WASHINGTON, D.C. (HawaiiNewsNow) – The third day of the annual Hawaii on the Hill featured a popular, and delicious, event.
Nearly 1,800 people attended the Taste of Hawaii Wednesday, making one of the most anticipated events hosted by the Hawaii Chamber of Commerce on Capitol Hill.
For one Hawaii business, the event could be a launching pad for an exciting new opportunity.
“We’ve been on this journey to create 100% Hawaii-grown products,” said Naʻehalani Breeland, president and co-founder of Ola Brew. “What we’ll be showcasing at the Taste of Hawaii is our okolehao (traditional Hawaiian distilled spirit made from the root of the ti plant) with a cocktail. It’s 100% Hawaii grown.”
Breeland said events like Hawaii on the Hill will help to showcase exciting new ventures and provide exposure to industry policymakers and lawmakers.
“We’ve petitioned to the TTB (Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau), the federal alcohol regulating agency, to reclassify or reidentify okolehao federally,” Breeland said. “So what that does for us, and for Hawaii in general, is to have regulations around okolehao. We’re really working on something that’s very similar to the same model as tequila, or champagne, or Kentucky bourbon, where you have something from Hawaii that we can export and call our own.”
Ola Brew is just one of the many Hawaii-based companies hoping to leverage some of the connections made in Washington, D.C., while also addressing some issues for local businesses, such as manufacturing in Hawaii.
“Manufacturing in Hawaii is extremely challenging,” Kauai Mayor Derek Kawakami said. “When it comes to equipment purchasing, shipping costs, one of the biggest challenges is that. Manufactures have been talking about just the cost of packing materials.”
U.S. Rep. Jill Tokuda, D-Hawaii, discussed a potential collaboration between the U.S. military and Hawaii businesses.
“A lot of the discussions I’ve had on the Armed Services Committee is how we can look at advanced manufacturing, additive manufacturing in Hawaii,” Tokuda said. “So we can actually develop the technology and advancements, we can create the things that we need right there in Hawaii, and we can be adding that part of our skill base to the defense of our county. I think there’s a lot of potential there.”
Chamber of Commerce Hawaii president and CEO Sherry Menor McNamara emphasized the importance of bringing businesses from Hawaii to Capitol Hill.
“Nothing is better than going face to face, tasting the product, understanding what it takes to manufacture the products in general,” McNamara said. “And these products are actually exported around the world. It really highlights and demonstrates the need to continue to provide support for the manufacturing industry.”
Next year will be the 10th annual Hawaii on the Hill. Preparations for that begin the week following this year’s event.
Watch the segment here.
