Don’t miss your chance to apply for Cohort 8 of Hawaiʻi Ag & Culinary Alliance program

Are you a food product entrepreneur using Hawaiʻi-grown, raised or caught ingredients? Bring your food product to market in 2026!

Don’t miss your chance to apply for Cohort 8 of Hawaiʻi Ag & Culinary Alliance Cottage Industry to Commercial Enterprise Scholarship program.

The program is a partnership between the alliance in partnership with the state, Leeward Community College in Honolulu and Wahiawā Value-Added Product Development Center in Wahiawā. It is aimed at taking your value-added product from concept to business plan and pitch in just 12 weeks.

Cohort 8 runs Mondays and Wednesday from June 15 through Sept. 2. Classes are from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. and conducted online.

Applications are due by April 20.

Expert guidance is provided to 15 selected entrepreneurs in each cohort to incubate and develop their cottage industry, consumer packaged goods or value-added products into thriving food businesses.

About the scholarship and program

What you’ll receive

• Partial scholarship of $1,000 toward the $1,500 tuition for Leeward Community College’s 12-week ‘Āina to Mākeke course. (NOTE: Entrepreneurs are responsible for the remaining $500 course fee.)
• Introduction to Wahiawā Value-Added Product Development Center.
• Free 1-hour consultation with Wahiawā Value-Added Product Development Center Product Development Manager Hailey Zhou.
• Dedicated opportunity to showcase and pitch your product to buyers, distributors and industry leaders.
• Additional promotional and networking opportunities to grow your business.

Course topics

• Your product and consumer, marketplace survey, product costs
• Licensing and regulations, introduction to cost of goods.
• Food science workshop, working in a commercial kitchen.
• Working with a co-packer, cost of goods and recipe scaling.
• Business law, startup costs, margins, break-even.
• Food Safety Modernization Act, managing your business branding, packaging.
• Doing your pitch — sales sheets and showcase night information.
• E-commerce and social media.
• Selling at supermarkets and farmers markets.
• Distribution.
• Pitch presentations.

Click here to apply now.

And don’t just take the word of organizers about the benefits of participating in the program. Check out what Shaka Butter Founder Berklee Welsh — a Cohort 7 participant — had to say.

“It’s been a really incredible experience learning from all the guest speakers, the instructor and most importantly the community that’s just come from meeting other entrepreneurs like myself and really growing together as a group,” said Welsh.

Learn more about the upcoming cohort and program online.