Mauna Loa Macadamia Nut & Chocolate Factory (16254633357)

Mauna Loa Macadamia Nut Corporation is the world's largest processor of macadamia seeds. The American company was a subsidiary of

The Hershey Company The Hershey Company, commonly known as Hershey's, is an American multinational company and one of the largest chocolate manufacturers in the world. It also manufactures baked products, such as cookies and cakes, and sells beverages like milksh ...

from 2004 to 2015, when it was acquired by Hawaiian Host, Inc. The company takes its name from the volcano

Mauna Loa Mauna Loa ( or ; Hawaiian: ; en, Long Mountain) is one of five volcanoes that form the Island of Hawaii in the U.S. state of Hawaii in the Pacific Ocean. The largest subaerial volcano (as opposed to subaqueous volcanoes) in both mass and ...

. Their

headquarters Headquarters (commonly referred to as HQ) denotes the location where most, if not all, of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. In the United States, the corporate headquarters represents the entity at the center or the to ...

and main processing plant are near the mountain, south of

Hilo Hilo () is a census-designated place (CDP) and the largest settlement in Hawaii County, Hawaii, Hawaii County, Hawaii, United States, which encompasses the Hawaii (island), Island of Hawaii. The population was 44,186 according to the 2020 United ...

in the

Puna District Puna is one of the 9 districts of Hawaii County on the Island of Hawaii (Big Island; County of Hawaii). It is located on the windward side (east side) of the island and shares borders with South Hilo district in the north and Kaū district i ...

of the

island of Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii ) is the largest island in the United States, located in the state of Hawaii. It is the southeasternmost of the Hawaiian Islands, a chain of volcanic islands in the North Pacific Ocean. With an area of , it has 63% of th ...

, known as the Big Island.

History

The first Mauna Loa macadamia

plantation A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...

was planted in 1946, and the first commercial crop was harvested in 1956. The company was owned by Big Five company C. Brewer & Co. from 1974 to 2000. The visitors center is a tourist attraction with its self-guided tour of the processing plant (viewed from the outside on a second-floor walkway due to safety and sanitation concerns) and large gift shop with homemade macadamia ice cream for sale and

free samples ''Free Samples'' is a 2012 American independent comedy starring Jess Weixler and Jesse Eisenberg. It was the first film directed by Jay Gammill and the first film written by Jim Beggarly. Plot Jillian (Weixler), a Stanford Law School dropout reb ...

of every flavour variation sold by the

company A company, abbreviated as co., is a Legal personality, legal entity representing an association of people, whether Natural person, natural, Legal person, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common p ...

. It is located at the address One Macadamia Road, near the town of

Keaau Keaau (also written as Keaau) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Hawaii County, Hawaii. located in the District of Puna. The population was 1,195 at the time of the 2020 census. The population decreased by 12.1% from 2,253 at the time of the ...

at .

Sustainability

The company promotes sustainable green causes, and is slowly working to become totally

carbon neutral Carbon neutrality is a state of net-zero carbon dioxide emissions. This can be achieved by balancing emissions of carbon dioxide with its removal (often through carbon offsetting) or by eliminating emissions from society (the transition to the "p ...

by reducing its dependence on conventionally generated electricity - particularly those involving coal and crude oil. At the main production facility, the company owns its own steam generator, which uses plant waste to generate electricity used in the harvesting and packaging of its macadamia seeds.

References

External links

Mauna Loa Macadamia Nut Corporation official web site
Companies based in Hawaii Hawaii (island) The Hershey Company brands Macadamia 1946 establishments in Hawaii {{food-company-stub