{"id":220805,"date":"2025-08-26T12:49:30","date_gmt":"2025-08-26T22:49:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=220805"},"modified":"2026-06-05T17:49:55","modified_gmt":"2026-06-06T03:49:55","slug":"leeward-cc-local-food-entrepreneurs-made-in-hawaii-festival","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2025\/08\/26\/leeward-cc-local-food-entrepreneurs-made-in-hawaii-festival\/","title":{"rendered":"Leeward CC<\/abbr>\u2019s local food entrepreneurs shine at Made in Hawai\u02bbi Festival"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>
\"People
Jane\u00e9 Gutierrez (left), owner of Madres Churros and ʻ\u0100ina to M\u0101keke cohort 5 participant, was part of the Hawaii Made Pavilion presented by DBEDT<\/abbr> in partnership with Leeward CC<\/abbr><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The 2025 Made in Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Festival brought nearly 70,000 people to the Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Convention Center to celebrate all things Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>-made—food, crafts, clothing and more. Among the more than 700 local vendors were dozens who benefited from Leeward Community College programs.<\/p>\n

\"Two
Humble Food Design, an ʻ\u0100ina to M\u0101keke cohort 3 participant, secured its own booth at this year’s Made in Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Festival<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n
\"Two
Sheryl Kahue (right), owner of uCook Hawai\u02bbi and ʻ\u0100ina to M\u0101keke cohort 5 participant, was part of the Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Made Pavilion presented by DBEDT<\/abbr> in partnership with Leeward CC<\/abbr><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n
\"Five
Sen. Donovan M. Dela Cruz, Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Food & Wine Festival CEO<\/abbr> Denise Yamaguchi, Leeward Chancellor Carlos Pe\u00f1aloza, WVAPDC<\/abbr> Manager Chris Bailey, and Leeward CC<\/abbr> Sr. Workforce Development Coordinator Will Castillo supported ʻ\u0100ina to M\u0101keke entrepreneurs at the opening morning of the 2025 Made in Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Festival<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n

Stacey Robinol, owner of Mochi Momma, was a cohort 2 participant of Leeward CC<\/abbr>\u2019s ʻ\u0100ina to M\u0101keke food business program, through the Office of Workforce Development in partnership with the college\u2019s Wahiaw\u0101 Value-Added Product Development Center (WVAPDC<\/abbr>) and the Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Ag & Culinary Alliance. The program helps participants scale home recipes into market-ready products using locally sourced ingredients.<\/p>\n

“ʻ\u0100ina to M\u0101keke and the WVAPDC<\/abbr> 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.”<\/p>\n

Robinol was one of 15 ʻ\u0100ina to M\u0101keke entrepreneurs who were invited to be part of the Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Made Pavilion, presented by the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism (DBEDT<\/abbr>).<\/p>\n

“Our partnership with Leeward CC<\/abbr> exemplifies how cross-sector collaboration can transform educational institutions into engines of entrepreneurship,” said Dane Wicker, DBEDT<\/abbr> deputy director.<\/p>\n

New network supports Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> makers<\/h2>\n

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\u2019s WVAPDC<\/abbr> and UH<\/abbr> Maui College\u2019s Maui Food Innovation Center are part of the network, with more planned across other UH<\/abbr> Community College campuses.<\/p>\n

“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<\/abbr> manager. “The \u02bb\u0100ina to M\u0101keke program has become a key pipeline for food businesses seeking these comprehensive services.”<\/p>\n

Twelve businesses that had previously participated in ʻ\u0100ina to M\u0101keke or other product development consulting services at the WVAPDC<\/abbr> secured booths on their own at the festival.<\/p>\n

Chancellor Carlos Pe\u00f1aloza said, “The success of our participants at the Made in Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Festival shows how the college has become more than a place of learning—it\u2019s a launchpad for Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>\u2019s next generation of business leaders.”<\/p>\n

—by Devon Bedoya<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

From recipes to retail, Leeward CC<\/abbr> makers thrived in premier showcase.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":220933,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[222,65,71,60,1785],"class_list":["post-220805","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-academic-news","tag-agriculture","tag-leeward-community-college","tag-uh-community-colleges","tag-maui-college","tag-wahiawa-value-added-product-development-center","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t