We recently connected with Claudia Bustamente and have shared our conversation below.

Claudia , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear your thoughts about family businesses.

During my time in college, when I was living in Honolulu and studying Entrepreneurship at Hawaii Pacific University, I was exposed to many different cultures living in that city. The extensive variety of restaurants and diners along with other small businesses offered something unique – a more personalized dining/shopping experience and a sense of being in a smaller, more intimate business setting.
I remember a small diner on Front Street Mall. The host, the so called “aunty” walked up to the many people standing in line to take their orders. Her husband, along with a few cooks, prepared the food and her two sons were serving. Not only did the customers appreciate the “homecooked” style food, but they were able to exchange a few words with the owner and knew that their purchase would go directly to the family and the diner. They had a very personal experience diving in that restaurant.

To establish a business from ground up, where the whole family is involved and every member has its role, is such an inspiration to me. This gives families an opportunity for creating wealth, but also a chance to work for themselves instead of being an employee for a company. A family business can establish their own flexible rules and schedules. Running or working for a family business can provide so many learning opportunities and an option to work and grow without going the college route.

I have worked for many employers throughout my career and in many areas of business such as HR and Marketing. I remember working for a small family owned restaurant in Sales/Marketing and loving my job, because of the personal connection I had between the owner and her 2 children and cousin who worked there also. I was treated as a family member. I learned so much and in exchange for my work, I not only received my paycheck, but also encouragement, flexibility, a sense of belonging and simply support.

When I decided to start a creating tropical fruits spreads, I wanted to start a family operation, which would offer my husband and my 2 kids to be able to be involved if they wanted to. With my husband working a typical Monday through Friday 8-5 work schedule, his job did not offer any flexibility for our family. But we were exactly seeking that: To be able to spend lots of time with our kids, as a family, travel when we wanted and simply not have to rely on anybody else.

Always driven, creative and passionate about business in general, I saw this opportunity for our family to create a product everyone would enjoy. A jam is a household staple all over the world so why not follow my passion and give it a go!

I also get inspired by leaving something behind for my kids, a business that they can take over one day or expand. A legacy so to speak. An opportunity for them to continue to grow the business and establish wealth and be proud to be part of it!

As a parent and therefore first teacher of my children, I would love for them to join the business once they are old enough (currently 6 & 2). They admire my husband and I and we teach them what a difference it makes to shop at small family owned businesses. It is really the community which helps small businesses thrive. This is whatʻs so special about living in Hawaii.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

My name is Claudia Bustamente and I am the owner of Koko Val Hawaiʻi, a small family business which creates delicious fruit spreads made with Hawaiiʻs tropical fruits. Better than a jam, we create fruit spreads that are low in sugar using 100 % organic cane sugar, lots of fruit and no artificial ingredients or preservatives.

With European roots and family traditions rich in harvesting and preserving fruits, I became passionate about the art of canning during the COVID19 pandemic. Fascinated by Hawaiiʻs tropical fruits such as Pineapple, Mango and Passion Fruit, my mother and I started making jams in my home kitchen in Wailuku, Maui. We then enjoyed the freshly made jams on toast or pastries.

With the intent to share a taste of Hawaii, I created a low sugar jam with provides an exceptional flavor and quickly became popular amongst the locals and visitors alike when selling them at farmers markets. What set my product apart from other jam producers was the fact that the fruit itself was the main ingredient, which made my spread attractive to health conscious consumers and people who watch their sugar intake. Recently rebranded, the 6 oz. jars have a beautiful label which makes the product ideal for gifting as well.

Due to Hawaiiʻs agricultural laws and regulations, fresh fruit is not allowed to bring on an airplane, but a jar of fruit spread is the perfect alternative. My customers, who are mostly people who come to visit Hawaii, can bring a true authentic taste of Hawaii back to their home.

With a strong sense of running a family business, and with the intend to one day, pass this business on to my daughter, I named it after her. Koko Val is a short version of her name: Kolea Valentina. Living on Maui, where the island community is small and local producers and manufacturers are supported and seen, I feel inspired to have started Koko Val Hawaiʻi – a brand which stands for high quality fruit spreads made with low sugar and Aloha.

What I am most proud of is the fact, that in a sense I created a product that has not been on the market before, focusing on only Hawaii grown fruits. Having tasted so many other jams and jam like products, I could never taste the actual fruit and was disappointed about non natural ingredients often added to these products. Mine are free of stabilizers and synthetic ingredients and made with 100 % organic cane sugar.

I used my entrepreneurial spirit and courage to decide for myself to find a way to create something I love to do and make a living at the same time. That I find a way to be happier and increase the quality of my life and the life of my family.

It is my hope that the Koko Val Hawaii brand can grow nationally and even globally one day, with the intend to provide a high quality fruit spread that is made with locally grown fruit and can be enjoyed and shared by truly anyone.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

Connecting with my customers at community events and farmers markets has helped me get to know them. I built relationships along the way with other industry specific business partners. And once people try my jams, they can tell the difference. Real ingredients. Real fruit. They appreciate the craft behind it.

I come from a family rich in traditions of preserving and canning fruits. With roots in Poland and Austria, and growing up with seasons and harsh winters, harvesting fruit in the spring/summer was the thing to do. It was then cooked down and canned to preserve it for the winter. Apples and plums were harvested and everything was preserved and then stored in the basement for the winter. I remember opening a jar of preserved apples in water, drinking the juice as a natural apple juice. It was delicious.

Living in a world where many food ingredients are artificial or even harmful to our bodies, I am inspired by the traditional ways of cooking and preserving.

Sharing my story with my customers and having them taste my product, has helped me to build a reputation within my market.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

Born and raised in Austria, right after graduating high school, I became a sales agent for a Swiss Insurance Company in Vienna, Austria. I worked there for 7 years until my interest in business and management grew stronger. It eventually lead me to start an Entrepreneurship program at a university which offered an evening program so I could keep working full time.

To improve my language skills and to experience something new, I initially went for one semester to Hawaii to study at Hawaii pacific University in Honolulu , which offered a great Entrepreneurship program. Fascinated by the culture and Hawaiian lifestyle of living close to the ocean, I gave up my Sales Career and life in Vienna and decided to complete my degree in Honolulu. Living there I met my husband, a Hawaiian native from Maui.

Living in a completely different culture, far away from my own family, and facing high tuition cost, I had to persevere through difficult times. My life shifted from being an established and successful career woman to a university student who had to live with roommates and ride her bike to school. I worked hard and eventually graduated in 2014. I got married a year after, moved to Maui and had 2 children.

Deep inside, after my first child was born (Koko Val), I had a dream to finally start a business. During the pandemic, when I had lots of time on my hand, I rediscovered my passion for preserving fruits when making jams with my mother. My experiences in life and my business knowledge lead me to where I am now.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.kokovalhawaii.com
• Instagram: koko.val.hawaii
• Facebook: kokovalhawaii