20 for the Next 20: Chris Bailey, Wahiawā Value-Added Product Development Center

The manager of a new 33,000-square-foot manufacturing and teaching facility aims to help entrepreneurs develop marketable food products.

Chris Bailey
Manager, Wahiawā Value-Added Product Development Center

Chris Bailey knows the value of food, in part from growing up while his mother and aunt ran a Thai restaurant in Waipahu. And he spent time working in the industry in Portland while studying business at Lewis & Clark College, and after.

He also knows the impact when more value is added to the food that Hawai‘i’s farmers produce. Bailey is the manager of the Wahiawā Value-Added Product Development Center, administered by Leeward Community College. The 33,000-square-foot manufacturing and teaching facility at 1001 California Ave. was built at a cost of $21.6 million.

Production is scheduled to begin in 2024’s first quarter and enable companies to process marketable food products, Bailey says. He and the center’s staff have already trained two cohorts, each with 15 business leaders.

“We offered a 12-week, not-for-credit course for entrepreneurs in value-added – essentially to take an early stage product or idea and get ready for market,” Bailey says.

“For the farmers, if they have an excess of crop, or they’re off-grades that they can’t sell to a grocery store distributor, this is a channel for them. Also, we want to educate folks in the ag industry if they want to step into the value-added space themselves.”

Cohort participants so far have included Poni Askew, founder of the Hawaiian Vinegar & Spice Co., which produces vinegar-based beverages like Pineapple Mint Shrub and Meyer Lemon Mint Cardamom. Askew says the center will aid the development of new products.

Bailey has an unwavering passion for developing small-business owners, she says, and “his commitment to local entrepreneurship, showcased in his support of small businesses, reflects a genuine desire to see each entrepreneur succeed.”

The center includes equipment for manufacturing that startups otherwise could not easily access, Bailey says. That includes food-processing and packaging spaces, refrigerated storage and a high-pressure processing system that preserves taste and color while creating products with longer shelf lives.

Bailey moved home to Hawai‘i for the Wahiawā position, which aligns well with his experience in Portland. There, he was business developer for the nonprofit Hacienda Community Development Corp., working with Portland Mercado, an incubator that now supports more than 100 businesses representing diverse populations.

“Having access to and support from Chris is invaluable and extends a promising opportunity for all future businesses fortunate enough to engage with him through the center in Wahiawā,” Askew says.