{"id":225870,"date":"2025-11-20T16:34:19","date_gmt":"2025-11-21T02:34:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=225870"},"modified":"2025-11-20T16:38:39","modified_gmt":"2025-11-21T02:38:39","slug":"uh-alumni-led-sage-creamery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2025\/11\/20\/uh-alumni-led-sage-creamery\/","title":{"rendered":"<abbr>UH<\/abbr> alumni-led Sage Creamery scoops up community support"},"content":{"rendered":"<span class=\"span-reading-time rt-reading-time\" style=\"display: block;\"><span class=\"rt-label rt-prefix\">Reading time: <\/span> <span class=\"rt-time\"> 2<\/span> <span class=\"rt-label rt-postfix\">minutes<\/span><\/span><div class=\"responsive-video-wrap-post\"><figure class=\"wp-block-embed wp-block-embed-youtube is-type-video is-provider-youtube epyt-figure\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"><div class=\"epyt-video-wrapper\"><iframe  id=\"_ytid_92201\"  width=\"620\" height=\"349\"  data-origwidth=\"620\" data-origheight=\"349\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/D2beKec7Cb0?enablejsapi=1&origin=https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu&rel=0&autoplay=0&cc_load_policy=0&cc_lang_pref=&iv_load_policy=1&loop=0&fs=1&playsinline=0&autohide=2&theme=dark&color=red&controls=1&disablekb=0&\" class=\"__youtube_prefs__  no-lazyload\" title=\"Alumni Hali&#039;a Aloha: Zach and Courtney Villanueva\"  allow=\"fullscreen; accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen data-no-lazy=\"1\" data-skipgform_ajax_framebjll=\"\"><\/iframe><\/div><\/div><\/figure><\/div>\n<p>Inspired by family and supported by the University of <span lang=\"haw\">Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> community, Zach and Courtney Villanueva, <abbr title=\"University of Hawaii\">UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa alumni and owners of <a href=\"https:\/\/sagecreamery.com\/\">Sage Creamery<\/a>, have built a thriving business specializing in ice cream crafted with organic dairy and local ingredients.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_225877\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-225877\" style=\"width: 214px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/uh-alumni-villanueva-sage-creamery-2-214x300.jpg\" alt=\"2 people waving shaka behind Sage Creamery sign\" width=\"214\" height=\"300\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-225877\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/uh-alumni-villanueva-sage-creamery-2-214x300.jpg 214w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/uh-alumni-villanueva-sage-creamery-2-93x130.jpg 93w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/uh-alumni-villanueva-sage-creamery-2.jpg 250w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 214px) 100vw, 214px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-225877\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Zach and Courtney Villanueva at Makers&#8217; Market. (Photo credit Scott Nishi)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>In 2020, the duo started selling ice cream on Instagram, making home deliveries during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown. This initial success allowed the business to grow from home deliveries to local farmers&#8217; markets, eventually debuting a mobile ice cream truck, and now operating a brick-and-mortar store in the <span lang=\"haw\">Ho&#699;opili<\/span> development of Kapolei. The entrepreneurs are appreciative of the consistent support from the <abbr>UH<\/abbr> community throughout their expansion.<\/p>\n<p>Zach, who earned a bachelor\u2019s degree in <a href=\"https:\/\/politicalscience.manoa.hawaii.edu\/\">political science<\/a> in 2016, said, &ldquo;Some of our first customers were people from our time [at <abbr>UH<\/abbr>]. Once they heard we were starting a business, they came out to support which was nice.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Related story: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2023\/03\/02\/sage-creamery-uh-alums\/\">Sage Creamery a sweet success for 2 <abbr>UH<\/abbr> alums<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Alumni network<\/h2>\n<p>&ldquo;Majoring in accounting, it was really the network. Being in clubs, meeting people that I still keep in contact with today that are not only friends, but they\u2019re customers,&rdquo; said Courtney, who earned a bachelor\u2019s degree in <a href=\"https:\/\/shidler.hawaii.edu\/\">business administration<\/a> in 2012. &ldquo;We get a lot of support from our classmates, even our professors. They all come by, tell their friends about it.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The creamery is also a three-time participant in the <abbr>UH<\/abbr> Alumni Makers\u2019 Market. This annual event, organized by the <abbr>UH<\/abbr> Foundation Office of Alumni Relations, brings together alumni-owned and led businesses to showcase their products and connect.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Even though we didn\u2019t necessarily go to school with all of the <abbr>UH<\/abbr> alumni, a majority of those alumni are local people who have similar stories as us who are on similar journeys,&rdquo; Courtney said. &ldquo;It\u2019s nice to be a part of this network, just to be in good company.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<h2>Personal inspiration<\/h2>\n<figure id=\"attachment_225875\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-225875\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/uh-alumni-sage-creamery-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"ice cream pints\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-225875\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/uh-alumni-sage-creamery-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/uh-alumni-sage-creamery-130x73.jpg 130w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/uh-alumni-sage-creamery.jpg 676w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-225875\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Sage Creamery ice cream pints.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The dedication behind Sage Creamery is deeply personal, rooted in the legacy of Zach\u2019s late brother, Daniel, an aspiring entrepreneur who passed away from cancer in 2018. His journals provided the inspiration for the pair to start their business.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;After he had passed, a lot of really amazing things came to light, you could almost say otherworldly. Like he was talking to us even after he passed,&rdquo; Zach shared. &ldquo;It was almost as if he knew he was going to pass and almost as if he was passing his legacy onto us.&rdquo;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The <abbr>UH<\/abbr> network and a late brother&#8217;s advice sweeten an inspiring ice cream business.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[498,301,185,146,271,319,9,56],"class_list":["post-225870","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-people","tag-business","tag-college-of-social-sciences","tag-political-science","tag-shidler-college-of-business","tag-uh-alumni-association","tag-uh-foundation","tag-uh-manoa","tag-video-2","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/225870","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=225870"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/225870\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":225881,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/225870\/revisions\/225881"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=225870"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=225870"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=225870"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}