Waimānalo-Based Nalo Juice Pops Up in Downtown Honolulu Executive Centre

Sip on refreshing, local juices from this new, Waimānalo-based company.

May 28, 2015

Natalie Schack,

Photo: Courtesy of Nalo Juice Company

Here’s a bit of juicy news for downtown readers: For the next couple of months, fledgling local juice company Nalo Juice will be popping up in the lobby of the Executive Centre building, in partnership with Hukilau Sports Bar and Grill, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. That means downtown green-juice addicts, health nuts and fruit-o-philes can all get their fix of farm-fresh libations from this two-month-old, Waimānalo-based company, just a convenient hop, skip and a jump away from the office.

The owner, local boy and juicing fiend Kale Furuya, who studied botany at UH, is no stranger to the local juicing scene—he was part of the Impressed juice team, which operated out of Mercury Bar last year. With Nalo Juice, he takes that refreshing business concept to the next level, with cleanse programs (available in July) that are more than just juice: They incorporate substantial vegetable broths, inspired by the menus of Maui-based nutritionist chef Craig King. That means something hot and savory to take the edge off of sweet, chilled cleanses.

Nalo Juice is as local an operation as one could hope for, using Hawai‘i-grown produce as much as possible, with a lot of help from Nalo Farms. (Even the coconut water, which isn’t local, is from Island-based and -operated Waiola.) And because the team wants to keep it that way, ingredients and juice recipes change depending on availability and the season, although you’ll always find the standard mix of a hydrating green juice, a root juice (think beets or carrots) and two fruit juices.

This week’s lineup includes “The Farm,” a refreshing, classic green made from Nalo greens, cucumber and pineapple, and “Bellows,” a popular mango, watermelon (!) and pineapple mix that, as of Tuesday morning, got snapped up before we could even try it. The two we sampled were “Ko‘olau Sunset” and “Sunrise,” two spicy, wonderfully complementary blends that tasted as vibrant at their names suggest. The former, a beet, apple, coconut-water and lemongrass concoction, was a spicy, cleansing mouthful, with just enough sweet beet flavor shining beneath a tangy lemongrass kick. “Sunrise” was a dreamy, velvety mango mix, with pineapple, coconut water and a hefty helping of ginger for an invigorating twist.

The future for Nalo Juice is full of possibility. Look for the brand’s juice trailer on Ke‘eaumoku Street in the coming months (with the possible addition of smoothies and other food), in addition to, of course, the kickoff of juice and broth cleanse programs (which range from three-day-long cleanses at $180 to 28 days for $1,260) which will be accessible through the Nalo Farms and Hawai‘i Agriculture Foundation CSA delivery program. Until then, you’ll have to content yourself by sampling the rainbow of wares one at a time ($8 a bottle at the Nalo Greens Executive Centre post).

1088 Bishop St., nalojuice.com