Small Hawai'i farms are finding niches and filling them
By Jane Sawyer
Agriculture has left an indelible imprint on our island paradise. Our history, economy and exotic appeal bear the influence of fields once green with sugarcane and pineapple.
Jane Sawyer photo
The slow demise of industrial agriculture eventually left a huge void, as well as seriously underutilized land, labor and capital.
Craig and Teena Rasmussen cultivate 60 acres in Upcountry Maui as Paradise Flower Farms. To survive, the company has adapted continuously to changes in market demand, technology and weather.
Several local business owners with vision, experience and drive have responded to this challenge, jump-starting efforts to breathe new life into one of Hawai'i's longtime leading industries.
Call it diversification. Call it reinvention. Call it smart. Good business advice dictates: "Find a niche and fill it." That's what some small "ag" firms have done: Use Hawai'i's romantic image and tropical climate to brand their products for local, Mainland, and international export markets.
For Craig and Teena Rasmussen, it was no easy task. Their Paradise Flower Farms cultivates more than 60 acres in Upcountry Maui and employs about 30 people. Thanks to its local retail and wholesale markets, the business survived hurricanes, foreign competition, the Gulf War, 9/11, airline strikes, labor shortages, the drop in tourism and a woeful economy.
But the Rasmussens had to reinvent the company constantly in response to market demand, changing technology and Mother Nature. They regularly shift their product mix — from cut flowers to lei flowers, exotic cuttings to exotic bulbs, tourists to television-based customers. (QVC loved them!)
And with the Internet as a growing profit center, they've moved from brick to click. Internet sales of lei and tropical flowers are gaining as their major outlet.
Another grower, Hawaii Foliage Exports on the Big Island, also is expanding its market. The company sells its lush potted dracaena and palms under the trademark Perfectly Hawaiian to a ready and waiting Mainland market.
Title: "Changing Times: Creating Opportunities in Agriculture" Date: Oct. 24 Location: Sheraton Waikiki Hotel Sponsored by: UHCTAHR, Agricultural Leadership Foundation of Hawaii and Hawaii Farm Bureau Topics include: Agri-tourism, new wholesale markets, farmers and chefs, marketing, and the Food Security Act of 2002. Information: (808) 732-2294
Grower/owner Patrick McGrath devised a marketing strategy to promote high-quality Hawaiian plants to "interior-scapers" in hot spots such as California and New York. He pushed Perfectly Hawaiian through targeted direct mail, trade magazines, catalogs, even professional seminars at plant and landscape trade shows, to highlight the advantages of buying from Hawai'i growers.
Agricultural Conference 2002
The approach is working. At last count, Hawaii Foliage Exports was expanding to more than 140 acres at different stages of cultivation. McGrath worked with local trade and industry to make sure that plans for the Perfectly Hawaiian brand would indeed be perfect.
Thinking about going green? The savvy green-thumbed business owner has plentiful resources in small agricultural ventures for startup and expansion.
The University of Hawai'i College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, USDA Agricultural Research Service, and Department of Agriculture Plant Quarantine office can be sources of information and advice for product development.
The Small Business Administration, Hawaii Small Business Development Center on all islands, Maui Business Research Library and Honolulu Small Business Resource Center offer business, financial management and technical assistance.
More information on how to reach them is available at www.sbahawaii.org.
Jane Sawyer is the assistant district director for business development for the U.S. Small Business Administration in Hawai'i. She can be reached at jane.sawyer@sba .gov
