Harvested only a few months ago, nearly all of the coffee from the Kauai Coffee Company, Inc. fields has been sold already, the new general manager reported. It is the first time in company history that roughly 80 percent of
Harvested only a few months ago, nearly all of the coffee from the Kauai Coffee Company, Inc. fields has been sold already, the new general manager reported.
It is the first time in company history that roughly 80 percent of the 2003 harvest has been sold so early in the year, said Donn A. Soares, who was promoted earlier this month.
“To be in that position this early in the year is unprecedented,” said Soares, adding that some of the grades of roasted coffee produced in fields from Koloa to ‘Ele‘ele are sold out already.
Last year’s harvest brought in 3.3 million pounds of coffee, accounting for over 60 percent of all coffee grown in Hawai‘i.
Kauai Coffee Company is the largest coffee estate in the United States and Hawai‘i. It spans 3,400 acres.
The results for the company this year are encouraging to say the least, Soares commented. In fact, the results could actually propel the company toward its first year ever of profitability.
“Last year, Kauai Coffee operated at a break-even (level),” said Soares, adding that the 2003 results were better than previous years’ finishes.
Retail operations, including the Kauai Coffee Visitors Center in Numila and Kauai Coffee Cafe in Port Allen Marina Center, are growing, as are plans for company leaders to roast more of their own coffee on Kaua‘i instead of concentrating on green-coffee sales to other roasters, he explained.
The visitors center gets between 350 and 400 visitors a day, said a spokesperson for Alexander & Baldwin, Inc. (NASDAQ: ALEX), Kauai Coffee Company’s parent company.
Sales of Kauai Coffee is something Soares knows intimately, as he developed the company’s East Coast markets (1996) before moving to the West Coast (1998, as national sales manager) and, ultimately, back to Hawai‘i and Kaua‘i.
Like Frank Kiger, who retains his title as president of Kauai Coffee while also serving as vice president of Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Company on Maui, Soares has a passion for his product.
“I love Kauai Coffee. I drink a lot of Kauai Coffee,” said Soares.
Soares, 37, lives in ‘Oma‘o with his wife Malia, and is an O‘ahu native stoked to be able to return.
“I’m excited to be back in Hawai‘i, and I’m excited to be working with the employees of Kauai Coffee face to face.”
There are around 60 regular employees at Kauai Coffee, a figure that swells by nearly twice that amount during harvesting operations, when seasonal workers are hired.
Soares continues to report to Kiger, and at the beginning of this month assumed responsibility for all operating and marketing functions at Kauai Coffee Company.
“Donn has been an integral part of the Kauai Coffee team for eight years, and we are confident that his experience and motivation — in fact, his passion for Kauai Coffee — make him the right person to lead the company to a very successful future,” said Kiger.
“Donn has developed a worldwide customer base including 650 roasters on the Mainland, and a network of roasters in seven European countries, and his insights will help us add value to our retail coffee right here in Hawai‘i,” said Kiger.
Soares, a Maryknoll High School graduate, holds a bachelor’s degree in international affairs from Lewis & Clark College.
A board officer for the Pacific Coast Coffee Association and a member of both the Hawaii Coffee Association and National Coffee Association of America, Soares has lived and breathed coffee for the better part of the last decade.
The switch from marketing of green coffee to roasted products isn’t the only new thing at Kauai Coffee Company, Soares said.
In the near future, educational ground tours of the estate will be offered to the public. Those taking the tours will learn how and where Kauai Coffee grows by also visiting the visitors center museum.
More information may be obtained at Kauai Coffee’s Web site, www.kauaicoffee.com.
Alexander & Baldwin, Inc. (A&B), with headquarters in Honolulu, is a diversified corporation engaged in real-property development and management (A&B Properties, Inc.); transportation (Matson Navigation Company, Inc. and Matson Integrated Logistics, Inc.); and food products (Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Company and Kauai Coffee Company, Inc.)
Additional information about A&B may be found at its Web site, www.alexanderbaldwin.com.
Associate Editor Paul C. Curtis may be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 224) or pcurtis@pulitzer.net.
