Packed & Ready to Grow!
“Pack your bags and travel light with us,” is more than the tagline for ALOHA Collection, it’s how the business’ founders Heather Aiu and Rachael Leina‘ala Soares live.
It’s about finding the freedom to soar by minimizing the baggage and keeping the mind open to all the possibilities, particularly friendships. At the bottom of every page on the ALOHA Collection website (aloha-collection.com), is a note that says, “powered by magic,” and
in many ways that’s exactly how the company and its founders operate.
The pair met in 2009 when they became roommates after Aiu answered a Craigslist ad to rent a spare room in Soares’ home. It wasn’t until 2013 that the two decided to go into business together. Soares, a flight attendant, had broken her leg and was financially drained because she couldn’t fly. Aiu was working as a mortgage broker but was tired of the volatility. Both wanted something more.
Several brainstorming sessions later, they settled on making and selling 100% coated Tyvek splash-proof travel bags that stow damp stuff like bathing suits or workout clothes in-style — an idea that “combined their love of travel, adventure and the ocean.”
They named the business ALOHA Collection, which reflected their Native Hawaiian heritage, love of Hawai‘i, and company values. Each invested $2,000, and Soares nearly had a heart attack when Aiu promptly spent it on their logo, website, trademark and samples. They raised another $6,147 through a 2014 Kickstarter campaign, which put them over the $5,000 threshold needed to start production. Then some magic happened, literally. Soares says a friend told her about a retail trade show called MAGIC Las Vegas, which cost $2,000, but would help them scale up. By the end of the first day of the trade show, they had sold all their samples. By the third day, three different Japanese distributors wanted to distribute the product. Their goal for their first year was $15,000, but they did $70,000, and every year after they’ve doubled. In 2020, they hit $10 million and then the pandemic hit. Aiu still recalls a sobering meeting with the company’s finance person in April of 2020.
“She told us that in 30 days we were going to be in debt, no cash and have to lay off our entire team of about 30 people,” she recalls. They had inventory that wasn’t selling so they decided to send any frontline worker that emailed them a free bag.
“We were getting 350 inquiries a day,” Aiu says. “Tons in Hawai‘i and all across the country. We were giving the bags away and giving the frontline workers a discount code for our website. They would use it and love it and tell all their friends, and then they would buy more.” That led to the advertising campaigns, “Easy to clean,” and “Share the ALOHA.”
Soares says, “We gave away 6,000 bags to frontline workers, and it’s endless what we got back.”
In 2021, the two infused the company with new energy again when they opened their first two brick-and-mortar stores, a long-term pop-up at One Paseo in Del Mar, Calif., and about a month later got back to their roots by opening a flagship store on Kalakaua Avenue in Waikiki.
Lindsay Rappaport, ALOHA Collection director of business operations, says at the time the pandemic was still having an impact and almost every other business was closing their brick- and-mortars and taking their businesses 100% online.
“We had no choice but to put our faith and our trust into them and into their vision and turn this wild and crazy dream into a reality — and you know what — we did,” Rappaport says. “The ROI on our retail stores, plus the customer acquisition is worth every grey hair I grew in those months.”
Rappaport says ALOHA closed the long-term pop-up in One Paseo, but opened its second flagship store in Encinitas, Calif. this past June. “Both Encinitas and Waikiki stores are thriving, and we are looking forward to expanding and sharing ALOHA Collection in retail stores around the world in 2023 and beyond,” she says.
Aiu says ALOHA Collection is currently doing business in 23 countries and 48 states. They have product in 123 doors in Hawai‘i and in more than 800 doors across the U.S. She says they finished 2021 with $21 million in sales and are projected to hit $42 million this year with 80 employees now. Libby Carstensen, owner of LIBBERATED Leadership, which provides business coaching and leadership training to ALOHA says a reason that the pair has been so successful is that they stay true to their values and focus on what matters no matter how big that they get.
“Sometimes when it’s a startup and then you really start to grow you can lose sight of what made it so special to begin with,” Carstensen says. “I don’t see that happening at ALOHA.” Carstensen says the company continues to attract amazing talent with a shared purpose. “They continue to invest in the culture, not only so they can do their jobs better but so they can do their lives better.”
Maile English, Aiu’s younger sister, who left a civil engineering career to become ALOHA’s production director, says she’s never regretted the decision. “They really care about their employees and the culture reflects that,” English says. “They invest in both personal and professional development.”
English says each year the company takes the entire team on an exotic weeklong trip where everyone has an opportunity to bond. Another way that Soares and Aiu live aloha is by donating 5% of profits to Hawai‘i-based conservation organizations annually.