Aloha! Mahalo for your interest in and support of our small, women-owned business! We are incredibly fortunate to be here, able to continue to serve our wonderful customers (new and returning) through these unprecedented times. It’s been a wild ride! There has been so much pivoting and adapting and adjusting as the impacts of life and the pandemic continue to shake us up. Being a small farm in the most remote island chain in the world has certainly made the global shipping crisis extra challenging but we are grateful we’ve been able to continue to send our gorgeous Maui grown, farm-fresh, protea and tropical cut flowers all over the U.S. despite everything.

Small Business Saturday has always been an important event for small businesses but since COVID-19 hit, it’s become even more obvious why it’s so important. Yes, every gift box, arrangement and wreath has a very dedicated, hard-working small group of owner-operators and farm crew behind them; but, have you ever thought about how many businesses you are truly supporting when you purchase a gift from us? You’re supporting a myriad of small, locally-owned, Hawaii-based, or family-operated businesses that make it possible to do what we do! All these businesses create jobs and support the livelihoods of countless individuals and their families—all while bringing some joy and Aloha to you and your loved ones. What a win-win-win situation!

Tasha, Emily, Naty, Roy, Jay-Ar…The Anuhea Farm and Flowers Team

When we first began the process of buying the business, the Small Business Development Center on Maui (an affiliate of the Small Business Association) met with us and pointed us in the direction of helpful resources like the Farm Service Agency and Business Insurance Services on Maui. The land we farm on is leased from the Moltzau family whose roots in Maui date back to the 1940s and are dedicated to the land remaining in agriculture. Bill and Judy Mertens, the couple we purchased the business from built it from the ground up and we now carry on their legacy as farmers and small business operators as they’ve retired to Molokai. The flowers we grow were originally propagated by Jim Heid at Olinda Nursery here in Upcountry Maui and we collaborate with other farmers such as Maui Tropicals and Foliage and Olopawa Farms on Maui to bring you the most beautiful and unique flowers our island has to offer. We rent reefer space from Maui Produce Processing Cooperative, an incredible group helping upcountry growers. Pacific Portables provides us with sanitary facilities for us and our crew. Wulf Handyman and Renovations and Duey Irrigation have provided invaluable carpentry and repair services. Our website was built by Dee and Garrick Garcia, a local couple who help small businesses. The boxes we build by hand and ship your gifts in are manufactured and shipped from Island Box Manufacturers on O’ahu and A Packaging Resource here on Maui. The shredded paper we pack your flowers in to help them travel safely is made by students at a local high school and Ka Lima O Maui, a non-profit: both of which create paying jobs for people with disabilities to help teach life skills. The paper we use to wrap the heads of your flowers in the gift boxes, the cards we hand-write your gift messages on, the care instructions we include with your gifts, and the return label stickers we put on your boxes are all made at Printer’s Inc./Wailuku Rapid Print, a local, family-owned printing shop. The hand-woven palm frond baskets for one of our arrangements comes from a local artisan, Blake Komoda who harvests, strips, prepares and weaves them himself. The supplies and tools needed for wreath making, floral arrangements, and bridal party selections are all sourced from companies on Maui, the Big Island, and O’ahu whenever possible such as Ben Franklin Crafts and Flora Dec Sales. Our farm equipment is purchased from local, family-owned stores like Lawn Equipment Co. Our irrigation supplies come from a Maui-owned business, Pacific Pipe. Our farm trucks are fueled by Maui Oil Company are maintained and repaired by local automotive repair shops Mike’s, Ekahi, and Glenn’s. Our membership with the Hawaii Floriculture and Nursery Association provides us with the opportunity to contract with a large corporation with the capacity to carry our product all over the U.S. There’s no question that without the incredible amount of small, locally-owned businesses, we’d have a very hard time being in business ourselves. We are incredibly thankful for every single one of them for helping us serve our wonderful customers.

Mahalo nui loa for supporting us, and in turn, all of us.

With warmest Aloha and on behalf of everyone at Anuhea Farm and Flowers,

Emily

Co-owner and Operator of Anuhea Farm and Flowers