We Do Things Backwards - And It Works

Most folks see a byproduct of farming…we see opportunity!

How do companies decide which new products to develop? Here’s how a typical company goes about it: they tune in to customer requests, read up on industry trends, and do some market analysis to see where the most promising opportunities lie. Then they do some R&D to develop recipes, packaging, and branding, which eventually appear on the shelves as consumer-ready products.

At Hawaiian Ola, we do things a little differently. Actually...a lot differently. As a mission-driven company focused on supporting organic agriculture in Hawai`i, we start by looking at ingredients. We ask: what’s available and abundant in Hawaii that’s also good for you? From there, we develop products that align with customer input, market trends, and what we think will work in stores.

As an example, our Kona Tea was developed specifically to make use of Kona coffee leaves - something there’s no shortage of here on Hawai`i Island! If we could make a tea out of the leaves, we could provide additional revenue for organic coffee farmers (beyond what they earn for coffee beans) and help them diversify their revenue streams a bit. Even better, coffee leaf tea is packed with antioxidants. Once we had the idea to make tea from coffee leaves, we then headed into the test kitchen to develop our recipes. From that, Kona Tea coffee leaf tea was born!

It may be a little unconventional, but it works for us and it helps ensure we maximize our use of locally grown ingredients and be an agent for supporting Hawai`i’s agricultural community.

We’re curious to know...what ingredients do you see opportunity in? If you have an idea, we’d love to hear it! Drop us a line.