About us
Kōko Val Hawaiʻi is a locally owned, small family business based in Wailuku, Maui, Hawaiʻ which creates delicious fruit spreads in various tropical and traditional flavors using low amounts of
organic cane sugar.
Each spread is a healthy
alternative to commercially produced jams which usually contain high amounts of sugar.
Great for diabetics, children and truly anyone who is seeking an authentic fruit taste.
Koko Val Hawai’i, originally a Hawaiian pop-up boutique, was founded by Claudia B. in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. She wanted to share her love for the beautiful Hawaiian islands by creating products which reflect the Hawaiian lifestyle and its beauty and taste.
The shop was named after her daughter Koko Val (short for Kōlea Valentina), who inspired her to become an entrepreneur. Following her passion of preserving fruits, she kept the business name and concentrated on what she loves the most: making delicious jams!
MEET THE CULINARY ARTIST: CLAUDIA
When I was a little girl, I watched my grandmother cooking and canning fruits and vegetables when growing up in Austria and spending my summers in Poland. My family had a big orchard with various fruit trees and and a vegetable garden. To ensure having fruits and vegetables during the cold winters, we canned whatever we harvested (mostly apples, plums, peaches, cucumbers) in huge glass jars and stored them in the basement. It was a lifestyle - a lifestyle of healthy living and using whatever was given to us by nature.
This experience made me become passionate about how amazing and clever preserving was. What I especially loved was eating fruits; a passion I am sharing with my mom and family until this day 🙂
I moved to the Hawaiian islands in 2011 and graduated from Hawai'i Pacific University with a degree in Entrepreneurship. I spent 4 years living on O'ahu and met my husband there, who was born and raised in Waikapu, Maui.
To be closer to his family, we moved to Maui in 2016. We have 2 children.
It wasnʻt until the COVID Pandemic, that my mom came to visit and we started cooking and preserving fruits together. Fascinated by the tropical taste of Hawaiian Mangoes and Pineapples, we started making jams together. To ensure that the great taste of the fruit is kept authentic, I experimented with using very little sugar.
Most jams can contain up to 75% sugar, high fructose corn syrup, grape juice or other non healthy sugar alternatives. For me, it was important to support the fruit taste with pure 100 % organic cane sugar. Only up to 6g of sugar is used in any of my homemade jams.
Is it a jam or a fruit spread?
Technically, a jam is called a jam because of its very high sugar content. Since my products are low in sugar, I call them fruit spreads. This doesnʻt limit them to be used as a spread only. The opposite is the case:
My fruit spreads taste wonderful in baked pastries, cocktails, on cheesecake, BBQʻs (Use my Pineapple spread as a glaze) or of course, on your morning toast, pancake, croissants or waffles.
I hope that you enjoy the exceptional taste of my fruit spreads. Thank you for supporting me and my family with purchasing products from my online shop or from any of the featured retail stores or at any of the markets 🙂
ALOHA
Our Mission
We want you to feel delighted and satisfied with all our products. All fruit spreads are made in small batches to ensure freshness. It is our mission to support local commerce and sustainability, and ultimately for Hawaii to be a thriving economy.
Our Vision
It is our vision that Koko Val Hawaiʻi can become a global Hawaiian fruit brand and that itʻs reputation for origin and quality would reach customers all around the world.
