Looking for some tasty Hawaiian treats for attendees? While boxes of fresh pineapples and chocolate-covered macadamia nuts are perennial favorites, the range of delicious specialty items that make great pillow gifts is surprisingly diverse in Hawaii.
For example, gift packs of huli huli sauce, a marinade for chicken and other meats, are especially popular, according to Jackie Young, owner of Hawaiian Goodies, a company that supplies customized gifts for corporate clients.
“Huli huli sauce is one of our best sellers, and so are bags of kiawe charcoal,” she says. “Those are burnt wood chips that give great flavor to barbecued meat. If you use them with the huli huli sauce, you’ve got a real winner.”
While bags of Hawaii-grown coffee beans have long been pillow gift staples, tea grown on the Big Island is finding favor as well.
“Tea is very big now and several tea farms produce unique blends,” says Kathy Clarke, owner of Kathy Clarke Meetings and Incentives, a Hawaii-based destination management company. “There are teas flavored with hibiscus flowers, lavender or tropical fruits. They’re very soothing.”
Products made from Hawaii-grown lavender and vanilla are other options, whether they’re in the form of cooking ingredients or scented lotions. Jars of honey from such suppliers as the Big Island’s Volcano Island Honey Company are also favorites, according to Clarke.
As an alternative to the ubiquitous chocolate-covered macadamia nuts, Young suggests boxes of shortbread cookies dipped in chocolate. For something really local, she also recommends haupia mix, which produces a coconut pudding with a gelatinous consistency.
“It’s great with passion fruit syrup on top, which is also a good pillow gift,” she says.
For More Info
Creative Hawaiian Gifts 800.845.9713
www.creativehawaiian.com
Hawaiian Goodies 808.966.4778
www.hawaiiangoodies.net
Kathy Clarke Meetings & Incentives 808.885.8060
www.kcmihawaii.com
