Mana Up initiative gives Native Hawaiian businesses a boost

Jan. 12, 2018

Contributed by Nadine Lagaso

Ten local businesses will soon take the next step towards expansion as part of Mana Up, an island-based initiative which helps companies with roots in Hawai‘i entice a global audience with products that are grown or sourced locally.

Kamehameha Schools is Mana Up’s title sponsor, and six of the 10 businesses selected are Native Hawaiian-owned. The cohort includes:

  • Hawaiian Pie Company founded by Jan and Joel Hori
  • Hawaiian Rainbow Bees, a producer of Hawaiian honey founded by Malcolm and Mitsuko Yorkston
  • Hawaiian Vanilla Company founded by Jim and Tracy Reddekopp
  • Kunoa Cattle Company, a producer of local beef founded by Jack Beuttell and Bobby Farias
  • Mamalani, a natural body product company founded by Mele Kalama-Kingma
  • Manoa Chocolate founded by Dylan Butterbaugh
  • Manulele Distillers, a farm-to-bottle, small-batch rum producer founded by Jason Brand and Robert Dawson
  • Monkeypod Jam founded by Aletha Thomas
  • The Tea Chest founded by Byron Goo, and
  • Voyaging Foods, Hawaiian ancestral foods for a modern, healthy diet founded by Brynn Foster.

“Through the Mana Up accelerator program, Kamehameha Schools is able to help elevate Native Hawaiian businesses and their products by addressing challenges that are preventing them from growing,” said Stacy Clayton, executive strategy consultant in the KS Strategy & Innovation Division.

“We want to see Native Hawaiian businesses thrive and enter into larger markets here in Hawaiʻi and around the world. This accelerator is important for our state’s economy and for Native Hawaiian entrepreneurs looking to start, grow and diversify their businesses. KS is excited to support Native Hawaiian businesses to operate at higher levels of revenue generation and give back to the lāhui.”

Mana Up is aimed at building Hawai‘i’s next 100 product companies earning $1 million or more annually. The 10 businesses in the cohort were selected from a pool of 85 applicants that earn annual revenues surpassing the program’s requirement of at least $100,000.

The 12-week accelerated Mana Up program is offered biannually and begins on January 17 with the goal of helping the included businesses scale-up for broader market expansion.

“Programs like Mana Up give us the support to further our business here at home in Hawai‘i and hopefully provide the opportunity to impact other Native Hawaiians in a positive way,” said Jan Hori of Hawaiian Pie Company. “Having resources that help us to achieve our goals brings forth a sense of pride and purpose in everything we try to accomplish as a business.”

The family-owned company happens to be a Kamehameha Schools tenant in Kapālama.



We want to see Native Hawaiian businesses thrive and enter into larger markets here in Hawaiʻi and around the world. This accelerator is important for our state’s economy and for Native Hawaiian entrepreneurs looking to start, grow and diversify their businesses. KS is excited to support Native Hawaiian businesses to operate at higher levels of revenue generation and give back to the lāhui.
Stacy Clayton, KS Executive Strategy Consultant


The of Hawaiian Pie Company on Waiakamilo Road is among 10 Native Hawaiian-owned businesses to benefit from Mana Up, an initiative which helps companies with island roots entice a global audience. Kamehameha Schools is Mana Up’s title sponsor.