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TheBuzz Erika Engle |
Military food show
all about expansion
for local companiesSOME 50 local companies will be pitching more than 500 items to military commissary officials today, hoping to expand their empires.
From 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. companies will bare their wares hoping to get them onto commissary store shelves in Hawaii and around the world.
For veteran commissary vendors such as Hawaii Coffee Co. and Hawaiian Host Inc., the aim is to get new products into the stores, to get into more stores, or both.
Hawaii products will be sampled by U.S. military buyers from Washington, D.C., and California at the 7th annual American Logistics Association Food Show at the J. W. Marriott Ihilani Resort & Spa at Ko Olina. Top commissary officials will be there as well, including Patrick Nixon, deputy director of the Defense Commissary Agency; and Richard Page, director of Western Pacific Region commissaries for the agency.
It's a big deal for local companies hoping to enjoy the smell of increased market share in the morning. "We have a total of 274 commissaries around the world. Our annual sales are $5.1 billion," Nixon said. And that's at about half the regular retail price, as commissaries are nonprofit operations serving defense personnel and dependants.
"My role as CEO of the agency is to make sure we form quality partnerships wherever we can, to bring the local companies and flavor of the local culture into our commissaries," Nixon said.
Right now, there are 3,500 locally produced items available in commissaries, he said.
Local sales of the Hawaiian products alone totaled $76 million in 2003. Sales are projected to increase to $87 million this year. The figures include all products that come through local distribution channels, from locally grown produce and goods made by Hawaii's small businesses to nationally branded potato chips and soft drinks made in the state.
Hawaii goods generally start off in the five isle commissaries and then expand outward to the rest of the 30 locations Page oversees in seven western states and the Far East. The products can branch out to different regions as well.
Hawaii Coffee Co.'s Lion Coffee and Royal Kona brands have been in local commissaries for about three years, according to President Jim Wayman.
"We have some line extensions that we'll be showing that we'd like to include in our mix. We'd also like to convince them that we'd like to be in other commissaries in other parts of the world."
The company can accommodate the additional production that added distribution would require.
"We still have extra capacity to fill out our (roasting and packaging) machines," Wayman said.
"It's just an integral part of our growth."
Hawaiian Host is a veteran vendor and will be introducing new products -- including a line of three sugar-free candies in stand-up bags; honey glazed macadamia nuts in cans; and chocolate-coated, honey-glazed, whole macadamia nuts in gold boxes. The latter is new on the regular retail scene, but the others have not yet been introduced anywhere.
"We sell a wide variety in Hawaii, the continental U.S. and the Far East and also in Europe," said Keith Sakamoto, executive vice president of sales and marketing.
Commissary officials are already big fans of Hawaii-made products, giving local companies a welcoming environment.
Page says he's not done any statistical studies but feels "there are more food products produced in Honolulu than probably any metropolitan area in the country."
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Erika Engle is a reporter with the Star-Bulletin. Call 529-4302, fax 529-4750 or write to Erika Engle, Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., No. 7-210, Honolulu, HI 96813. She can also be reached at: eengle@starbulletin.com