KAILUA-KONA, Hawaii — With only 3 days left on their crowdfunding campaign, Hawai’i Cider Co. is hard at work to open the doors on Hawai’i Island’s first cidery. The Cider Co. uses local fruits from farmers island-wide to create mouthwatering dragon fruit, white pineapple, and lychee ciders, just to name a few.
While the rise of micro breweries and micro distilleries nationwide continues to grow steadily, the cider industry is seeing an exponential boom and a demand for more flavors and new styles of cider, and Hawai’i Cider Co. is ready to deliver. Since launching the crowdfunding campaign in June, 2016, the Hawai’i Cider team has been full force, bringing their new facility to life. The cidery is the 2nd business in the state to acquire a Class 18 Liquor License, which allows them to produce brews, wines and spirits. The transformation from an ordinary warehouse to state-of-the-art beverage facility is impressive. Included in the renovations are Brewhaus, fermenters, canning line, massive cold-storage, a commercial kitchen for juicing local fruits, and of course, a tasting room. Hawai’i Cider Co plans to open doors in August, to welcome their local investors and all the curious cider lovers.
The recent authorization of the Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act—signed into law May 16, 2016— allows and encourages small businesses and entrepreneurs to raise capital from their trusted community rather than seeking tethered and unfamiliar angel investments. Wefunder’s, Nick Tommarello says, “Everyone should have the right to invest in what they truly care about, and the people who care should have a say about where the capital gets distributed.”
Since the JOBS Act regulations were implemented, many small businesses across the US are adopting this model of fundraising. “We decided to utilize the Wefunder platform for a number of reasons,” says Brett Jacobson, CEO/Founder of Hawai’i Cider Co. Wefunder’s mission is to increase economic growth and lower wealth disparity, by sharing the rewards of capitalism more broadly, which directly relates to the goals at Hawai’i Cider Co. Jacobson, also the founding CEO of local beverage company, Hawaiian Ola, has had a long-standing passion for supporting Hawai’i’s agriculture and economy by empowering farmers to grow responsible crops. “Rather than isolating community stakeholders,” says Jacobson, “we want to work with shoppers by making them shareholders of everything we do.”
The Wefunder campaign will close on April 30th at 11pm. Hawai’i Cider Co. set out to raise $2M, half from private capital to date, Hawai’i Cider Co. has raised $1.45M in start-up capital, of which over $450,000 has come through Wefunder. The company plans to finish strong at the $2M mark.
To learn more about how to invest a minimum of $100 into Hawaii Cider Co., visit their profile at www.wefunder.com/hawaiicider!
About Hawaii Cider Co.:
Hawai’i Cider Company is Hawai’i’s first locally sourced and locally produced cider company. The team is comprised of the seasoned beverage industry peeps that brought you the Hawaiian Ola Beverage Company, as well as brew master Sebastian Bach, who has won a total of 36 awards for his decade of innovative brewing. Hawai’i Cider Company supports farmers growing responsibly grown tropical fruits, and is passionate about creating great tasting ciders, which provides shoppers a local alternative to imported ciders.