Hawaiʻi Food & Wine Festival to feature 100% Maui-grown citrus from Mahi Pono

The Hawai‘i Food & Wine Festival will exclusively source all limes and lemons used in its 2025 events from Mahi Pono as part of a continued effort to support local agriculture and promote sustainability in Hawai‘i’s food and beverage industry.

The move builds on a partnership with Mahi Pono that began in 2019 and signals a new benchmark in local sourcing for large-scale culinary events in the state.

“Supporting our local farmers has always been at the core of our mission,” said Denise Yamaguchi, CEO of the Hawai‘i Food & Wine Festival. “By working closely with Mahi Pono to source 100% of our limes and lemons from Maui, we’re not only reducing our environmental footprint; we’re creating a ripple effect that we hope will inspire chefs, mixologists and restaurant operators across the state to do the same.”

Mahi Pono’s citrus operation represents one of the largest commercial plantings of limes and lemons in Hawai‘i. Since acquiring 41,000 acres of former sugar cane land in Central Maui in 2018, Mahi Pono has planted 2.8 million trees and developed over 13,000 acres of diversified crops, including the company’s signature Maui limes and lemons. 

With a 117,000-square-foot packing facility and distribution network servicing both Maui and O‘ahu, the company has built the capacity to supply the entire state’s demand for locally grown limes and lemons. 

According to Mahi Pono, the company also offers price parity with Mainland limes and lemons, ensuring chefs, mixologists and buyers can choose local citrus without trade-offs in quality or cost.

In 2024, the festival used approximately 1,900 pounds of citrus across its multi-island events. Organizers say sourcing locally at that scale highlights the role food festivals can play in strengthening Hawai‘i’s agricultural systems.

Festival guests will taste the impact of this decision in handcrafted cocktails, seafood dishes, sauces and desserts at events scheduled from Oct. 17 to Nov. 2, 2025, on Hawai‘i Island, Maui and O‘ahu.

“This partnership with Hawai‘i Food & Wine Festival proves that local sourcing can work at scale—without compromising on quality, consistency or cost,” said Shan Tsutsui, chief operating officer at Mahi Pono. “We’ve built the infrastructure to supply Maui limes across the state, and we encourage chefs, bars, restaurants and retailers to ask their distributors for them. When more businesses choose local, we all help strengthen Hawai‘i’s agricultural future.”

Maui limes are also making their way into value-added products incubating in Hawai‘i Ag & Culinary Alliance’s Cottage Industry to Commercial Enterprise cohorts. Local cocktail mixer company Pau Hana Co. sources Mahi Pono limes for its bottled craft beverage mixers, citing the superior juice yield and freshness of the fruit as a key reason. According to Mahi Pono, Pau Hana Co. founders Alyssa and Tyler Yafuso have said using Maui limes not only enhances their product quality, but also strengthens their mission to support Hawai‘i’s agriculture through value-added goods.

The collaboration began in 2021 through HFWF’s Chefs’ Corner initiative, where local chefs cultivated small plots on Mahi Pono land to bring seasonal crops directly into their kitchens.

Tickets for the 2025 Hawai‘i Food & Wine Festival are on sale now at hawaiifoodandwinefestival.com. For updates, follow @HIFoodWineFest on Instagram and @HawaiiFoodandWineFestival on Facebook, using the hashtags #HFWF25 and #SourceLocal.