Maui brands get new boost as iShoppes runs former DFS Hawaii sites at Kahului Airport
A blessing ceremony was held Tuesday for the International Shoppes (iShoppes) at the Kahului Airport on Maui. The business was selected by the Hawai‘i Department of Transportation to provide retail and in-bond duty free concessions at the Kahului Airport on Maui and the Daniel K. Inouye International Airport on Oʻahu.
In addition to national and international brands, iShoppes expressed interest in showcasing products from across the state of Hawaiʻi, providing opportunities for local businesses and artisans to reach new customers and gain international exposure.
Dedicated incubator showcases Hawaiʻi based businesses
The airport shops now include a spot dedicated to incubator concepts, showcasing Hawaiʻi-based businesses, creating a sense of place, while delivering a “best-in-class” experience for travelers and meaningful impact for the local community.
Mana Up co-founder, Brittany Heyd described her business as an accelerator and retail initiative supporting local products in Hawaiʻi. This becomes the eighth Mana Up store front in the state, with the Kahului Airport location featuring all Maui products made by Maui entrepreneurs.
“It’s an incredible place to get gifts for travelers and locals alike, and really elevate the stories of our local entrepreneurs and bring in those dollars from both the tourism economy as well as our local economy into our businesses here.”
— Mana Up co-founder, Brittany Heyd
Among the local businesses featured at Mana Up is To Be Hawaiʻi, which makes handcrafted all-natural skin and body care.
“This is so exciting for us—one just the exposure, to the thousands of people that come in and out of that airport, to showcase our local brand… and also for our customers,” said Karli Rose, CEO and Founder, To Be Hawai’i.
The business suffered the loss of its storefront Wailuku during the Kona storms last month, and Rose said she’s especially grateful for the chance to reach customers again.
“Now they have a place to grab all of their favorite products, to take with them home. So this means the world to us to be able to have our products so accessible; and then also, just the exposure alone is amazing,” she said.
Another Maui-based brand that has a presence at Mana Up is HI Spice, featuring locally sourced hot sauce in collaboration with local farmers for ingredients that include lilikoʻi, guava, pineapple, mango, papaya and honey.
ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW AD“We are so excited and humbled. I’ve lived here over 20 years, and I’ve walked through this concourse a thousand times. Since we started the business, my wife and I, I’ve always been like, ‘Wow, it’d be so cool if one day our stuff would be here and you see people buying your product off the shelves here.’ And that day is now.”
—Justin Orr, with HI Spice
“It’s so amazing to see not only our product, but other local Maui companies right next to us that we’ve grown through this adventure with. It’s so nice to see Maui represented, Hawaiʻi represented. When a customer comes in here, they know that they’re getting something that’s authentically made in Hawaiʻi, not just branded Hawaiʻi, which you see a lot. But it’s so nice being elbow to elbow with other great companies,” said Orr.
Heyd said Mana Up started as a way to elevate local business. “We didn’t even have retail in our plans at all, but as we started supporting local businesses and helping them with sales, operations [and] finance… all of these retail initiatives started.”
“We really saw, especially in our first location in Waikīkī, there was nowhere on Kalākaua Avenue that was promoting 100% local. And we really wanted to prove that our businesses here could stand next to Tiffany and Hermès and all of these designer brands, and be just as good and just as successful,” said Heyd.
Heyd said Mana Up has since proven its strength. “And so with that initial concept… we grew our other locations. It’s really about how do we take all of these dollars spent here and put them back into our local economy where you’re creating jobs, revenue, community, give back—all of these amazing things that really help everyone in general.”
Mana Up is also opening at the Daniel K. Inouye International Airport in Honolulu, which will become its ninth location. Both of the airport stores are collaborations with iShoppes, creating a platform where efforts are made to bring in appropriate products to drive sales for local businesses.
Transition from DFS Hawaiʻi to iShoppes
Under a 10-year contract that began this month, the New York-based iShoppes along with business partner Ben Crump Enterprises, took over the shops that were previously operated by DFS Hawaiʻi, which announced its exit from Hawaiʻi in January.
International Shoppes currently operates duty free and specialty retail stores in New York’s JFK International Airport, Washington, D.C.’s Dulles International Airport, Baltimore’s Thurgood Marshall Airport, Hartford’s Bradley International Airport and Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport.
State of Hawaiʻi Airports Division Deputy Director, Curt Otaguro said Kahului Airport has had shops for over six decades. The Kahului Airport is the second busiest in the state and one of the top 50 airports in the US, serving over 7 million passengers annually, transportation officials said.
Otaguro called the transition a “milestone,” saying iShoppes is one of the leading operators across major airports throughout the US, offering both expertise and experience.
“The state is committed to make sure that our passenger experiences is bar none,” said Otaguro, pointing to the governor’s investment of over $7 billion across 15 statewide airports, to modernize facilities in the coming years.
iShoppes co-CEOs Scott Halpern and Matt Greenbaum are third generation leaders of the family-owned business that their grandfather started.
“Our company, International Shoppes, was founded as a partnership—two families coming together and working together for 75 years,” said Matthew Greenbaum, Co-CEO of International Shoppes.
“It’s hard enough for one family to do it, and two makes it even that much more complicated. But I think the the families complement each other in so many ways,” said Greenbaum. “So it’s that spirit of partnership that we’re looking to bring here to Hawaiʻi, where we’ve been so welcomed as partners by the Department of Transportation.:
“We’re looking forward to developing all the local brands here at this airport and featuring things that are truly Maui,” he said, giving special thanks to the Mana Up team.
“I think it’s really exciting that we’re getting down to that granular level of truly working in partnership with the community. And, we’re just so humbled and excited to be here,” he said.
—Matthew Greenbaum, Co-CEO of International Shoppes.
Fellow iShoppes Co-CEO Scott Halpern, said the shops will create jobs and showcase brands that have the ability to touch base with consumers traveling through Hawaiʻi.
“A large part is really working with the brands to make sure that we can bring them into the space and have them do the last touch point. How are customers going to remember their experience? We’re looking forward to enhancing the stores the community has, remembering that people want to come back,” he said.
iShoppes entered a strategic partnership with Ben Crump Enterprises (BCE) to enhance community engagement. The collaboration brings a reimagined space to the airport retail experience through elevated design, curated merchandising, and enhanced customer engagement.
“This is truly a special place. I think it’s one of the most beautiful places on God’s earth, and to be able to come and do business here is something that people dream about.”
—Ben Crump, Ben Crump Enterprises (BCE)
“We believe you can do good and do well—do good business wise, but it’s more important to do good by the people,” said Crump. “It really is about growing together, learning from each other, and prospering together for the people of the island—the people who our children will look up to and see how community works.”
While conducting the blessing, Kahu Kalani Wong reflected on the history of the area and how it has changed over the years.
“We know that this place has been used in the past, not just by the people at these stores, but also by our ancestors who fished these waters, who lived on this land,” said Kahu Kalani Wong.
“One of the aspects about this place is that it should include aloha,” said Wong, explaining that many in the islands buy omiyage (gifts/souvenirs) to bring or take back to places they travel. They want those items to be special and meaningful.
He blessed the area with an oli (chant), sharing the thoughts behind it and its relevance.
“The kauna or the thought behind it is not that you have come, [but] love has come with you.”
Kahu Kalani Wong
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