People’s Choice Award 2025

Alikaleo Park combines vintage patterns and sun-protection to create activewear for keiki that encourages outdoor play in a world filled with distracting devices.

Co-owners Alex and Sarah Kawakami use SPF 40 fabric to create hats, shirts, shorts and pants that protect children’s skin against the sun. 

“Just being able to have that extra layer of sun protection gives you the motive to be outside and play and let kids have that childhood that is colorful and fun,” Sarah Kawakami says. 

Alex comes from the same family that ran ‘Iolani Sportswear, a Hawaiʻi apparel business that started over 70 years ago. The couple started overseeing that company in 2016 but paused during the pandemic to focus on the birth of their second son. AlikaleoPark launched in 2023, inspired by the designs and legacy of Alex’s parents and grandparents. 

“We’re a very family-oriented company,” Sarah Kawakami says. “We just want to make the generations before proud.”

– Shelby Mattos

Asato Family Shop offers its “local kine” sherbert – sort of guri guri-esque – in flavors reminiscent of childhoods spent in Hawai‘i. The menu, which changes every week, may include conventional flavors like strawberry and pineapple, and others like pickled mango, li hing float and cold noodles.

Co-owner Neale Asato even created a spam, eggs and rice sherbert that was sold during the Spam Festival.

Asato says the family-run business’s mission is to support the community and make treats for the next generation. You can often find him alongside his parents at the Pali Highway store near Downtown Honolulu; it’s only open for a few hours a week, on Wednesdays and Sundays.

Asato says the shop has enjoyed exponential growth since he started making the sherbert in 2017 in his home kitchen. Now he creates thousands of pints each week for sale in the family store.

– Shelby Mattos

All of the doughnuts at Holey Grail Donuts are created with taro, cooked in coconut oil when you order and served hot, bringing a unique twist to the beloved dessert.

The brand was launched by sibling co-owners Nile and Hana Dreiling in 2018 ina humble red trailer in Hanalei. They soon gained a cult following of people eager for new flavors that have included passion-orange-guava, miso honey and whiskey smores.

Meanwhile, the owners say they focus on sustainability and work directly with local farmers and other food producers.

They now have a store in Kaka‘ako, two food trucks on Kauaʻi and three locations in Los Angeles, and plan to continue supporting local in 2025.

– Shelby Mattos

One day while hiking, Kea Peters grew curious about the plants along the trail. When she got home, she searched for their names and characteristics and eventually drew them.

She later created workshops to teach others how to draw the plants and sold stationery with her Hawai‘i-inspired designs. During the pandemic, she hosted live sessions on Instagram, where each week she taught people how to draw a different plant connected to Hawaiʻi. 

Peters is the founder and owner of Kākou Collective, whose online and in-store lineup now includes greeting cards, stickers, tote bags, apparel and more. As the business grew to include a store in Downtown Honolulu’s Harbor Court, the events and workshops halted, but she plans to create more opportunities.

“I’m not just selling a sticker, I’m reconnecting you to your grandma or your auntie who’s no longer here,” she says.

– Shelby Mattos

Roselani Aiwohi was inspired while visiting Waikamoi Preserve, a Maui forestthat’s home to 63 species of rare plants and 12 species of birds, seven of them endangered. 

Today, she says she uses her slow fashion clothing brand, Waiwaolani, to bring more attention to Hawaiian culture, conservation, watersheds and plants. That focus on the environment informs how she makes her clothes.

“I’m not going to be another clothing business that just adds more textile waste to the landfill,” Aiwohi says. Among her goals is finding a way to upcycle and recycle clothing to further reduce waste.

This year, she plans to add to her lineup by launching dresses, swimwear and other apparel for the Merrie Monarch Festival.

She says the mission of the business is to support nonprofits and other organizations that protect the water and plants of Hawaiʻi.

– Shelby Mattos