Maui Tropical Plantation

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

Posts tagged ‘Maui Tropical Plantation’

Moku Pua Soap Factory at Maui Tropical Plantation

Maui Tropical Plantation has completely renovated (see the complete post here) – and this weekend the circus is coming! So excited to bring my kids (ages 2 and 5) to see the Big Top. If you are heading over to MTP this weekend, might also be a good time to check out Moku Pua, a new bath and body company, and watch them making soap!

The beautiful Store and Factory at Maui Tropical Plantation

handcrafted soaps and lotions made on maui

Vicki Pillar shared her story of “Moku Pua”- Natural Body Care and Soap Factory at the Maui Tropical Plantation, which just opened in September:

We are a new factory store at the Maui Tropical Plantation, making all of our products right in our store! We make Natural Body Care and Fragrance products without adding harsh chemicals like Parabens, Sulfates, Petroleum, or Mineral Oils. We have 9 Tropical Fragrances (and unscented Handcrafted Soap and Body Butter for sensitive skin), and our products come in Handcrafted Soap, Body Butter, Sugar Scrub, Body Wash, Body Mist, and Diffusers. We are in the process of setting up a Sea Salt Bar, in which customers can pour colored and fragranced Sea Salt into containers for a relaxing Bath Soak.

making soap by hand on maui natural ingredients

Pouring the handcrafted soap into the mold

Our business started out with giving Plumeria Sugar Scrub to friends and family as a Christmas present. It was well received and everyone wanted to get more to give as gifts for their friends. Soon we we getting orders for more Sugar Scrub, and before we knew it, we had a fun hobby of making Sugar Scrub. We started experimenting with other fragrances and soon we had over 20 different fragrances! Our orders kept growing and we reached a point where we needed to decide to start a business and create a name for our company. We began taking business classes and joined the Handcrafted Soap and Cosmetic Guild to develop our company.

soap process making handcrafted natural ingredients maui

Removing the soap from the mold

We now have 9 Tropical Fragrances, an unscented called “Purely Natural”, and a variety of other products besides Sugar Scrub. One of our signature products is our Handcrafted Soap made the old fashioned way called the “Cold Process Method.” We handcraft our soap in small batches using food grade exotic oils of Coconut, Palm, Canola, Caster, and Kukui Nut Oils. We mix our ingredients and pour them into a large mold. Next, our soap is cut into bars and allowed to cure for 4 weeks to create a hard bar. Our handcrafted soap creates a creamy rich lather, lots of bubbles, cleanses and moisturizes, and does not strip your skin of its natural oils. Your skin will not tighten up after drying, this is because we super fat our soap with the addition of the Hawaiian Kukui Nut Oil, known for it’s medicinal and moisturizing properties.

Cutting the soap into leaves

We have been manufacturers on Molokai and California for several years, selling our products to wholesale accounts. The opportunity arose for a Soap Factory/Store at the Maui Tropical Plantation, so in July we relocated from Molokai and California to Maui. We feel very blessed to be at the beautiful Maui Tropical Plantation where we are surrounded by the tropical flowers, plants and incredible scenery!

Mahalo to Vicki for sharing her story with us! Don’t forget to check out their beautiful website as well, and if you aren’t on Maui – there’s online shopping!

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Bath and Body

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Turning a New Leaf at Maui Tropical Plantation

The new entrance to Maui Tropical Plantation

When my daughter was young, I’d take her over to Maui Tropical Plantation to feed the ducks. The place was getting a bit run down, but you could see new things were starting to happen, beginning with the ziplines. Then my son was born, and apparently I never went back, until a couple weeks ago. I decided it was time to visit the ducks again, plus I heard there was a chocolate factory and a soap factory, so off we went. Imagine my surprise when I walked into the main building and found a completely renovated new gift store. It’s beautifully done, with a really nice selection of gift items and art (and even cold beer for purchase!) Past the first building are the little hales or cottages – which I believe used to be little museums about Maui’s agricultural history, which now house various shops, including the Sweet Paradise Chocolate shop, where they make beautiful little chocolates onsite. Off to the right is also the brand new Moku Pua soap company (more on this start up coming soon!)

Expansion of the pond with sugar mill wheels to be added as a water feature

There are also lots of changes happening with the site, like the extension of the pond, and the renovation of the restaurant. I checked with the staff at the MTP and this is what they reported back:

Completed Improvements

Redesigned Tram Station and renovated trams.
Live music on select days. Call to confirm performance dates. Regular performers include Joel Katz, and the Hula Honeys.
Renovated restrooms throughout the plantation.
Improved outdoor dining area and tram station seating area.
Expanded lagoon with historic sugar mill gears, bridges and other photo opportunities.
Improved Village shops and attractions including: Sweet Paradise Chocolatier, Moku Pua Soap Factory, Ron L Jewelry Designs, The Bailey House History of Waikapu, Maui Zipline, Edible Hawaiian Magazine, Maui Paddler Company, and a Glass Blower kiosk.

Pending Improvements

A free “guidebook.com” smartphone app for visitors to use. They simply download it to their phone and explore the plantation. It will go live in December.
Coffees of Hawaii cafe at Tram Station opening in Q1, 2014.
Plantation bar with historic Claus Spreckels steam engine and Kalakaua Coach Car opening in Q1, 2014.

Have you been to the renovated Plantation yet?