News and reviews of made on Maui products and Maui-based companies and success stories. Also featuring island shopping guides

Posts tagged ‘All-Natural’

Paia’s Newest Hot-Spot – Sporting Club of the Pacific

Are you ready to join ‘the Club’?  No membership, gold-medals or magazine cover shots needed, just a thirst for some all-natural ingredients… 

Enter to win!  On Thursday, October 23 (contest may be extended to get more entries) – a winner will receive a pre and post workout meal and two t-shirts!  Enter on the Maui Made Facebook page– (Contest post pinned to top while entries being accepted) 

If you’ve been on Maui for any length of time, you know that we have our share of world-class athletes, from world-champion windsurfers and stand-up paddlers to Olympic skiers who live and train on Maui in the off-season.  For a while now, some of Maui’s top athletes have been turning to Tugger Balcom for their performance enhancing beverages.  Now, we’re not talking about some secret formula of artificial chemicals or banned substances, these are real, natural ingredients, formulated specifically for athletes for pre- or post-workout.  

sporting club of the pacific - new juice bar paia maui hawaii

Red Juice, Blue Juice,
Me Juice, You Juice… Lots of Juicing options at the Sporting Club of the Pacific – All Natural Ingredients!

sports club of the pacific paia maui juice bar

Outdoor seating at the Club… no need to wipe the sand off your feet!

And because of some ‘obstacles’ recently created by the government in regards to selling ‘raw’ beverages through wholesale, Tugger decided to open up a juice bar in Paia to sell his ever expanding line of juices, coffee and ‘fuel’ for athletes (and, the rest of us, too).  So now, whether you have just finished your CrossFit or barre class, you are training for your Maui to Molokai run, or you are just headed to the office, you can come grab some fuel at Paia’s newest hot spot, the Sporting Club of the Pacific.  Plus, the seating is outdoors so you don’t even need to wipe the sweat off your brow or the sand off your feet.  You might even get to run elbows with some of these world-class athletes…

Tugger’s entry into the performance beverage world began with his own struggle with severe psoriasis.  After eliminating sugar, dairy and eggs from his diet, and seeing success with that change, he started moving away from drinks with artificial ingredients and towards more natural sources of hydration and energy.  Simultaneously, Tugger took a course in free diving, and learned about using chlorophyll as a means to be able to hold your breath for longer periods of time.  (And if you want to know more about how this works, you should probably go talk to Tugger). 

Pineapple Hibiscus Water and Pineapple Chlorophyll Water at Sports Club Pacific Maui Hawaii Paia

Pineapple Hibiscus Water and Pineapple Chlorophyll Water!

maui cold pressed coffee paia coffee bar

Cold Pressed Coffee in the custom made Coffee presser!

After getting positive feedback from big-wave surfers and free divers from his first round of bottled juices, Tugger began wholesaling.  Alive and Well, Choice and the Kuau Store were selling out each week, but a new law forbidding the sale of raw juice changed his focus, just as the space behind Puka Puka in Paia (the former Paia Bay Coffee) opened up.

His initial line of two drinks- a pineapple and chlorophyll juice and cold-pressed coffee – has expanded (and is still expanding daily) to : three types of Hydration drinks, four Fresh Juices, Strong Coffee, Wellness Shots, Blended Beverages and Acai and Green bowls.  (Menu printed at bottom)

100% Maui Coffee- Custom Roasted and Blended by Maui Coffee Roasters.

100% Maui Coffee- Custom Roasted and Blended by Maui Coffee Roasters.

The story behind the name and the brand, Sporting Club of the Pacific, is probably a whole separate blog post, so I’ll just say that Tugger has assembled a group of world-class artisans from around the Pacific, blacksmiths, speargun makers, surfboard shapers, and more, into a kind-of artists co-op (and again, talk to Tugger if you want to learn more about this, or visit the website).  Because the brand is based on custom-made equipment for high-performance, his juices naturally fit into this project as well.

As much as possible I try to blog about personal experiences, so I ventured into the Sporting Club of the Pacific (although I apparently ‘just missed’ about a half-dozen sports superstars who had visited that morning) and its clear that Tugger’s his enthusiasm for quality, researched ingredients is evident in his products.  The acai bowl was delicious (luckily it was cleared away before I was tempted to lick the bottom), each of the juices were pure tasting, and not too sweet or overpowering as some juices can be, and the coffee was excellent as well, although I now need to go back and try it with the house-made coconut cream.

sports club paia maui juice club fresh local organic

The Delicious Acai Bowl at Paia’s newest hot-spot, Sporting Club of the Pacific

Well by now you are probably sick of reading and ready for some delicious and performance enhancing nutrition, so here’s what you need to know:

Menu –

Hydration

Pineapple chlorophyll water

cold pressed local maui pineapple juice, organic liquid chlorophyll,

pineapple hibiscus

cold pressed local maui pineapple juice, house brewed organic hibiscus

Local Coconut water

Fresh Juice

Raw and Cold Pressed

Green

Cucumber, romaine, kale, pineapple, aloe juice, chia seeds

Red 

Beet, carrot, coconut water, lemon juice, ginger, himalayan salt

Blue

pineapple, coconut water, leon, ginger, maca, cayenne, clue spirulina

Yellow

100 % pure maui pineapple

Strong Coffee

Black  

100% Maui Beans, custom roasted and cold brewed

White

Served with House Coconut Cream

Shots

turmeric drink recipe health wellness

Wellness Shot: Turmeric – with fresh pressed local turmeric, orange juice and black peppercorn for maximum absorption of nutrients!

Maintenance

Fresh local ginger, echinacea, apple cider vinegar, oregano oil, local lemon, local honey

Mother’s Milk

House made coconut cream, coconut MCT Oil, EFA oil, Cinnamon, Lemon

Turmeric

Fresh Pressed Local Tumeric, Orange Juice, Black Peppercorn

Cayenne

Concentrated Cayenne Pepper Tincture

Blended

Number 1 

Almond Butter, bananas, Hemp Protein, MCT Oil, Maca Powder, Flax Sees, Chia Seeds, Cacao Nibs, Dates, Local Honey, Himalayan Sea Salt, Trace Mineral Blend

Number 2

Organic Strawberries, Fresh Pressed Local Ginger, Coconut Water, Aloe Juice, Local Honey, Probiotic Blend.

Number 3 

Fresh mint, bananas, kale, vegan protein blend, spirulina, lemon juice

Number 4

Avocado, Cucumber, Mango, Coconut Water, Vegran Protein blend, Glutamine

Bowls

Acai

Acai and strawberry blend topped with fresh fruit, Maui Sands*, hemp sees, goji berries, local honey

Green

Banana, pienapple, kale, spirulina blend with Maui Sanes, fresh fruit, goldenberries and cacao nibs, maple syrup

*Maui Sansa in a hand-crafted blend of toasted superfoods including oats, almonds, Flax, Sesame, Hawaiian Honey and Sea Salt

Tea

MK Light

Secret Service

Category:

Food and Beverage, Surf

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Sweets and (Dog) Treats…

While researching reputable wedding cake bakers for the recent blog post, the name Maui Sweet Cakes kept coming up.  The owner’s name sounded familiar and a quick web search revealed why.  Heidi Cramer ran the popular Cakewalk Bakery in Paia for 8 years, followed by the wholesale bakery, Cake Bakery, and is now specializing in wedding and event cakes and desserts with Maui Sweet Cakes.  And not content to bake for humans alone, Heidi’s newest venture is Maui Dog Treats, a line of all-natural snacks for Spot and Fido… and Snoopy.   Heidi was nice enough to set down the spatula for a few moments and answer some our burning questions….

Maui Made: How did you get into baking? 

Heidi Cramer: I started baking early on. I remember loving my Easy Bake oven! I also came from a family where meals were an event. Both my mother and paternal grandmother were incredible cooks, so, I was at their side from an early age. I love cooking everything, but professionally, love to produce simple, old fashioned goodies, that I remember from my childhood. I try to translate that now into my wedding cakes.

Maui Sweet Cakes Wedding Cake Maui

A Butter Cream Swirl Wedding Cake with Fresh Flowers – Maui Sweet Cakes

MM: You had the Cakewalk Bakery for 8 years  – what was the best part of running a bakery on Maui?

HC: The best thing about running Cakewalk was making our customers happy! For some reason, scratch baking was hard to find, so they loved simple things like muffins, cookies, scones, that were freshly baked from scratch. The aroma in the shop, and seeing the customer’s excitement was very satisfying.

MM: You now specialize in wedding and special event cakes and desserts- the wedding industry seems like a competitive industry on Maui, what does it take to get ahead in this market?  

HC: My cakes for Maui Sweet Cakes are based on the same mission as my Cakewalk products: create fresh, all-natural, great tasting sweets. Yes, there is competition within the wedding cake category, but I don’t create something based on what my competitors are, or are not doing. I focus on the product I want to produce, and what will make the client happy for their big day.

Maui Sweet Cake Wedding Cake with Green Cymbidum Orchids

Green Cymbidium decorate this beautiful and tasty wedding cake by Maui Sweet Cakes

MM: What sets your cakes (and company) apart from the rest?  

HC: I think what sets Maui Sweet Cakes apart is a wedding cake that doesn’t only look beautiful, but tastes great. Typically, wedding cakes don’t taste great, as many bakers bake and freeze them way ahead of time, which dries them out.  Our cakes are baked and filled the day before, then decorated and delivered. It can be a challenge at times, so I prefer to limit the number of events per day, so each order gets my full attention.

MM: Are there any challenges to running a small business on a small island?  

HC: I think running a small business is a challenge anywhere, but in Hawaii possibly more difficult. We have limited resources, & qualified labor, in addition to a higher cost of goods and services. Most small business owners start with limited investment, and end up doing most of the jobs for the business. There’s little time or energy left to actually run the business. It’s so important to be passionate about your business, but also try to create a reasonable work/life balance.

Maui Dog Treats - All Natural Made on Maui

MM: Your newest venture is making all-natural dog treats- how has the response been so far with your new clients?  

HC: My new venture, Maui Dog Treats is doing great! We officially launched with our first deliveries on May 1, and the response has been incredible! My dog Snoopy is the inspiration, as I feel he deserves to eat as healthfully as I do. Maui Dog Treats are hand-made, all-natural treats for pups. They use only human-grade, local & organic (when possible) ingredients. MDT are made with the same care as my Cakewalk & Maui Sweet Cakes products.

The treats are sold in nicely packaged 8 oz resealable bags, and our new product is the Maui Dog Treat Lei! It’s such a fun gift idea. We’re currently selling to many local Maui retailers, and we just launched our site, (www.dogtreatsmaui.com) for mail order. We’ve had visitors buy them at local accounts, then once home, ordered more via mail order.

Heidi’s Dog Snoopy Models the New Product – A Dog Treat Lei
Maui Dog Treat’s Newest Product – A lei!

 

MM: What’s next for Heidi? 

HC: I’ll be off to Oahu in August for the Made In Hawaii Festival for Maui Dog Treats! I was accepted by Maui County to be a part of their program with Innovate Hawaii, which is subsidizing part of the cost. Excited for the huge exposure that Made In Hawaii offers.

MM: Thanks for allowing us to pick your brain, and best of luck at the Made in Hawaii Festival!

Want more?  Follow along on Facebook at : Maui Sweet Cakes and Maui Dog Treats 

Category:

Food and Beverage, Gift Guide, Wedding

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