Meet the newest 10 local companies joining mana up's cohort 9!
Since Mana Up’s founding, it has worked with 51 Hawaii entrepreneurs, teaching them to sell their goods and tell their Hawaii stories more effectively. Mana Up’s goal is to turn small, local businesses that produce packaged goods into global players by giving them a blueprint to grow their sales.
Mana Up is moving the needle when it comes to local industries with women at the forefront.
Founded by women business leaders Melia James and Brittany Heyd, Mana Up is a Hawaii business accelerator program in its sixth cohort that boosts an alumni of nearly 61% women-founded businesses, including 31 businesses that have female CEOs.
To offset the financial downturn brought on by a drop in visitor arrivals throughout the pandemic, Honolulu based consulting firm Mana Up is trying to spread the aloha spirit to the rest of the world through its local businesses.
Calling all Hawai‘i makers and artisans! We're in search of the next 10 local product companies to help scale into global brands.
Mana Up's three-hour virtual QVC-style annual product showcase on Nov. 20 was a transformation of the in-person event and pop-up marketplace usually held at the Duty Free Store in Waikiki.
Normally, the showcase would bring in more than 1,000 shoppers, but this year more than 80,000 tuned in — a reach 80 times greater than in years past.
This serial entrepreneur is determined to fuel economic growth in Hawaii with her latest venture that she co-founded, Mana Up Hawaii, which helps local companies elevate their brands for a global market.
Each year Honolulu-based Mana-Up Hawaii hosts a 12-week accelerator program for Hawaiʻi entrepreneurs, helping them bring their products to market. The program culminates with a Product Showcase event, where participants present a 3-minute pitch to a crowd of 1,000 people at T Galleria by DFS in Waikīkī. There’s food, live entertainment and a marketplace where attendees can buy the products the entrepreneurs just pitched.
Central Pacific Bank, Mana Up, and the Hawaii Food Manufacturers Association started a partnership that will be the catalyst for new retail opportunities for Hawaii small businesses to sell products in Japan with Prince Hotels and Resorts and Natural Lawson convenience stores.
Central Pacific Bank News Release: Central Pacific Bank, Mana Up, and the Hawaii Food Manufacturers Association Secure New Retail Opportunities in Japan for Hawaii Small Businesses
Yireh is one of the companies participating in product accelerator Mana Up’s fifth cohort, and since joining, has been working on building a stronger e-commerce presence.
The origin of Jules + Gem Hawai'i traces back to Lana Gronwald discovering her love for candles when she and her husband bought a candle kit for date night.
Now, natural and authentic hand-poured soy candles and other bath and body products made by Jules + Gem Hawai'i are sold in specialty boutique stores across Hawaii, the continental United States, and the world.
