If you enter ‘Ulu Mana Hawaiʻi’s Kalihi store during baking hours — which are usually from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. — you’ll be instantly greeted by the aroma of freshly baked cookies. The biz, which is known for its snacks made from breadfruit, or Hawaiian-grown ‘ulu, has also now taken over the Keith’s Cookies brand, according to ‘Ulu Mana Hawaiʻi owner Loren Shoop.
“Keith’s Cookies has been around for 30 years; we’re using the same recipes (they used) for the past 30 years,” he says. “We’re making all of these Hawaiian-style shortbread cookies here.”
Keith’s Cookies are known for their dome shape and shortbread-like texture. There are more than 15 different flavors available, including the bestselling chocolate chip mac nut, Kaʻu coffee, mocha, apple banana, poi and macadamia nut and more.
“We make Kaʻu Coffee with coffee from the Big Island; the apple banana cookies have locally grown apple bananas,” Shoop says. “I also love the chocolate chocolate chip. They’re big, flaky cookies, good for dunking in milk.
“A lot of people remember Keith’s Cookies from when they were at Longs, Fisher Hawaiʻi and Neiman Marcus,” he adds. “It’s the same cookies you guys know and love; just made here now.”
If customers visit the store during baking hours, chances are, they’ll be able to get a free full-sized cookie in whatever flavor is being baked at the time. All of the cookies are hand-scooped and baked in the ‘Ulu Mana Hawaiʻi factory, according to Shoop.
“It’s basically like a homemade cookie made in a facility,” he says.
The biz also recently launched its new cassava chips snacks, according to Shoop. Cassava, which is like yuca or tapioca, is locally grown — “We have a farmer up in Wahiawa that grows it for us,” Shoop says — and it’s brought to the factory to be processed. The business’s cassava chips are currently available in two flavors — garlic sea salt and Hawaiian sea salt.
“It tastes more like potato chips, more than ‘ulu does,” says Shoop, who notes that customers can get fresh boxes of cassava chips in-store year-round, compared to ‘ulu, which is seasonal.
There are many health benefits to cassava, according to Shoop, who explains that it’s a good source of fiber, is gluten-free and is a good source of vitamins as well.
“We cook them in organic coconut oil, just like we do the ‘ulu chips,” he says. “I really wanted to focus on ‘ulu to see how far I could take that, but once I started to see there were limitations to supply, I wanted to work on another project. That’s when cassava came in.
“With cassava, it’s year-round, it’s much easier to plant, and more farmers can grow it,” he adds. “That could potentially be a larger crop in the future. Hopefully, that’s something you could see statewide sooner rather than later.”
Shoop often encourages customers to try the cassava chips when they’re freshly made.
“People eat cassava every single day; they just don’t realize it,” he says. “Tapioca is made of cassava — the cassava plant. If you drink boba, you’re having cassava. If you eat a gluten-free product, there’s a pretty high chance there’s going to be cassava or tapioca in it. The way we make it is the most natural form of it.”
Getting boxes of freshly fried ‘ulu chips continues to be a hit with customers, since it’s currently ‘ulu season (from July to December). Like cassava, ʻulu has numerous health benefits — breadfruit is high in fiber, gluten free and a good source of protein and vitamin C.
The biz gets its ‘ulu from a variety of small farms across the island, according to Shoop.
“Everyone loves ‘ulu; we are getting a little bit more, but it’s still hard to get a lot of ‘ulu to make a lot of chips,” he says. “You can find it on more menus now. We get ‘ulu from small farms in Kualoa Ranch, Mililani and Kahuku. It all adds up to have a commercial product.”
‘Ulu chips are available in 3.5-ounce and 12-ounce bags. The biz also features breadfruit in its Hawaiian hummus, available in flavors like turmeric, beet and sun-dried tomato.
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CONTACT
‘Ulu Mana Hawaii
1933 Republican St., Honolulu
808-892-1250
ulumanahawaii.com
Instagram: @ulumanahawaii
Open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays-Fridays, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturdays, closed Sundays
Kelli Shiroma Braiotta can be reached at kelli@alohastatedaily.com.
