The 2025 Made in Â鶹´«Ã½ Festival brought nearly 70,000 people to the Â鶹´«Ã½ Convention Center to celebrate all things Â鶹´«Ã½-made—food, crafts, clothing and more. Among the more than 700 local vendors were dozens who benefited from Leeward Community College programs.
Stacey Robinol, owner of Mochi Momma, was a cohort 2 participant of Leeward CC¡¯s ʻ?ina to M¨¡keke food business program, through the Office of Workforce Development in partnership with the college¡¯s Wahiaw¨¡ Value-Added Product Development Center (WVAPDC) and the Â鶹´«Ã½ Ag & Culinary Alliance. The program helps participants scale home recipes into market-ready products using locally sourced ingredients.
“ʻ?ina to M¨¡keke and the WVAPDC were game changers in preparing me for the festival,” said Robinol. “They helped me enter with a well-developed product, a better understanding of the local market, and the confidence to represent my brand in a competitive setting.”
Robinol was one of 15 ʻ?ina to M¨¡keke entrepreneurs who were invited to be part of the Â鶹´«Ã½ Made Pavilion, presented by the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism (DBEDT).
“Our partnership with Leeward CC exemplifies how cross-sector collaboration can transform educational institutions into engines of entrepreneurship,” said Dane Wicker, DBEDT deputy director.
New network supports Â鶹´«Ã½ makers
This year, state lawmakers passed a bill to create a Food and Product Innovation Network under the Agribusiness Development Corporation, which would help local value-added entrepreneurs scale their operations through a network of processing and storage facilities. Leeward¡¯s WVAPDC and UH Maui College¡¯s Maui Food Innovation Center are part of the network, with more planned across other UH Community College campuses.
“Through the Food and Product Innovation Network, we continue to guide new entrepreneurs in everything from recipe development and food safety to packaging and labeling,” said Chris Bailey, WVAPDC manager. “The ??ina to M¨¡keke program has become a key pipeline for food businesses seeking these comprehensive services.”
Twelve businesses that had previously participated in ʻ?ina to M¨¡keke or other product development consulting services at the WVAPDC secured booths on their own at the festival.
Chancellor Carlos Pe?aloza said, “The success of our participants at the Made in Â鶹´«Ã½ Festival shows how the college has become more than a place of learning—it¡¯s a launchpad for Â鶹´«Ã½¡¯s next generation of business leaders.”
—by Devon Bedoya