For nearly a decade, Steve and Ruiko Miller have been making Hawai‘i a little sweeter with their Sweet Brown Hawai‘i flavored caramels.
"[It's] just the two of us boiling sugar and making caramels and doing pop-ups," Steve Miller told Aloha State Daily on Tuesday. "It's been quite a ride."
Sweet Brown Hawai‘i caramels are made in small batches in Honolulu. They don't have a retail storefront, but Steve said the couple leases kitchen space in Kalihi, do a lot of pop-up events and online sales, and can also be found in Waikīkī Market on Kūhiō Avenue, Dean & Deluca in Royal Hawaiian Center, as well as Kailua boutique Muse.
Ruiko Miller said they typically have about 10 flavors of caramels.
Currently, the business' website offers Kona coffee macadamia nut, apple pie with graham cracker crust, vanilla macadamia nut, vanilla, chocolate, coconut, sea salt and 100% Kona coffee caramels, but depending on the season, you might find special offerings.
ASD met the Millers at the third annual Hawai‘i Made Conference, held Tuesday at the Hawai‘i Convention Center. Hosted by the state Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism, the conference had a theme of "I Ka Mākeke! Going to Market!"
Panels were held throughout the day, covering topics like the continental U.S. visitor market, the Japan visitor market, commercial kitchens, and value-added food and beverage, among others.
The first panel Tuesday morning discussed marketplace showcases.
It was moderated by Lauren Zirbel, executive director and president of the Hawai‘i Food Industry Association, which hosts the annual Made in Hawai‘i Festival, and included panelists Max Mukai, director of business development at the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement, who also leads the nonprofit's KūHana Accelerator and The Mākeke initiatives; Pamela Tumpap, president of the Maui Chamber of Commerce, which hosts the Hawaiian Airlines Made in Maui County Festival; and Danielle Scherman, founder of Aloha Home Market, a Made in Hawai‘i pop-up market in Kailua.
They talked about products resonating with shoppers right now, challenges vendors face in their events, pitfalls opportunities missed by first-time participants — and what works well — as well as how they measure success for their vendors and events overall, among other topics.
Steve Miller said the opportunity to learn is what drew him and his wife to the event.
"Nobody is born knowing how to do this stuff," he said. "Somebody's got to teach it somewhere. DBEDT has actually been real helpful. [This is] a chance to learn and maybe grow some more, see what happens."
Ruiko, who is originally from Japan, was interested in the discussion on the Japanese visitor market.
"Japanese tourists are very important to Hawai‘i, so I'm curious what their expectations [are] and what they are looking for when they visit Hawai‘i," she said before the conference started, noting that food is a popular gift for Japanese visitors to take home.
"I hope to learn a lot from the speakers."
She said, too, making connections was also something to look forward to.
"Since [the] pandemic it's hard to get to know people. It's nice to see people in person."
Indeed, DBEDT Director James Tokioka told ASD the conference gives businesses the opportunity to network with others who are going through similar experiences.
"That's what this conference today is aimed to do," he said. "At DBEDT, we're so diverse in the different agencies that are attached. It's just a great opportunity for people to learn how they can get assistance from not only the state, but from other businesses as well."
When asked why it's important for the department to continue offering a conference of this nature, Tokioka is quick to respond.
"That's our mission — to get people connected so they can start an up-and-coming business," he said. "I had three restaurants before and you never know what you don't know. But when you come to something like this, you can ask questions and you don't feel like you're alone, and that's why it's important."
Megan Brady is the owner of Uproot Origin LLC, a Hilo-based wellness company that offers turmeric elixirs and honey pastes, and manager of the Hilo Food Hub, a commercial kitchen and incubator space operated by Ho‘ōla Farms. She was also set to be a speaker during a discussion Tuesday, where she said she was advocating for shared certified kitchen space.
Events like the day-long conference, she said, are vital "for us to not only connect with each other as different businesses, but also I think networking is really key. I've met so many different types of people at these [types of events]. ... I think the networking and then just the education. You can never learn too much."
Stephanie Salmons can be reached at stephanie@alohastatedaily.com.
