It achieves first-ever sale in Taiwan.  

A Big Island company has cracked the Taiwan market for its organic honey. Big Island Bees in Kealakekua sold 30 cases of its product following exposure at Food Taipei 2008, where samples were given out to hundreds of customers who visited the Hawaii booth. The show ran from June 18 to 21 and attracted 42,000 buyers, many of whom were looking for healthy, up-scale products.

Taipei Office Executive Director Alex Lei and
Office Manager James Lai staff the DBEDT booth at
Food Taipei 2008.  The booth featured a variety
of Hawaii products.

The booth was organized by the Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism’s (DBEDT) Taipei office, headed by Executive Director Alex Lei.

“Each year we offer Hawaii producers the opportunity to display their wares,” said Lei. “We teamed up with the Department of Agriculture to offer samples and hand out literature. This year we had nine companies, including those with deep seawater, Kona coffee, Hawaiian salt and honey. The honey was quite a hit!”

The Hawaii Department of Agriculture (HDOA) worked closely with the Western United States Agricultural Trade Association (WUSATA), which helps promote products from the Western US in international trade shows each year.

Kevin Kraft, the President of Tradewinds Global, a Honolulu-based export-assistance company, represented Big Island Bees.

Big Island Bees' honey was one of the more popular
Hawaii products.

 “I’ve been trying to sell Big Island Bees’ honey to Taiwan for the last year-and-a-half without success,” said Kraft. “Hawaii companies are fortunate to have DBEDT and the HDOA to support the export efforts of companies like ours. They’re doing a great job of making overseas markets more accessible for small and mid-size firms which would otherwise not have the resources to compete.”

Big Island Bees is owned by Garnett Puett, a 4th generation commercial beekeeper, and his wife, Whendi Puett Grad. They specialize in single-floral, organic honey, produced by 190 million bees inhabiting 3,800 hives. According to the company’s website (www.bigislandbees.com), its ‘Ohia Lehua blossom honey has a mild taste and creamy texture, while its macadamia nut product has a dark, rich nutty taste. Christmasberry blossoms offer a subtle, spicy flavor. The retail price in Honolulu is roughly $7.50 for a 9-ounce jar.

 “It’s exciting to see our product sold to Taiwan,” said Whendi Grad. “Usually we’re the ones buying Chinese products! This first sale will provide a good test of how much honey we can sell.”

Tradewind’s distributor in Taiwan is Grand Volcano International. Grand Volcano first saw Big Island Bees when it was exhibited by DBEDT at Food Taipei 2007.

“When they saw the product again this year, they knew they needed to have it,” said Kraft.

Grand Volcano specializes in the import and distribution of Hawaii products. Ann Fan, the company’s founder, has a strong interest in Hawaiian culture and hula dancing. Taiwan consumers have health and quality concerns, and she believes that Big Island Bees organic honey will be well-received in Taiwan. She particularly likes honey from the rare volcano flower Ohia Lehua, which symbolizes energy, new life and growth and can only be found in the Hawaiian Islands.

Adding to their success in Taiwan, Kraft and Big Island Bees have selected a Hawaii food distributor based in Tokyo. In March, they exhibited honey at Foodex, a large food exposition show in Japan similar to Food Taipei, and distribution will start this summer.

Big Island Bees has also appointed a new distributor in Hong Kong / Macau which will be placing their product in department stores and high-end grocery channels. For mainland China, the company is in talks with an upscale grocery store chain in Beijing, and are finalizing the first trial order.

Kraft is aggressively moving beyond honey to other Hawaii products in the Pacific Rim. He feels that by marketing and promoting several high-end items together, the impact will be stronger and allow consumers to relate to their unique nature and quality. He is currently developing a marketing campaign called “Export Aloha” where he will work with local associations to accomplish this.

Kevin Kraft (center), President of Tradewinds Global,
with Executive Director Lei (L) and Office Manager Lai (R).

“People associate Hawaii products with unique flavors, scents, and feelings of aloha,” Kraft explained. “By incorporating these ideas with images, displays and tradeshows, we can have a strong impact in developing brand awareness in Asia.”

Looking ahead, Kraft is highly optimistic about the future of Hawaii products in Asia.

“There are many opportunities for Hawaii products overseas,” Kraft said. “Especially through direct marketing, department stores, upscale import retailers and supermarkets. We strongly believe that we will be successful in building our top brands.”

All of this pleases Alex Lei.

“We always like to see a Hawaii company do well,” said Lei. “It opens doors for other Island firms, especially in the high-end gourmet market where customers value quality, and are willing to pay more for something they really like.”