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Showcase to Livestream Globally on November 4th, TV Broadcast in Hawai‘i and San Diego This Year
Honolulu – Mana Up announces its 2021 Showcase, which will livestream from the historic Hawaii Theatre via Facebook and YouTube on Thursday, November 4 at 4:00 p.m. HST. The event is presented by King’s Hawaiian – a family-owned business that was founded in Hilo in 1950 and is now internationally distributed and recognized. Mana Up has also partnered with key sponsors Hawaiian Airlines, Central Pacific Bank Foundation, Lexus of Hawaii by Servco and Hawaiian Electric Industries to bring its 2021 Showcase to life.
The Mana Up 2021 Showcase enjoys a variety show-like feel, with the 90-minute main show featuring Hawai‘i’s entrepreneurs who will share their stories in three minute “pitches” and a line-up of 12 rising singer-songwriters curated by local talent production company Haku Collective. Entrepreneur stories include fourth generation O‘ahu farmers, creators of vegan frozen soft-serve made from only bananas, and more that is emerging from Hawai‘i. There will also be a two-hour post-show focused on live shopping, live interviews with each company, and a special premiere of “Artisans” – a new short-form series created by Lexus of Hawaii by Servco.
Building off the success of last year’s event that boasted 198,000 viewers, the Showcase will again feature similar elements, but will also include new ones: behind the scenes footage of each entrepreneur’s farm and production; a primetime television broadcast on FOX 5 San Diego and KHON; the addition of Honolulu-based RKT Media as producer; and an expansion of partners to include Lexus of Hawaii by Servco Hawaii and Waiākea Hawaiian Volcanic Water.
Viewers will have exclusive access to limited-edition products, giveaway prizes, major discounts and more. King’s Hawaiian and Hawaiian Airlines will provide the grand prizes, including two round-trip tickets to Hawai‘i and one year of Kingʻs Hawaiian Sweet Bread.
The Showcase will award a $5,000 people’s choice cash prize to the crowdʻs favorite entrepreneur through a text-to-vote feature. The award is co-presented by Waiākea Hawaiian Volcanic Water and VertAccount.
The 2021 Showcase is a collaboration of over 85 organizations, bringing together event partners like King’s Hawaiian and accelerator title partner Kamehameha Schools, as well as the featured small businesses and musicians, 40 of Mana Up’s alumni companies, RKT Media, Haku Collective, KHON, Spire Hawaii, and many more.
With broadcast partners Hawaii Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism (DBEDT) and Creative Industries Division, the Showcase will air in Hawaii on KHON on November 7 and in San Diego on Fox 5 San Diego on November 13. In addition, Mana Up is teaming up with partners in Japan to livestream the event and provide a Japanese translated shopping site and show subtitles.
“The Mana Up Showcase shines a spotlight on Hawaiʻiʻs rising talent, and that's something that we all want to be a part of. We're excited to collaborate with many local organizations this year and reach a bigger audience than ever through live-streaming partners and TV broadcast partners KHON and FOX 5 San Diego,” says Meli James, co-founder of Mana Up.
To register for the event and shop specially curated sets, visithttps://houseofmanaup.com/showcase. Event registrants will automatically be entered into 40+ prize giveaways. Registration and giveaway entries will be accepted through November 4 at 4:00 p.m. HST. The event will also air during primetime on KHON2 on Sunday, November 7 from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m. HST and on FOX 5 San Diego on Saturday, November 13, 9:00 p.m. PST.
Featured Entrepreneurs at the Mana Up 2021 Showcase:
About Mana Up
Mana Up is an accelerator and venture fund for Hawaiʻi-based products growing to markets globally, with the mission to increase economic opportunity and jobs for the people of Hawaiʻi. To date, 63 local companies have graduated from the six-month accelerator program that provides expansion opportunities and helps solve business challenges. In 2020, Mana Upʻs portfolio had an average of $923,290 in annual revenue and an average annual growth rate of 65%. House of Mana Up is the company’s retail initiative including an online shop, corporate gifting and a brick-and-mortar location at Royal Hawaiian Center in Waikiki, highlighting products and entrepreneurs who have participated in the accelerator.
Mana Up is supported by Kamehameha Schools, DFS Hawai‘i, Castle & Cooke Hawai‘i, Hawaiian Airlines, American Savings Bank, Ulupono Initiative, Dole Plantation, Kaiser Permanente Hawai‘i, Hawai‘i Technology Development Corporation, Innovate Hawai‘i, UHA Health Insurance, Pineapple Tweed, Shopify, The Kahala Hotel & Resort, and Foodland.
For more information about the accelerator program, visitwww.manauphawaii.com, and to shop House of Mana Up, visithttps://houseofmanaup.com.