Founded in 1983 by Ed Thielk, Mana Foods, has grown from its humble beginnings with the help of partners Sunette Fenn, Theresa Thielk and Chris Ozee. Mana Foods, is now a bustling business that employs over 100 people, most of them full time. It takes a dedicated team of this size to operate a health & beauty room, produce and meat departments, bakery, deli and more.

Mana Foods is recognized for its wide range of natural and organic products, which are sold at the best prices. By buying in volume and passing on 100% of every discount received, they are able to offer those savings to the customer.

With over 400 local vendors, Mana Foods is a huge supporter of Maui and Hawaii companies. The colorful produce aisle at Mana Foods has an average 80-90% Certified organic or unsprayed items and 50% of produce is grown in Hawaii.

Best Health Food Store: 2010 Maui Time Weekly
BEST HEALTH FOOD STORE: Mana Foods
Every time I go into Mana Foods—celebrating 25 years serving Maui's health food community—it's a hub of activity. From their quaint light-green storefront, you enter into an emporium of organic, natural, gourmet and prepared foods. They also have vitamins, home and garden goods, books, body care and organic clothes. There's a bakery and a hot food section that features vegan, vegetarian and lots of gluten free options. Their customer service is great, and they put a lot of thought into the providing the best products at the best prices. I love the produce section, where they feature a bounty of Maui grown veggies. Whether you're shopping for groceries or just looking for a good-for-your-body snack, Mana Foods is the spot.
49 Baldwin Avenue, Paia, 579-8078, manafoodsmaui.com @jenrusso
In the July 22, 2010 Best of Maui edition of Maui Time Weekly

1st place, prize winning Thai Beef Salad

To read more about the contest, click here

Ronie Hong of Mana Foods in Paia organizes the tempting options on the Wall of Chocolate near the store’s front entrance.
The Maui News / CARLA TRACY, first published 4/22/10 for Earth Day

Retailing’s Unsung Heroes: Mana Foods
From The Journal of Commerce, February 2010 edition

"And so it was during a vacation to Hawaii last month that my wife and I found ourselves in the small Maui town of Pa’ia, a few miles south of Kahului, where we happened upon the Mana Foods Market. Having read the name in a guidebook, in we went. At the end of more than an hour, we had purchased a few items, but had a great time just the same wandering
the aisles. In fact, I found the store so interesting and the variety of items so remarkable that I called the store a few days later to see if they would speak with me about how they managed to get so much stuff into so little space and how they managed the logistics.

To my delight, Sunette Fenn, one of Mana Foods’ founders, was generous enough to take 30 or 40 minutes of her time to speak with me about the business, especially the logistics. Just for some perspective: The Mana Foods store is about 6,500 square feet, and the company has an order book of some 30,000 items that appear on the shelves. According to the Food Marketing Institute, the average size of a grocery store in America was 46,755 square feet in 2008 and stocked approximately 47,000 items. It’s worth noting Hawaii is the most isolated island chain in the world;
Maui’s population was 143,574 in 2008, and Pa’ia is very small.
So how does Mana Foods do it?
The specifics — no direct imports, a large number of distributor suppliers, dedicated staff, and constant attention to customer wants
and needs — are less important than the fact it does it and has
been doing it every day, every week, every month, for more than 25 years; and to be sure, without the awareness of virtually all of their customers — except, of course, for the random visit of a geek from the mainland.
Thanks, Sunette, I appreciate your time and the Mana Foods
story. Your copy of this column will be on its (electronic) way to
you soon." JOC
Barry Horowitz is the principal at CMS Consulting Services. He can be contacted at 503-208-2232, or at barryh@cms-cs.com.

In 2009, Mana Foods has been nominated for a Mayor’s Small Business Award and is recognized as the best health food store on Maui, by both the Maui News and Maui Time Weekly. In February, Esquire magazine voted the breakfast burrito as one the best breakfasts in America.

Mana Foods in the News:

The Maui News, October 29, 2009, CARLA TRACY photo
Mana Foods
Celebrates 25 years with giveaways, demos, prizes, lots of Halloween fun
It started out 25 years ago in Paia as a tiny hole in the wall that sold only fresh-squeezed juices. Now, Mana Foods is the most powerful health food store on island with over 100 employees.

These days, Mana Foods features more than vegetarian options. There is a department packed with natural gourmet meat and seafood, a deli headed by Thai Chef Suphan Ann Gale, a bakery, a vitamin room, the famous wall of chocolate, and household and pet items.

"We always try hard to have our food be affordable. We are just doing the customer appreciation week to thank the community," says partner Sunette Fenn, who runs the store with founder Ed Thielk and his sister, Theresa Thielk, along with partner Chris Ozee.

This year, Mana Foods was nominated for the Mayor's Small Business Award. It was also named "Best Health Food Store" on the island in The Maui News.

Hotel Review: The Paia Inn Hotel in Maui - May 24, 2009
. . . Mana Foods, a large health food store that’s a prime spot for eavesdropping on hilarious conversations about chakras and organic spelt.

Voted one the 59 Best Breakfast Places in America - February 26, 2009
Esquire Magazine's unranked, incomplete, and unimpeachable list of the best breakfasts across the country. No brunch allowed.
Mana Foods — Paia, Maui, Hawaii
The breakfast burrito is open to interpretation, which is both its genius and its potential downfall. Using the kitchen-sink approach, anything that can be jammed into a tortilla along with eggs — rice, bacon, beans, onions, sausage, sour cream, enough cheese to pave a road — is considered a fine addition. But as the cooks at Mana Foods demonstrate each morning, the key to perfection is restraint. Mana's contains only organic scrambled eggs accented with just enough cheddar to let you know it's there, small potato chunks sautéed in butter, and a sprinkle of diced green pepper. — Susan Casey

Stock up on local fish and grass-fed beef for your barbecue here. You can find the best selection of organic produce on the island, as well as a great bakery and deli at this typically crowded health-food store.

According to Concierge.com Quite possibly the best, most affordable health-food grocery store in the United States. Whether you feel like a breakfast burrito or a marinated tofu and avocado seaweed wrap or a slice of cake, nothing will set you back more than $6. The perfect place to stock up before the long drive to Hana. If you're staying nearby, you might want to stop in just to gawk at the beautiful yoga-toned hippies and surfers (and their offspring) populating the aisles.

Vegan chef and environmentalist Renée Loux was featured in the September 1, 2007 isssue of Body + Soul
"Loux swears by Mana Foods, a market and bakery in Paia. Pack a picnic of freshly prepared coconut shrimp. Thai chili tofu, or vegan pumpkin pie before heading out to nearby Ho'okipa beach for a day of windsurfing." read Maui's Natural Side