Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 10, Number 8, 1 August 1993 — OHA supports Hawaiian food entrepreneur [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

OHA supports Hawaiian food entrepreneur

Revolving loan fund recipient redesigns product label, upgrades image

by Patrick Johnston Toast with butter and jam: just about all of us have eaten it but probably none of us have thought to consider why we fill our refrigerators with two separate containers whose contents invariably get mixed together every time we fix breakfast. Kumo Vasconcellos' family has long had a solution to the problem: a recipe that combines fruit extracts with butter in a tasty spread and ean be used in plaee of the usual butter/jam combo. The Vasconcellos family originally gave the product away at Christmas and other celebrations. Six years ago Kumo Vasconcellos concluded the "butter" had commercial potential, created a company called Hawaiian Butters, and began selling the product in shops around the state. "As far as I know there is nothing else like it," says Vasconcellos. "We use 100 percent butter and blend it with the juice of Hawaiian flavors like guava and pineapple. It melts on toast like butter and you don't need jellies."

Because of the high cost of establishing a processing plant, Vasconcellos worked out an exclusive relationship with a manufacturer on Kaua'i to make the product. Vasconcellos, his fiancee Shari and their families do the marketing and managing. "Our kids and parents all help out with different parts of the business like putting things in boxes and selling at craft fairs," Vasconcellos explains. In 1992 Vasconcellos applied for and received a loan from OHA's Native Hawaiian Revolving Loan Fund that allowed Hawaiian Butters to redesign its label to give it a more upscale look and attract a more affluent market. "We wanted to hit a different, higher-end market," Vasconcellos explains. "We needed the money to move forward to the market that is best fitted to the product. Our old label was cute but we needed something with more class." OHA Loan Fund specialist Adrian Lau says Vasconcellos had a sound business plan and had a loan request rejected by

two banks, requirements for being eligible for money from the loan fund. "His business plan was good. He had explained how he was going to market and sell his product. ... but his company was a little too new for the banks to lend him any money." Vasconcellos believes the product and its new labeling have been very well received. "People like the product," he says. "It sells itself." Vasconcellos credits a lot of his recent success to the OHA loan. "It was OHA's money that got us going. We've eome quite far since receiving the loan." Now Vasconcellos is looking to the future, hoping that he'll be able to keep Hawaiian Butters in the family for future generations to be a part of. "Our hope is that it stays a family company so that our kids ean take it over in the future." For information on the Native Hawaiian Revolving Loan Fund eall 586-3746 in Honolulu or contact your island OHA liason office.

Hawaiian Butters vice president Shari Lo Photo by Patrick Johnston