Retailing’s Unsung Heroes: Mana Foods

From The Journal of Commerce, February 2010 edition

"And so it was during a vacation to Hawaii last month that my wife and I found ourselves in the small Maui town of Pa’ia, a few miles south of Kahului, where we happened upon the Mana Foods Market. Having read the name in a guidebook, in we went. At the end of more than an hour, we had purchased a few items, but had a great time just the same wandering
the aisles. In fact, I found the store so interesting and the variety of items so remarkable that I called the store a few days later to see if they would speak with me about how they managed to get so much stuff into so little space and how they managed the logistics.

To my delight, Sunette Fenn, one of Mana Foods’ founders, was generous enough to take 30 or 40 minutes of her time to speak with me about the business, especially the logistics. Just for some perspective: The Mana Foods store is about 6,500 square feet, and the company has an order book of some 30,000 items that appear on the shelves. According to the Food Marketing Institute, the average size of a grocery store in America was 46,755 square feet in 2008 and stocked approximately 47,000 items. It’s worth noting Hawaii is the most isolated island chain in the world;
Maui’s population was 143,574 in 2008, and Pa’ia is very small.
So how does Mana Foods do it?
The specifics — no direct imports, a large number of distributor suppliers, dedicated staff, and constant attention to customer wants
and needs — are less important than the fact it does it and has
been doing it every day, every week, every month, for more than 25 years; and to be sure, without the awareness of virtually all of their customers — except, of course, for the random visit of a geek from the mainland.
Thanks, Sunette, I appreciate your time and the Mana Foods
story. Your copy of this column will be on its (electronic) way to
you soon." JOC
Barry Horowitz is the principal at CMS Consulting Services. He can be contacted at 503-208-2232, or at barryh@cms-cs.com.

Gluten Freedom: March 2010

Breakfast! Are you starting your day right??

We’ve all been told breakfast is our most important meal of day. Eating a balanced breakfast can help regulate your energy, mood and blood sugar throughout the day. Studies show eating breakfast, especially a breakfast rich in protein, results in fewer sugar cravings as well as fewer overall calories consumed. It has also been noted that children who eat breakfast show increased concentration and attentiveness in school over those who go without.

Many common breakfast options are unfortunately laden with gluten and as we all know can make it more difficult to make this important meal a part of your day. Here are a few tips on making sure you start your day right!

Plan ahead - It is especially difficult to eat gluten free on the run. But if you find yourself running out the door and on the hunt for a quick breakfast consider these options:

-Fruit smoothie with protein powder
BASIC RECIPE
1-1 1/2 cups milk (Blue Diamond almond milk, coconut milk, or milk of choice)
1/2- 1 cup fresh or frozen fruit
1-2 scoops protein powder (Manitoba Harvest Hemp, Nutiva Hemp, Nutribiotic Rice or Biochem Whey Protein are few gluten free options)

Place all ingredients in blender and blend. Add more milk or fruit for desired consistancy. This is also a great place to sneak any supplements or super foods.

- Van's gluten free waffles (bump up the protein and top with peanut butter, almond butter or my new favorite, sunflower seed butter)
- Applegate Farms cooked chicken sausage
- Kinnickinnick English Muffin toasted with nut or seed butter
- A piece of fresh fruit and small handful of nuts or seeds
- Yogurt (Brown Cow, Nancy's, Redwood Hill Farms Goat, So Delicious Coconut Yogurt are all great gluten free options) with nuts/seeds and/or Perky's Nutty Rice Cereal stirred in for a little crunch.
- Hard boiled eggs
- Ants on a log! Go back to your childhood and fill those celery sticks with peanut butter and top with raisins. Get creative and try other nut and seed butters and top with dried blueberries, shredded coconut and/or hemp seeds.

Take A Little More Time - Set that alarm clock a little earlier and prepare yourself a delicious hearty breakfast

Coconut Quinoa Slam! Did you know quinoa offers twice the amount of protein over oatmeal? This is one of my favorites and just takes 15 minutes.
1 1/2 cups lite coconut milk
1 cup quinoa (rinsed twice)
1/2 cup fresh papaya (optional)
1 Tbsp hemp seeds (optional)

In medium sauce pan, bring coconut milk and quinoa to a boil. Cover and reduce to a simmer. Cook until liquid is absorbed approximately 15 minutes. Top with papaya and hemp seeds or a fruit and/or nut/seed of your choice.
** Save even more time and try this delicious recipe in your rice cooker.
** Don't have time to rinse?? Try Ancient Harvest boxed quinoa.... they've done the rinsing for you!
**Stretch your food dollars and make your own lite coconut milk by diluting 1 can of full fat coconut milk with 2 cans of water. Use remainder for quick smoothies or freeze left over milk in ice cube trays for future use or an extra slushy smoothie

Other options to try:
- Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Pancake Mix - It's hard to believe these are really gluten free!
- Veggie omelett with homemade breakfast potatoes
- Bob's Red Mill certified gluten free oats
- Shelton's turkey breakfast sausage

Think outside the cereal box ??
- Last nights leftover
- Soup: Split Pea, Lentil, Butternut Squash or even Miso can make a great warm breakfast

Mana Foods: #1 Market & Natural Foods store on Maui

Mana Foods has been rated #1 for both markets & natural foods by MauiGuidebook.com .
"In a nutshell: The best natural food store on Maui. Better food, selection & pricing than the chain supermarkets."
Visit http://mauiguidebook.com/central-maui/food-central-maui/natural-foods-central-maui/mana-foods/ to check it out.

Gluten Freedom: February 2010

Easy Roasted Dinner
Baked B-B-Q Pork Babyback Ribs
Baked Yams
Roasted Asparagus
Dessert Hint: On the back of the Bob's Mill Garbanzo/Fava Bean flour is a recipe for "BabyCakes" bakery in New York's "Blondies." If you have never had them, or made them...you should do it!!! They are worth the effort!

Baked Pork Babyback Ribs
Rack of Natural Pork Babyback ribs from meat cooler
Annie's natural Organic B-B-Q Sauce (either original recipe, or chipotle if you are brave & like a real bite to your sauce)
Pre-heat oven to 375. In a roasting pan add pork ribs . Rub & brush ribs to coat with Annie's B-B-Q Sauce of choice. Add approximately 1/4 inch of water or apple juice to pan & roast for 30 minutes without covering. After approximately 30 minutes, or until browned, cover with aluminum foil and bake for another 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Remove from oven and serve with a bit more, warmed up B-B-Q sauce!

Baked Yams
Up to 6 yams will bake just fine in this time on a rack with the ribs
Add washed, skin on yams in oven, on aluminum foil covered second rack along with the ribs to bake for the entire 2 hours. Remove from oven, cut in 1/2 and serve as is, or with Earth Balance Organic Buttery Spread!!!

Roasted Asparagus
1-2 Bunches of Organic Asparagus (hard stems trimmed off)
1 Brown Paper Bag (large enough to comfortably hold asparagus)
*Olive Oil
Himalayan Salt
Options:
Thin sliced lemon
Cracked black pepper
Place Asparagus in brown paper bag and season to taste. Drizzle outside of paper bag with olive oil (keeps it from burning). Fold and crease paper bag well enough to seal and steam asparagus, and place on baking sheet. Add drizzle with more olive oil if needed.
Add to oven 20 minutes before ribs and yams are finished cooking.
Be careful when opening the bag after removing from oven when done. Serve AS IS!!!
*Olive Oil should always be considered to be Extra Virgin-First Cold Pressed

Think Local: Got Produce?

Save 15% on 25 Maui grown produce items
February 5th – February 28th

Tomatoes from Maui Grown Tomatoes
Apple Bananas from Dharma Aina Farms
Williams Bananas from Mueller Tropical Fruits
Sunflower Sprouts from Kahanu Aina Greens
Green Beans from Coca Farms or Syl's Produce
Napa Cabbage from Coca Farms
Dandelion Greens from Coca Farms
Pineapple from Haliemaille Pineapple Co.
Lemons from Bruce Glen Lemons
Limes from Backyard Growers
Avocados from Backyard Growers
Hana Fresh Greens from Hana Fresh
Hana Fresh Tomatoes from Hana Fresh
Hana Fresh Lettuce Mix from Hana Fresh
Turmeric from Respect the Aina Farms
Corn from Syl's Produce
Solo Papaya's from Haiku Produce
Strawberry Papaya's from Kumu Farms
Taro from Kupa'a Farm
Kula Strawberries from Kula Country Farms
Maui Onions from Kula Country Farms
Rainbow Chard from Rice Farms
Kale from Rice Farms
Local Tangelo from Kau' Gold
Local Oranges from Kau' Gold

BBQ Fundraiser for Paia Elementary School

Mana Foods to host fundraiser for Paia Elementary School
On Friday, February 26, 2010, from 5-8pm, Mana Foods is hosting a BBQ Fundraiser for the Paia Elementary School. Come to the store, located at 49 Baldwin Ave, Paia to enjoy the delicious feast prepared by our talented chefs. $5 and $10 plates will be offered, with menu options of veggie curry, locally caught fish & meat, venison chili, rice and coleslaw. All plates include a beverage.
100% of monies raised will be donated to Pa'ia Elementary School, supporting Ka Papahana Kaiapuni Hawai'i - The Hawaiian language Immersion Program. The 4th grade students will sing Hawaiian songs and dance at the event.

Ka Papahana Kaiapuni - Kula Kaiapuni O Maui at Pa'ia provides instruction and experiences of Hawaiian culture through the medium of the Hawaiian Language while achieveing the Department of Education's Hawai'i Content and Performance Standards. A strong foundation of Hawaiian culture and values are also instilled in the student’s classrooms.

Think Local: Filthy Farmgirl Soap

Get Clean! Think Local!

With whimsical packaging and delightful scents like Uber Super-Duper Aloha, Patchouli Sutra and Galactic Ginger, it's no wonder that these soaps are so popular.

Filthy Farmgirl Soaps are made on the Big Island and are 100% Natural and Vegan Friendly! They contain absolutely no detergents, surfactants, sulfates, artificial scents, colorizers, or petroleum products of any kind.

The soap labels are printed on 100% recycled paper.

Filthy Farmgirl grows and harvests many of the herbs and spices ourselves, and go out of their way to support local organic farmers whenever possible. They work hard to make sure every single bar of our soap is made with love and care, and the company is %100 eco-friendly.
Soap is not just about getting clean, it’s about loving your body and the earth. Live Nakedly!