PHOTO COURTESY ALLUVION INC.
Clyde Fukuyama, left, owner of Kahuku Farms, talks to buyers and executives from Daiei USAInc., including head cosmetics buyer Denise Fukutomi, Chief Executive Officer Yozo Yamagishi and head food buyer Hisatoshi Oshiro.
Daiei stores support
North Shore growers
More than 40 small businesses, farms and ranches on Oahu's North Shore have teamed with Daiei USA Inc. to promote the area's agricultural products.
The promotion is timed to coincide with Oahu's Aloha Week festivities, which run from Sept. 14 to 27.
Daiei will support the effort, called "North Shore Agriculture Days," with displays at all four of its Oahu stores in Honolulu, Kailua, Pearl City and Waipahu. There will be tasting and product sampling along with the displays.
Susan Matsushima of marketing firm Alluvion Inc. is helping to organize the event.
While the North Shore is primarily known as a surfing area or for its plantation history, Matsushima said, few people realize 20,000 acres of former sugar lands are home to dozens of new and expanding business ventures that employ more than 600 people.
"Most people have no idea all of this is going on the North Shore," she said.
Companies in the so-called "Golden Triangle" stretching from Kunia to Waialua to Haleiwa are growing seed corn, forage, koa, grass-fed beef, hydroponic lettuce, watermelon, corn, tuberose, coffee, lychee, asparagus, mango, tomato, dry land taro, and processing kukui and macadamia nut oils, Matsushima said.
"All of these operations are within a five-mile radius of Haleiwa and Waialua and many of these farms are multimillion dollar operations," she said.
In spite of all the activity, there has been little promotion of all the different agricultural activities, she said.
In the past, Daiei stores have participated in similar promotional events in Japan such as Sapporo Days, Osaka Days and Fukuoka Days. While the Hawaii stores have always carried and supported local produce, this will be the first large event devoted to local agriculture.
"We don't have an exact plan yet but are thinking about doing things like having demonstrations and inviting farmers," said Teresa Chang, Daiei's sales promotion manager.
The project is also supported by the newly-formed Hawaii Rural Development Council, The Hawaii Farm Bureau Federation and the Economic Development Alliance of Hawaii.
