauce of Maui. HISpice couple Katie Cook and Justin Orr have 18 flavors available at locations, including resorts as well as retail outlets such as Foodland and Food Pantry stores, and 20 ABC Stores on Oahu and elsewhere. Orr has never been to Washington, D.C and thinks it’s a “pretty funny, pretty cool” to have his family’s spice products more well-traveled than him. HISpice, into its ninth year of operation, has eight employees and their goal is to use Maui farm products and expand its manufacturing to provide more jobs on the Valley Isle. HISpice crushes fresh pineapples grown on Maui to make its hot sauce.
Attendees will have to wash down the heat from hot sauces with another exhibit product – Vitalitea Hawaii’s kombucha and their new and popular Nitro Cold Brew Coffee. Beverages made by Vitalitea Hawaii, a nominee for Maui County Mayor’s Small Business Award’s Exceptional Small Business in 2020, can be found in Wholefoods, Safeway and more than 70 ABC Stores in Hawaii. For William Davis, being selected to participate in Hawaii on the Hill is “huge for us” and a validation of his effort to grow the business he started more than 8 years ago. Davis won an Entrepreneur of the Year award from the Hawaii Venture Capital Association. The Lahaina wildfire reduced his sales, and he’s been looking for ways to develop new products and extend his distribution.
Maui County’s exhibit also offers snacking opportunities with Coconoats energy bites, a non-dairy granola bar in a bite, with a combination of oats, honey, and macadamia nut butter, among the ingredients. For Coconoats owner Gretchen Geisler, the Hawaii on the Hill taste show is the first time her product has participated in an East Coast event, and she’s excited to be able to extend her product's reach beyond Hawaii. Her Coconoats in three different flavors, are available at a variety of retail outlets, including Foodland, Hawaiian Moons, Kumu Farms, and Down To Earth. Her product received an award at the Hawaiian Airlines Made in Maui County Festival last year and, she says, it put Coconoats on the map and gave her an opportunity to meet wholesalers. She’s honored that her products are in a show that includes people from across the nation. For more information on Hawaii on the Hill click here: https://www.cochawaii.org/hawaii-on-the-hill/