Meet four Native Hawaiian-owned businesses bringing Hawai‘i’s culture, creativity and entrepreneurial spirit into the products they create.
The story of Hawai‘i is still being written not only by historians and cultural practitioners, but by the entrepreneurs transforming local knowledge, family traditions and a deep connection to place into businesses of their own.
Throughout Hawaiian History Month this September, Bank of Hawai‘i and Mana Up are highlighting four Native Hawaiian-owned companies that reflect this continued spirit of creativity and enterprise: The Keiki Dept, Tea Chest Hawai‘i, Kahuku Farms and Surf Shack Puzzles.
Their products range from keiki essentials and locally crafted teas to farm-grown foods and puzzles featuring Hawai‘i-inspired artwork. While each company tells a different story, all four show how culture can remain relevant, useful and present in everyday life.
The Keiki Dept: Connecting Keiki to Culture
The Keiki Dept began with a mother looking for something she could not find.
After the birth of her first child, founder Leilani Sills wanted clothing that reflected the Hawai‘i in which her son would grow up—pieces that could help him recognize his culture, understand where he came from and feel connected to home. Unable to find what she envisioned, Sills bought a sewing machine, taught herself to sew and began making it.
What started at her kitchen table has since grown into a māmā-owned business creating clothing and accessories for families in Hawai‘i and beyond. Her designs draw from the ʻāina, incorporating native Hawaiian plants, animals and cultural stories into playful, contemporary prints made to be worn, treasured and passed down.
Kalo became an early symbol of the company. With its connection to genealogy, nourishment and the relationship between generations, it reflected what Sills hoped to create: a business grounded in the past while helping families carry culture forward.
"Our goal is to help families feel connected to Hawaiʻi no matter where they are. If a child grows up knowing the name of a plant or a place, they are far more likely to care for it later,” Sills says “That is what we are really making. Early recognition that grows into a real desire to mālama our island home."
Among featured pieces are Kapa Moe Swaddles in Lei Poina ʻOle, Blue Mauka Kalo and Lei Maile, along with the Blue Mauka Kalo Tote Bag.
Our goal is to help families feel connected to Hawaiʻi no matter where they are. If a child grows up knowing the name of a plant or a place, they are far more likely to care for it later.
The Keiki Dept founder Leilani Sills.
Tea Chest Hawai'i founders Byron and Satomi Goo.
Tea Chest Hawai‘i: A Sense of Place in Every Cup
Tea has a long history of bringing people together. For Tea Chest Hawai‘i founders Byron and Satomi Goo, it also became a way to capture the flavors, memories and cultural influences of the islands.
The couple founded Tea Chest Hawai‘i in 1995, initially distributing fine teas sourced from around the world. They soon began creating blends of their own, drawing upon their Hawaiian, Chinese and Japanese heritage—cultures in which tea carries deep traditions of hospitality, ceremony and connection.
Over the past three decades, the company has developed teas that pair those traditions with ingredients and flavors associated with Hawai‘i. Māmaki, cacao, mango, pineapple, lilikoi and other tropical notes help create blends that evoke everything from a backyard fruit tree to a drive along O‘ahu’s North Shore.
That range is reflected in this month’s featured selection. Tea Chest Hawai‘i’s Organic Matcha honors one of tea’s most enduring traditions, while its Hawaiian Natural Tea blends bring island flavors to the cup through Mango Peach and the floral, fruit-forward Hibiscus Bliss. Jasmine Māmaki pairs fragrant jasmine with one of Hawai‘i’s most distinctive native plants, creating a blend that connects a familiar tea tradition with an ingredient grown in the islands.
Tea Chest Hawai‘i has also worked to strengthen the islands’ emerging tea industry by supporting local growers and introducing more people to Hawaiian-grown ingredients. Its work includes collections inspired by the history of Hawai‘i, including teas created to honor ʻIolani Palace and help support its preservation.
“For over 30 years, we've studied and worked with ingredients from all over the world, refining our craft to make tea taste delicious,” says Byron Goo, co-founder of Tea Chest Hawai‘i. “Today, our most cherished ingredients come from Hawaii. Some of the finest chefs and resorts trust us, and we get to make products that help people feel great. This makes us unique. We don't just make tea. We make teas that embody Hawaii.”
Today, our most cherished ingredients come from Hawaii. We don't just make tea. We make teas that embody Hawaii.
Surf Shack Puzzles founder Mahina Tuteur.
Kahuku Farms' Kylie Matsuda-Lum and Judah Lum.
Kahuku Farms: Four Generations of Farming
On O‘ahu’s North Shore, Kahuku Farms carries forward more than a century of agricultural history shaped by two local farming families.
The story began with the Matsuda and Fukuyama families, whose ancestors came to Hawai‘i from Japan in the early 1900s to work on sugar plantations. They later established neighboring farms, growing everything from papayas and watermelons to bananas, sweet potatoes and bell peppers.
Childhood friends Clyde Fukuyama and Melvin Matsuda eventually united the two family operations in the 1980s, creating Matsuda-Fukuyama Farms with a handshake. What began as two roadside fruit and vegetable stands would grow into a 140-acre agricultural operation.
Fourth-generation farmer Kylie Matsuda-Lum has helped carry that legacy into a new era. In 2010, she opened the Kahuku Farms farm-to-table café with her husband, Judah Lum, and her sister, Kalyn Matsuda. Together, they began transforming produce grown on the farm—including fruit that might otherwise go unused—into foods that could be enjoyed well beyond the North Shore.
That approach remains central to Kahuku Farms today. Its small-batch products celebrate Hawai‘i-grown ingredients while reducing food waste and creating new ways for the family farm to remain sustainable for future generations.
"For us, carrying on four generations of farming means honoring where we came from while continuing to find new ways to keep agriculture thriving," says Kylie Matsuda-Lum, Managing Director of Kahuku Farms. "Everything we’ve created at Kahuku Farms is rooted in sharing what we grow, connecting people to the land, and building a farm that can continue for generations to come."
Featured favorites include Liliko‘i Butter, Liliko‘i Balsamic Vinaigrette, Mac-Nut Crumble and Pup‘paya + Peanut Butter Doggie Treats—allowing even four-legged members of the ʻohana to enjoy something from the farm.
Surf Shack Puzzles: Sharing Aloha One Piece at a Time
Surf Shack Puzzles began during the quiet and uncertainty of 2020, when founder Mahina Tuteur saw how much her young son enjoyed putting puzzles together.
The activity offered something increasingly rare: a chance to step away from screens, slow down and focus on a shared experience. Tuteur began imagining a puzzle company that could provide that same feeling while introducing people to artwork inspired by Hawai‘i.
Today, Surf Shack Puzzles is a Native Hawaiian wahine-owned and ʻohana-operated company that collaborates with female artists, including Traci Yoshiyama and Becky Bennett. Its collections transform distinctive artwork into an experience that can be enjoyed one piece at a time.
For Tuteur, the company is also an opportunity to share a different view of Hawai‘i—one shaped by local artists, families and the natural environment.
The puzzles allow people to experience Hawai‘i-inspired art while creating space to reconnect with themselves and one another.
"Every puzzle we make is a small invitation — to put the phone down, slow down, and be present with the people you love,” says Tuteur. “When that piece happens to show off Hawaiʻi's artists and beautiful scenery, it becomes a way to share our home and take care of it at the same time."
That commitment to place extends beyond the images. The puzzles are made from 100% recycled Eska board, printed with nontoxic inks and packaged with environmentally conscious materials. A portion of proceeds also supports marine conservation initiatives, reflecting Tuteur’s goal of helping keiki learn about and care for the ocean.
Its postcard puzzle collection offers a clever twist on a familiar keepsake. Each card can be mailed to someone special and assembled into a miniature puzzle. Featured designs include Hoʻomaikaʻi, Mahalo, Hauʻoli Lā Hānau and O‘ahu.
Meet the Entrepreneurs in Downtown Honolulu
Some of the featured entrepreneurs will participate in Bank of Hawai‘i’s Food Truck Day on September 17 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Bank of Hawai‘i Downtown Branch (outside on the corner of Bishop and S. King Street).
Visitors will have an opportunity to meet the people behind the businesses, hear more about their entrepreneurial journeys, discover their products and enjoy the day’s activities.
Tea Chest Hawai‘i will not be present at the event.
Discover More From Hawai‘i
The stories behind these four companies stretch across generations, industries and communities. One began at a kitchen table. Another grew from decades of tea making. A family farm found new ways to share its harvest, while a mother turned a screen-free activity with her son into a platform for Hawai‘i’s artists.
Together, they demonstrate that supporting a locally owned business can mean more than making a purchase. It can help preserve stories, sustain family legacies, create jobs and give Hawai‘i’s culture a meaningful place in the products people use, wear, share and enjoy every day.
Explore the featured products online or visit House of Mana Up to discover these companies and more from Hawai‘i’s growing community of entrepreneurs. Product availability may be limited.
Event details
- What: Mana Up Retail Pop Up
- When: September 17, 2026 from 10AM to 2PM
- Where: Bank of Hawai‘i Downtown Branch (outside on the corner of Bishop and S. King Street)
