Aiea Entrepreneur Brings Bottled Kava To Island Stores

Del.icio.us

Joe Smith (marketing), Rachelle Fahrni (operations) and Steve George (founder) are the Float Beverages team. Photo courtesy of Float Beverages.

Aiea resident Steve George hopes to unveil at local shops next month his unique bottled blend of kava infused with ginger and mint.

“Overall we’ve gotten a really good response,” said George, founder of Float Beverages LLC. “We’re really excited to get into stores because people keep telling us, ‘I’d like to have a transportable, storable kava.’ “

Called ‘Awa20, the drink is George’s answer to a plethora of energy drinks on the market. “This drink is geared toward everybody who wants to relax, kind of like Red Bull is for people who want to get up,” said George, who started experimenting with kava blends in a Manoa studio during graduate school at the University of Hawaii.

“Initially starting out we tried anything from Dr Pepper to orange juice,” said George, a native of Vietnam who grew up in Wyoming."We found that ginger mixed well with our kava extract and mint. We have some other (blends) that we’re interested in evolving as well, such as the vanilla one.”

George’s four-person operation, which includes its kava expert John Pierce, has been bottling the drink on a small scale for test markets and has also been making the rounds at events like the Hawaii Health Garden Festival at Waimea Valley Audubon Center in August and downtown’s First Friday in September.

Friends, he said, have been requesting them by the case. And fans include downtown professionals and athletes. “People like to drink it before a race because they’re nervous,” he said. “They’ll drink it the night before so they’ll get a good night’s sleep.”

Float Beverages plans to increase bottling and brewing capacity at Pacific Gateway Center’s commercial kitchen in Kalihi until it can find a space of its own. “Once we get over to Pacific Gateway ... we can get out to stores, and that’s what we’re hoping to do in October,” said George, who’s aiming for retailers like ‘Umeke Market, Tamura’s and Down to Earth.

“We’re mostly going after the specialty markets right now,” he said. “We want the retailers to know about our drink and be able to talk about it.”

Float Beverages will be at the Hawaii Pacific Islands Kava Festival at UH Oct. 6, and at the 43rd annual Holiday Food & New Products Show at Blaisdell Exhibition Hall Oct. 12 to 14. For more information, e-mail or visit www.float-beverage.com

HOT DEAL: See Le Reve at Wynn Las Vegas!