The Best of Small Business 2022
Profiles of companies in 12 categories that won Hawaii Business Magazine's SmallBiz Editor's Choice Awards, plus four 100 year old companies inducted into the Hawaiʻi Small Business Hall of Fame.
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Profiles of companies in 12 categories that won Hawaii Business Magazine's SmallBiz Editor's Choice Awards, plus four 100 year old companies inducted into the Hawaiʻi Small Business Hall of Fame.
The business was founded in 1884 as an ice and refrigeration company, and has been owned and led by the Nobriga family since 1946.
The small grocery store in Hilo carried some fishing supplies when the Tokunaga family opened it in 1920. It’s evolved into a 6,500-square-foot fishing, diving, hunting, outdoor and firearm supply store.
The founder’s near-death experience on a construction site led him to create a company with a family-first mindset.
The company helps manage invasive axis deer populations while providing meat products to local and mainland customers.
After pandemic setbacks, this travel company catering to youth, high school and university athletic teams is rallying back.
Started in 1995 by a marine biologist, the company now distributes seafood to more than 3,000 customers nationwide.
The innovative tech company helps businesses design great user experiences (UX) for digital products.
The family watercress farm adjacent to Pearlridge Center has flourished through the pandemic, says its fourth-generation leader.
Over the last 15 years, this growing company has expanded from a team of two to about 65 employees.
The founders say a new way of organizing home health care is better for patients, their families and the caregivers who help them.
The family construction business has focused on the island’s renewable energy sector for 15 years.
Their niche is batteries for forklifts, which “move everything that you eat, buy (and) touch.”
The 41-year-old company keeps alive the flavors that Hawai‘i’s people grew up with.
At 35, the company continues expanding and diversifying beyond its origin as an aircraft parts supplier.
Profiles of 16 local companies that have survived and thrived, including companies that made the 2021 Hawaiʻi Small Business Hall of Fame.
Maui Varieties is the parent company of 14 Ace Hardware and six Ben Franklin stores in Hawai‘i, as well as five stores in Seattle and Oregon, and two in Las Vegas. Maui Varieties also owns two Daiso discount stores on Oʻahu, which specialize in Japanese products.
GBC Boxes & Packaging was founded by George and Bertha Chu in 1972, and originally sold Hawaiian souvenirs wholesale to stores statewide, including ABC Stores.
Allan Ikawa launched Big Island Candies in 1977 after working with a Swiss pastry chef and has grown the company into an internationally renowned brand.
Steve Haumschild moved to Hawaiʻi in 2001 to become a researcher at Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park.
The pandemic made hand sanitizer a necessity in March 2020 and Lanikai Bath and Body continued to have a supply when many other stores on Oʻahu ran out, says Brook Gramann, co-owner of Lanikai Bath and Body.
Pacxa was formed in 2010 when several local tech businesses united into a single company offering a range of IT services, including support, outsourcing and consulting.
A listing for a Hawaiʻi coffee farm caught the eyes of two Oregon natives as they surfed through Craigslist in 2010 during the aftermath of the Great Recession.
In the early days of the pandemic, Ko‘olau Distillery pivoted from making whiskey to creating hand sanitizer, which it donated to first responders, hospitals and others in need.
Thirty-year-old developer Adam Wong has an intoxicating vision for a vibrant — and affordable — Honolulu. Thirty-three-year-old James Koshiba dreams of a new generation of socially-conscious businesses that do as much for the community as they do their bottom lines.…
Some say real estate professionals might be more important than ever Less than 20 years ago, prospective homebuyers could look at newspapers and drive around to find yard signs. However, most would call a Realtor because they alone had access…
Q. What should the owners of a family business consider when dividing shares of stock among their children? I have been told never to give two children equal shares. -Monica Toguchi, VP, Administration and Planning, Highway Inn Inc. A. You’re right,…