JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO@STARBULLETIN.COM Leilehua 12th-grader Leslie Ann Catingub restocks the vending machine outside the library with Oreos, part of the entrepreneur class taught by Cindy Abe. Helping her were 12th-graders Aimie Andres, rear, and Charmis Kay Catabu, right.

Leilehua students turn profit on healthy drink

Pushing milk on teenagers who would rather guzzle soft drinks has taught Leilehua High School business students how to manage a cash cow.

Cindy Abe's classes have been running a small business -- called LHS Gotz Milk! -- in the form of a vending machine. She hopes to give them real-life experience with hard work and pleasing the fickle tastes of the public.

Their machine has to compete against 10 to 15 others selling soda on campus, said one of her students, 11th-grader Deonte Moore. Thinking up innovative promotions every month is the most demanding and creative challenge of Abe's marketing class, Moore said. "That's the real work," he added.

Milk is the item that sells the least, so promoting it and the healthy lifestyle associated with it is the top priority. Apparently the promotions are paying off.

Moore sees milk "sales increase drastically" for about two weeks following a campaign. A new one is launched about every month. The machine sells out of milk -- strawberry, chocolate and low-fat -- almost every day, about 100 bottles a day.

LHS Gotz Milk! is also the only machine with snacks. Their supply is "totally depleted" every lunch hour, Moore said. The students wait in line, about 30 deep, even though it is in front of the cafeteria.

The most popular sellers are the breakfast Danish pastry, chips and candy bars; for drinks, they are the passion-orange juice and iced tea, he added.

"But we can't always bank on people" to keep coming, he said. Abe "always tells us to pretend we have 10 other machines to compete against. She keeps us on our toes and tells us always to put out our best effort," he said.

Moore and 11th-grader Kathleen Sumagit-Rivera also take the entrepreneurship class, which is mainly in charge of ordering and refilling the stock, counting and depositing the cash, and helping with promotional campaigns.

The vending machine has been "good experience" because "you see what happens behind scenes. People who buy things don't think about filling it" or how to fix "the problems if the machine breaks down," Sumagit-Rivera said. Sometimes the money gets stuck, or you have to reset the temperature if you take too long restocking the machine within a short time period, she added.

The marketing class teaches them about teamwork and dealing with the stress of making sure everyone is doing their job. What she likes best is "coming up with (promotion) ideas that would appeal to teens, the local lifestyle and school.

"I like to make things unique, to make things my own style," she said.

Abe said most of her 28 students find the idea of owning their own business "very appealing," as well as the possibility of making a lot of money.

Moore plans to major in business management in college because one day, "I want my own hotel" that is geared toward providing family entertainment and activities for kids. An Army brat all his life, he has been to "millions of hotels," and there is "not much for kids to do."

Sumagit-Rivera wants to have her own adoption agency or do work in public relations.

Abe said the classes buy the milk from Meadow Gold for a discounted rate and make 11 cents per bottle. For the other drinks and snacks, she makes a run to Costco or Sam's Club twice a week, and the classes sell them at a discounted rate.

Moore said their average income per day is about $200, and their profit, between $25 and $50 a day. They donate 50 percent of their profits to charity. The balance goes to running their promotions and giving out prizes, their merchandise and things like T-shirts with the Gotz Milk! logo for the business classes, he said.

Sumagit-Rivera said Abe has taught them that making contributions to charity is part of business, because "without community support, we wouldn't have a business. And if you are successful, it's always good to give back to those who aren't as privileged as you."

On Saturday the young entrepreneurs donated about $1,000 to the Hawaii Children's Cancer Foundation.