A new leader is at the helm of Hawai‘i Farm Project, an organization that aims to connect people to the land, the food it produces and those who grow it.
John White was named CEO in March. In this role, he'll oversee the company's brands, including Maui Gold Pineapple, Maui Pineapple Tour, Maui Pineapple Store, Maui Chocolate Tour, Lahaina Honey Co. and Maui Farm Events.
White began his marketing career at Nike, where he held a number of leadership roles, before moving to a marketing agency where he led a number of brand campaigns for global companies such as American Express, Heineken and Pepsi, as well as events such as the Olympic Games and X Games, according to an announcement earlier this month.
“With his extensive experience in hospitality, management and brand development, John is poised to lead Hawai'i Farm Project as it navigates the evolving agritourism landscape,” Todd Domeck, owner of Hawai'i Farm Project, said in the announcement. “John’s leadership, passion for our mission, and deep connections to Maui will ensure Hawai'i Farm Project continues to thrive and share its unique offerings with the world.”
White and his wife moved to Maui in August 2003. He laughs when asked how he ended up on the Valley Isle more than two decades ago.
At that time, White, who had spent a number of years in corporate marketing at that point, says he and his wife were "at a crossroads," and they both received job offers on the same weekend — his in Colorado where they were living at the time and hers in Hawai‘i.
"We flipped a coin and she won, and two weeks later, we moved to Maui," he said with a laugh. For White, the natural transition was a move into tourism and hospitality.
He most recently served as director of commercial strategy for Honolulu-based MacNaughton Hospitality and was previously director of sales and marketing at Kā‘anapali Beach Hotel, the announcement noted.
According to the announcement, his appointment to the new role comes as the company "focuses on long-term growth post wildfires and continues its commitment to Maui's rich agricultural heritage."
White recently told Aloha State Daily that he worked with Hawai‘i Farm Project's owner and chief operating officer around 2008 or 2009. They approached White and "we started talking about what their needs were."
The company had grown, made it through the Covid-19 pandemic as well as the 2023 wildfires that destroyed much of Lahaina town, he said.
"They were, in a way, coming up for air and saying, 'You know, I think the organization needs to have a little bit more structure, a little bit more vision on that side of things,'" White said. "So they developed this new position, the CEO position, to bring Maui Gold, as well as all the agritourism businesses together, and shape it for the future going forward.
"That combination of working with the leadership many years ago, as well as my skills in bringing teams together, organizations together, to be able to lead it on this next chapter was really enticing," he continued. "That, coupled with the personal drive to help Maui continue to recover, was near and dear to my heart."
White says his top priority stepping into the role was first to meet with each employee and listen — to their wishes, fears, concerns and why they work for the company.
"What I found was that everybody was extremely passionate about what they do," he said. "Some people have worked here a short amount of time — under a year — and others have worked here 40, 50 years. It's the melding of these cultures together that I want to harness and support. I'm a big believer in servant leadership, so I wanted to calm any fears and concerns people had because on the Maui Gold side, they've had many different owners ... and assure them that my job and vision is to perpetuate the future of pineapple on Maui. Then, for the activities and tourism side of the business, is help them navigate these very uncertain times and come together and harness their creativity to continue to innovate. So it's very multi-faceted on that side."
When talking about long-term goals, White says that because of the turmoil of the past five years, coming up with a sustainable path for the coming years is a priority.
"There's many different aspects," he said. "On the Maui Gold side, we have a workforce that is aging, similar to what a lot of hotels are seeing in their housekeeping departments. How do we get people to continue to be farmers and to enjoy and persevere on that side? On the tourism side, we all know that Hawai‘i needs tourism to be healthy, so continuing to find innovative ways to show people, have them experience the unique beauty of Maui, whether it's the chocolate side or the pineapple side of our businesses."
Hawai‘i Farm Project lost its Front Street store in the 2023 Lahaina blaze, and suffered "bit of loss" with the chocolate tours, White said.
"We lost a considerable amount of revenue to keep the business going," he said. "We definitely realized that we all needed to jump in and help with the recovery." White says there were efforts to help the community as well as employees who lost homes.
"Fast forward to the end of 2024, we just opened our new Pineapple Store in Hāli‘imaile right before Christmas, and it's been met with resounding success," White says. "We have equal amount of residents to visitors who are enjoying that store, and it's much bigger than before."
A pineapple bar also will be opening in the coming months.
"We're really excited that we've been able to pivot and continue to grow the business as well as survive through all of that."
Now more than 20 months out from the fires, White says given the external circumstances, "we're doing pretty well."
"What we are offering on the tourism side is being very well accepted by the visitors that are coming to Maui," he said. "Our chocolate tours are selling out really well. ... Our pineapple tours [in Upcountry Maui] are doing very well. That concept of authentic agritourism is really resonating with the people that are coming to Maui right now."
As for pineapples, which White says have an 18-month growing cycle, "it takes quite a while to see the effects of change on that side of things, but we continue to have more demand than we have supply, which is a good problem. So we're definitely focused on planting more pineapples for the future. We're continuing to grow that into 2026 and 2027."
According to White, there are about 66 employees total across all brands and the company is hiring more.
Among those positions will be a replacement for Maui Gold's "beloved" general manager, Rudy Balala, who is retiring, as well as a director of finance, and guide and retail store positions, White said.
Stephanie Salmons can be reached at stephanie@alohastatedaily.com.
