IN 1993, a few farmers, chefs and produce buyers began a modest event to promote agriculture on Maui.
Farmers and artisans show off their
wares at Maui's annual ag show,
called The Ulupalakua ThingBy Lyn Danninger
Star-BulletinNow, the Maui Agricultural Trade Show & Sampling, known affectionately as "The Ulupalakua Thing," is the hottest business and cultural event on Maui.
This year, the April 28 event set attendance records, says Barbara Santos, one of the show's organizers. More than 7,000 people and 100 vendors and farmers made their way up the slopes of Mt. Haleakala to the picturesque fields of Ulupalakua Ranch and Tedeschi Winery, site of the event.
Santos says she and other organizers had no idea when they first organized the show that it would attract such interest.
"We thought nobody outside the industry would find it interesting. We were wrong. Even the first year we had at least 1,000 people turn up," she said.
Despite its growing popularity with visitors, Santos says Ulupalakua's primary purpose is still to offer local farmers and businesses a way to showcase their products, network with others and connect up with potential buyers.This was the second year the show expanded to include all products with Hawaii-grown ingredients, rather than just Maui-grown products. By opening the show, more chefs and potential buyers from the mainland can justify the trip to see the larger variety of products, Santos said.
Representatives from food magazines such as Bon Appetit and other media who attend Ulupalakua have helped to raise the show's profile even higher in recent years, she said. Santos says visitors plan their visits to Maui to coincide with the event, which now has its own Web site at http://www.mauiag.org. Information for the 2002 trade show will be posted later this month.
For local farmers, Ulupalakua provides an opportunity to meet with chefs, find out about the latest culinary trends and perhaps secure some business. For local vendors, the show is a chance to meet with potential buyers, showcase products and introduce new lines.
This was the second year at Ulupalakua for Steve Geimer, general manager of Arturo's Hot Flavors of Hawaii.
Originally known for its tortilla chips and Maui onion salsa, the company was founded on Maui 20 years ago by Arturo Montoya and Carole Richelieu. It is now based on Oahu.
With each passing year, Arturo's has expanded its range of hot sauces named for and containing ingredients from each island. There is also a line teriyaki sauces. This year, the company's newest product, Makai hot sauce containing local seaweed, attracted a lot of interest and curiosity at the show.Even though Arturo's had about $300,000 in sales last year and its products grace the shelves of a growing number of grocery and specialty stores, Geimer said the company hasn't forgotten its Maui roots.
"We've stayed faithful to the Maui onion," said Geimer.
Similarly, Maui Tropical Soaps Inc., based in Kahului, attracted a lot of attention this year.
The 4-year-old company recently reached $1 million in sales for the first time and now creates its range of tropical soap products in a 300,000-square-foot facility.
Maui Tropical Soaps' big break came just three months after the company was created. It attracted the interest of QVC, the television home shopping network, said company owners Ted Krawczyk and Barbara St. Sauver.
"All of a sudden we went from making 30 bars of soap at a time to a request from QVC for three tons," said Krawczyk, who ended up doing the commercial pitch for the soap on QVC.
Now the company's soaps sell not only to gift stores, boutiques, hotels and large retailers like Hilo Hattie and Duty Free Shops in Hawaii, but have found their way into a growing number of mainland outlets, Krawczyk said.Though it's still hard for them to believe how quickly the business took off, St. Sauver said there is no mystery to the soaps' wide appeal.
"It's a little luxury everyone can afford," she said.
First-time Ulupalakua vendor Sheila Hendrix, of Reflections of Hawaii, is hoping she can one day duplicate the successes with her line of aromatherapy oils.
Hendrix's product has a unique Hawaiian touch. Each elegant bottle holds a preserved Hawaiian orchid floating in aromatherapy oil. While the bottle looks almost too beautiful to use, it has already attracted some commercial interest.
Veteran Hawaii retailer ABC Stores plans to test market it in Guam. If it sells successfully there, Hendrix's idea may soon show up on the shelves of ABC's Hawaii stores.
For culinary enthusiasts, the event was all about food. There were deep fried Maui onion rings from the Maui Onion Growers Association; roast beef sandwiches from Ulupalakua Ranch; pohole, or edible fiddlehead ferns, grown by Hana Herbs; and plenty of fresh foods and vegetables -- washed down with locally grown coffee or a glass of wine from the tasting rooms of Tedeschi Winery.Many of the products shown at Ulupalakua have now found their way to the official Made in Maui Internet site, said Lynne Woods, president of the Maui Chamber of Commerce. An improved www.madeinmaui.com should be online soon.
Ulupalakua's success increasing awareness of local products has become a key component of the county's marketing plan, she said.
Recent membership in the Hawaii Food Manufacturers Association and the creation of a separate Maui chapter for the association will likely create more exposure and networking opportunities for vendors with made in Maui products, Woods said.
The association has also agreed to help subsidize two Maui events each year. One of those events will likely be the "Ulupalakua Thing."
