ANAHOLA — Anahola Granola isn’t just any regular granola. It’s Kauaian. “I think that there’s a good ratio of sunflower seeds, sesame seeds and coconut to the oats and the honey-oil mix that is just perfect,” said owner and operator
ANAHOLA — Anahola Granola isn’t just any regular granola. It’s Kauaian.
“I think that there’s a good ratio of sunflower seeds, sesame seeds and coconut to the oats and the honey-oil mix that is just perfect,” said owner and operator Becky Burns.
Twenty-five years ago, the then-single mother Burns started the company in the kitchen of her own small house in Anahola. Burns had been a granola lover since the 1970s, before the food was “truly appreciated” for its nutritional value and taste.
She had obtained the recipe from her sister while working on a small island in Washington and baked it for herself often, over a small stove in her cottage. When life brought her to Kaua‘i and she got a taste of the tropics, she learned how to blend her two loves and got the recipe just right.
“Everybody would come to my house and say, ‘Oh my gosh this is so yummy,’” Burns said.
Eventually she was approached by Terry Sullivan of the Kilauea Farmer’s Market, who said if Burns could find a certified kitchen then she would buy the granola for her store.
Burns accepted the challenge and began cooking in the kitchen of a workshop day program for people with disabilities. After spending some time at this facility, Burns relocated to downtown Kapa‘a and built her first shop, known then as the Decko Gecko Cafe.
She had a few successful years there and then sold it in 1991. It is currently the building housing Java Kai Coffee.
Months after selling the shop, Hurricane Iniki hit and devastated the island. Before the power even came back on, Burns was thinking ahead. Since she had already gotten accounts at several hotels here, she decided to take her talents to the other islands.
She got dressed in her “special suit” that always managed to bring her luck in business endeavors and traveled to O‘ahu, the Big Island and Maui to meet with chefs at hotels and resorts. She returned to Kaua‘i with many new accounts, and as soon as she was able, started producing, packaging and shipping her granola off-island.
Since then, Burns has grown to an eight-person staff and produces upwards of 4,000 pounds per week of granola — and more than 1,500 bars a week, as well. While the business, despite these hard economic times, is still growing, Becky is proud of her relatively small operation.
“I never wanted to grow the business so big that I wouldn’t be able to keep a handle on the quality,” Burns said.
Quality, to Burns, means making everything by hand. From using fresh, unsulfered fruit to hand-mixing the granola and spreading it on each tray before it hits the oven, Burns thinks there’s value in nurturing the production process in such a way.
“There’s something to having people be involved in that way, not having everything be automated and mechanized,” she said.
Anahola Granola distributes almost exclusively throughout the Hawaiian islands at hotels, resorts, Costco and in a select few stores on the Mainland.
Another chunk of her revenue, about 7 percent, Burns said, comes from mail orders. Whether the buyer is in Illinois or Florida, it’s obvious by the comments seen on her website that the savory snack leaves a great impression on people once they leave the islands.
“It’s really interesting because food is so emotionally related to experience,” Burns said. “So people will say, ‘I want to have your granola again because it will remind me of sitting on the lanai watching the sunrise.’”
On Feb. 3, in an effort to provide that “Hawaiian experience” as soon as customers sat down on the airplane, Hawaiian Air started serving Anahola Granola as an in-flight snack option.
One item was picked from each of the islands, and Anahola Granola was chosen for Kaua‘i.
The event occurred just after the company’s 25th anniversary.
Over the course of 25 years, Burns and her team have gone from farmers market vendors to international sellers. But Burns took every bump along the way with pride and an eagerness to move forward.
“I think I am the kind of person that I just kept going forward because I believed in what I was doing,” she said. “Things I stumbled on, I looked at as a challenge and something to overcome and to improve on.”
For more information
For more information about Anahola Granola, visit the company’s website at www.anaholagranola.com or call (800)650-6016.
