Meet Loren Shoop | Founder Ulu Mana

We had the good fortune of connecting with Loren Shoop and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Loren, how does your business help the community?
Our business helps the economy of Hawaii in a few ways. 1. We purchase locally grown produce from small farmers in Hawaii. There are usually no brokers either so the full price of the produce is paid directly to the farmer. 2. we manufacture in Hawaii where we create jobs, and we purchase supplies and equipment from Hawaii based companies. On top of this Hawaii imports about 95% of its food source, by using locally grown fruits and manufacturing here, we can help Hawaii become more food secure and independent.

What should our readers know about your business?
We are proud to be using an ingredient that essentially has no commercial value at this time. Putting the spot light on ‘ulu (breadfruit) as a real crop that can be used to make many different food products. Changing the way people look at it, from being something you may throwaway or pass by to a coveted crop. It has many positives such as nutritional value, ease of farming, types of terrain it can be grown on, etc… Ulu Mana uses ‘ulu to make simple and delicious snacks.

We got here today because we just kept going and stuck it out. It was everything except easy, and we are still in the midst of it. We are dealing with an ingredients where we must forage it from small farmers across the islands. It’s not something we can just pick up the phone and order. It’s very hard to create a profitable business around it at this time. but our goal is to change that.

We would want the world to know that ‘Ulu Mana is putting breadfruit on the map and we are making it taste good as we do it!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I live in Honolulu Hawaii. We would be going to the beach a lot. My favorite spot is Sandy Beach on the south/east side of the island where there are great bodysurfing waves. If you come during the winter season we will go to the north shore of Oahu where there are massive waves and perfect days. We will also have to get some fresh poke (raw fish) and watch a sunset from China Walls in Hawaii Kai.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Business is not built by one person. Just like a child, it takes a village to raise a business. I am one of those people that are not afraid to ask questions or ask for help. Since I didn’t go the college route, I had to get my information from other sources and many of those sources were from people already in the field I was interested in. There were hundreds of people that have helped me along the way but honorable mention goes to my dad. We shoot ideas back and forth with each other and work through many problems together. Also a mention to Mana Up which is a business accelerator program I was in that broadened my horizon on who to ask questions to and where to find information I needed.

Website: https://ulumanahawaii.com/ and https://www.hawaiianfarmersmarket.com/

Instagram: @ulumanahawaii @hawaiianfarmersmarket

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRSwSVYZMzM&ab_channel=ShoopieSnacks