Made In Hawaii? This Innovative Startup Can Help You Promote Your Product…When the pandemic hit, the start-up ditched its hospitality-focused components and zeroed in on a goal to help Hawaii food entrepreneurs reach a larger audience.
KILAUEA, Kauai — In late 2018, a pair of local business investors purchased a former guava kai plantation on Kauai’s North Shore with a plan to fortify Hawaii’s local food system.
As they built a team of experts in business, community-building and agriculture, a vision took shape for Common Ground, an 83-acre campus where food producers and consumers could meet through impact investing and business mentorship programs, farming, a restaurant and an events space.
Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit, further underscoring the urgent need for a Hawaiian food economy independent of airplanes and cargo ships. The public health crisis also exposed the danger of Hawaii’s heavy reliance on tourism.
