ABOUT

Get to Know Koha Foods

Since 1984, Koha Foods has specialized in importing quality Asian food products and offering expert distribution to local Oahu businesses. Partnering with local sustainability experts, farmers, ranchers, suppliers, and international manufacturers, we offer a diverse assortment of superior authentic goods at a lucrative price. Whether you're looking for choice imported frozen seafood or our own signature Korean food items, at Koha Foods, we strive to represent our cultural heritage in Hawaii by serving you with the finest food products to exhibit in your best selling dishes and local storefront.

Creating opportunities for customers, partners, employees and community.

Our History

  • 1970s

    Heng Nam Kim also known as Paul Kim, a native of South Korea moved to Hawaii in 1971. He acquired small grocery stores, Kings Market and Sunny Mart. With the help of his wife, Hee Young Kim, they established Koha Foods in 1972. "KOHA" came from KOrea and HAwaii. It is known in Korea as a famous Asian food import and export company.

  • 1980s

    In the 80s, Koha Foods incorporated, going from what once was a small local shop to a major food distribution corporation.

  • 1990s

    Koha Foods began its partnership with Binggrae, a South Korean company known for its gelato-on-a-stick product called MELONA. Melona is famous for its unique texture and fresh fruit taste and has quickly become the best selling ice cream dessert in Korea. It gained popularity in Hawaii in 1995 and is now available at all leading supermarkets and stores.

  • 2000s

    Milano Freezer was established in 2005 by Danny Kim in partnership with his brother-in-law, Devin Wong. It specialized in making high quality gelato, yogurt, and smoothies. It eventually closed business on October 31, 2013.

    Koha also introduced a new sector of the company in 2009. Koha International Wine Imports was established to bring Asian wines to Hawaii.

  • 2010s

    Koha International Wine Imports, Inc. outgrew its name in 2014 and blossomed into Asian Source Spirits LLC. The new liquor company now carried Soju and teas in addition to wine.

    In the later half of the decade, KOHA dipped their toes into various other ventures including freshly prepared food, specialty meat production, alternative pharmaceuticals, specializing in CBD, and even a medical imaging solutions company.

  • 2020

    To provide our customers with more space, Koha Foods expanded and moved to a new location. The new facility includes an updated USDA JNP meat cutting/processing, manufacturing and sous vide facilities.

    While affected by covid-19, Koha Cares was implemented to support our customers with weekly company lunches purchased from various resturant customers.

  • 2021

    Koha’s new logo and tagline were created to represent our Korean and Hawaiian heritage and partnerships with our customers and manufacturers.

  • 2022

    A focus in beverages resulted in the distribution of C4, Lemon Perfect and Electrolit with retailers, the military and foodservice customers.

Our Facilities

To home all of our operations, we own and manage a 2.5 acre facility in the heart of Honolulu’s industrial center on Puuhale Road. With over 90,000 square feet, we have the space to store our dry, refrigerated and frozen goods with the additional capability of delivery using our several loading docks and delivery vehicles .