Manufacturing in Hawaiʻi is all about food. There’s a new facility on Oʻahu to help food entrepreneurs make and market their products.
It's called the Wahiawā Value-Added Product Development Center.
The center opened a year ago. The state and Leeward Community College built it with the goal of helping entrepreneurs develop and launch food and beverage products.
Manager Chris Bailey said the idea for the center started to take shape nearly a decade ago. State lawmakers and other officials wanted to support local farmers and businesses that make consumer packaged goods.
Bailey said education is at the center of the facility — and the ‘Āina to Mākeke program is at the center of that, designed for businesses that make food products with local ingredients.
The program started last year, and it's already on its fifth cohort of companies that are set to graduate this month.
At that point, a total of 75 businesses will have gone through the program — like Hawaiian Soda Company, ʻUlu and Kalo Bakery, and Hawaiian Vinegar Company.
Bailey said the product development center works to help entrepreneurs build up their skillsets to get to the next stage, like working out of a bigger facility or even getting their own place.
Ultimately, Bailey said he hopes the Wahiawā center can help the small businesses grow into bigger businesses, and become the next generation of legacy Hawaiʻi brands
