That's a wrap on the Hawaiian Airlines presents the 31st Annual Made in Hawai‘i Festival.
The shopping extravaganza began Friday, Aug. 15, and ran through the weekend, featuring more than 700 vendor booths. It drew approximately 70,000 attendees across the three days, a festival spokesperson told Aloha State Daily in an email on Monday. That's similar to 2024 attendance.
A record-breaking MIHF drew more than 70,000 attendees and generated approximately $10 million in revenues last year.
This year's revenue tally, however, won't be known for another few weeks, the spokesperson noted.
MIHF is produced by the Hawai‘i Food Industry Association. Proceeds from the festival support HFIA's mission "to build a strong, sustainable and resilient food industry in Hawai‘i."
"We are truly grateful for the overwhelming support of the vendors and participants of the Made in Hawai‘i Festival this year," the spokesperson told ASD. "It is incredible to see the enormous outpouring of support for Hawai‘i's local businesses and makers. Every year is a little different and we can never truly predict which days and times will be busiest. Last year, Saturday was the most popular day for ticket sales and this year it flipped over to Friday due to the state holiday and perhaps the exclusive drops and hot commodities being released by vendors."
So what does 'Made in Hawai‘i' mean in the context of the festival?
The spokesperson says that all products sold at MIHF must be "51% value added in Hawai‘i."
"This 51% can come from any combination of the value of raw materials, design, labor and manufacturing," they explained. "The valuation is submitted by the vendors themselves and checked by our team. The majority of the products exceed the 51% amount. It is possible that some products that are manufactured outside the state, or that have components manufactured outside the state, meet the criteria. We strive to have vendors and products that not only meet the criteria but exceed it and are truly embodying the spirit of Made in Hawaiʻi."
Vendors must also be based in the Islands to participate and there's a "comprehensive valuation process" they must complete, the spokesperson further noted.
"We do our best to ensure vendors are compliant with our Made in Hawai‘i mandates, while some might put out some products that are obviously not made in Hawai‘i we must be notified ASAP to remind them of the rules and remove those products," the spokesperson said. "Ultimately our goal is to only showcase products that meet the Made in Hawai‘i standard and we would hope our vendors abide by these requirements."
An obviously popular draw, some attendees began waiting in line to enter long before the festival doors opened to the public.
On Friday, the first group began lining up at 1:30 a.m., for Saturday, they waited from 9:30 p.m. the night before, and on Sunday, the first person in line showed up at 2 a.m., the spokesperson told ASD.
"The lines began to get lengthy from 6 a.m. in the morning, when the doors didn't open to the public until 10 a.m. on Friday and 9 a.m. on both Saturday and Sunday," they said. "This year, enhanced security measures were required by the Hawai‘i Convention Center including a magnetometer screening within our point of entry. This did slow the entry somewhat, especially on Friday, but Saturday and Sunday there was little to no line, or the line for entry had been cleared and was moving quickly by 10:30am on both Saturday and Sunday."
As for the lessons learned from this year's MIHF that might be carried forward in the future, the spokesperson says festival organizers are looking at ways to "provide more opportunities for an easier shopping experience and better entry options."
"We may consider adding additional hours, additional entry doors, and always consider suggestions and feedback," they said. "We are trying to be mindful of various issues like construction and availability — so the exact dates and location for 2026 are not yet confirmed."
Aloha State Daily attended the festival and caught up with a handful of the small business owners who set up shop. Read that write-up here.
Also worth noting: a total of $30,000 was donated to MIHF's charity partners the Hawaiʻi Foodbank and The Food Basket's DA BUX program. More than $7,000 was donated by attendees through ticket purchases, which was matched by the Hawai‘i Food Industry Association. That $15,000 subtotal was doubled by the Servco Foundation.
“We are extremely grateful to everyone who attended, our sponsors, and the hundreds of small businesses who shared their craft and passion with the community,” Lauren Zirbel, president of the Hawai‘i Food Industry Association, said in an announcement Monday. “The Made in Hawai‘i Festival continues to be a gathering place that uplifts local talent and gives back to the community that makes this event possible.”
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Stephanie Salmons can be reached at stephanie@alohastatedaily.com.
