LIHU’E – Any small business person will tell you that it’s not really news to hear about a company struggling to survive.
It’s a daily occurrence for many small companies on Kaua’i.
But a decision made to go smaller and concentrate on the local market to survive instead of going larger, and other specifics in the case of Kaua’i’s only beer brewing, bottling and distributing business, make Keoki Brewing Company noteworthy.
Consider what George W. Wells, Jr. has gone through since starting Keoki Brewing Company what seems like a lot longer than three years ago:
– A virtual revolving door through which his brewmasters have passed;
– A business where the packaging costs more than the beer that goes in it;
– A small, fragmented market where he must compete against giants like Coors and Budweiser;
– The given high cost of importing ingredients and supplies to make and package his product.
If you get the idea that a lesser person might have packed it in, say, around two years ago, that’s probably accurate.
But that’s not Wells.
One of only two Hawai’i beer bottlers remaining (others have folded during the time Keoki Brewing has been in business), Keoki Brewing decided on new directions that haven’t yet made the company profitable, but are steps Wells is sure are ones in that direction.
Scaling back production from around 800 cases a month to 400, and making a conscious decision to focus on the Kaua’i market, have meant longer days, but more fun, for the newlywed Wells and new bride Jan Formato, an attorney handling the marketing for Keoki Brewing.
Deciding to distribute the product themselves has meant seven-day-a-week, 14-hour-day schedules, but Wells says he enjoys it because he is able to speak directly, face to face, with the store clerks and managers he’s doing business with.
So, why has he persevered?
“I want to make a good, quality local beer. We do want to be Kaua’i’s beer,” Wells said. “We want to make a product that Kaua’i is proud of. We’re here to stay.”
While Whalers Brewpub at Kaua’i Lagoons and Waimea Brewing Company at Waimea Plantation Cottages are breweries that make their own beer only for on-site consumption at those respective restaurants, only Keoki Brewing Company bottles and distributes a local beer island-wide and beyond.
It is available at most stores on the island, including Foodland, Big Save and other retailers. You can get it on draft at the Radisson Kaua’i Beach Resort, Hyatt Regency Kaua’i Resort & Spa, Kaua’i Marriott Resort & Beach Club and other hotels on the island.
“A lot of people on Kaua’i are very supportive. We really appreciate that,” he said of establishments that give the local business person a break.
On an island, and in a state, where the odds are stacked against business success, those breaks can make the difference between surviving and folding, he said.
Keoki Gold and Keoki Sunset, light and dark beers, respectively, are gaining fans on O’ahu and Kaua’i, he said. The Mai Tai Bar in Ala Moana Center alone pours more of his product than nearly all of the Kaua’i draft locations combined.
The special pink beer he makes for the pink hotel, the Royal Hawaiian, in its Mai Tai Bar, recently was featured on The Discovery Channel special on the pink drinks at that hotel. That was part of a Hawai’i feature the cable channel filmed in the islands.
Keoki beer is the only draft poured at the Paradise Cove lu’au on O’ahu.
On Kaua’i, Koa Trading Company does a bulk of Keoki deliveries. On O’ahu, it’s Nishimoto Trading Company.
Keoki Brewing is now making more money on Kaua’i alone than it did when Wells had a statewide distribution system. “Our business on Kaua’i has increased, and we’re having more fun,” because the couple is able to develop relationships in every store, in every hotel and restaurant, where Keoki is offered, he said.
Big stacks of Keoki beer in stores big and small have helped the brew’s image, visibility and popularity. But Wells knows more needs to be done.
The next step is finding a new location for the brewery, establishing a more visible presence and identity. A tasting room could figure in the plans. Now, the brewery is in a warehouse in the Lihu’e Industrial Park phase two.
Wells envisions being able to deliver Keoki to local patrons at prices allowing them to enjoy it on a regular basis. “It’s never my intention for people to drink more,” but he would like Kaua’i beer drinkers to try the island’s only locally brewed beer.
And he’d also like feedback on what people like and don’t like about it. E-mailing him at george@keokibrewing.com is the best way, but anyone can feel free to call him at 651-9372, he said.
The bottom line, besides surviving, is to make a product Kaua’i can be proud of, he concluded.
Business Editor Paul C. Curtis can be reached at mailto:pcurtis@pulitzer.net or 245-3681 (ext. 224).
