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Tours, retail store help Maui Gold Pineapple Company thrive on island

Like his father who restored old cars, Todd Domeck enjoys figuring out how to fix things.

That trait has helped Domeck in many different enterprises, from his early success in the zipline tour business to managing the Maui Gold Pineapple Company.

"I think it was embedded in me from childhood," said Domeck. "I never think things are going to be easy."

Despite a succession of ownership changes and the 2023 Lahaina wildfire, which destroyed his Maui Pineapple Store, Domeck has found a way to keep Maui Gold Pineapple Company operating on the Valley Isle. The company harvests 35,000 to 40,000 pineapples a week and employs 68 people across its farming, retail and tour operations.

Domeck began offering pineapple tours in Haliimaile 15 years ago. In January 2023, he purchased the Maui Gold Pineapple farming operation and placed it under his agritourism management company, Hawaii Farm Project.

Some pineapples are shipped to customers in North America, but most are sold locally as fresh fruit through the company's farm tours and at Maui restaurants and stores. Pineapples also are sold to manufacturers of value-added products, including Hali'imaile Distilling Company, which produces Pau Maui Vodka.

Domeck studied engineering in college, and his company keeps its farming operation moving by repairing pineapple equipment, some of which dates back to the 1960s and 1970s.

"We put our team together to fix and repair it," he said.

Domeck said his operation has several advantages, including the Maui Gold pineapple's high sugar content and a farm with more than 100 years of history in Haliimaile.

One challenge is adapting large machinery designed to harvest as many as 10,000 acres of pineapple.

"It is a challenge to modernize things and make changes. But we'll get through it," he said.

Wildfire brings loss, surge in support

Early in his career, Domeck started Experiential Resources Inc., a company that designed and built ziplines, including one in Kapalua.

He also began operating pineapple tours and opened the original Maui Pineapple Store in Lahaina in 2018. Domeck purchased pineapples from Hali'imaile Pineapple Company, also known as Maui Gold Pineapple Company.

On Jan. 1, 2023, he bought the farming operation from its owner, California-based LeVecke Corp.

"I looked at it as an opportunity," he said.

Domeck explained that after the Maui wildfires in August 2023, he was encouraged by an upsurge in support from loyal customers, who bought about 2.5 to three times more pineapples than usual for August.

"It was our biggest online sales month in history," he said. "We were able to keep every employee that wanted to stay."

At the same time, employees were asked to find community-oriented projects to assist with wildfire recovery. The company used its tour vehicles to transport medicine and other supplies and even offered to help people repair their cars.

"You do as much good as you can as soon as you can," he said.

Through Experiential Resources, Domeck also has designed structures such as the 1,200-foot SkyBridge Michigan at Boyne Mountain Resort, described as the world's longest timber-towered suspension bridge.

The bridge opened Oct. 15, 2022, and can hold about 3,000 people at one time. It is made with steel, fiberglass, 3-inch cables and timber. Admission for an adult to walk across the bridge is $25.

"It's where my creativity really comes out in designing these guest experiences," he said.

Domeck also designed his Maui Pineapple Store in Haliimaile with the goal of making it part of the visitor experience.

Farm faces challenges, receives support

Cultivating and harvesting pineapples require patience. A plant typically takes about 18 months to produce its first fruit, followed by a second crop about a year later. The planting cycle then begins again.

Maui Gold Pineapple has retained experienced International Longshore and Warehouse Union farmworkers with ties to the Haliimaile land.

"We're just very fortunate to inherit their contract and continue to support them," Domeck said. "They're very skilled, multigenerational workers."

The farming operation also draws on the experience of veteran pineapple managers, including former Hali'imaile Pineapple Company Vice President Rudy Balala, who works as a tour guide, and former Maui Land & Pineapple manager Wes Nohara, who serves as an adviser.

Both Balala and Nohara said they are pleased with Maui Gold Pineapple's work.

"I think they have great potential," Nohara said.

He said the greatest threats are deer and wild pigs, which can destroy crops. The company is working to install fencing.

Nohara said the farm also is trying to develop a steady water source through a well or reservoir to prepare for potential droughts.

Balala said the pineapple operation is different now, with three components -- farming, retail and tours.

"It's a lot more balanced," he said.

Domeck said he has invested about $6 million to improve the farming operation over the past four years.

"We're trying to improve the quality, and we feel we're doing good on that side," he said. "Our investment in our future is about planting more and harvesting more. To me, this is all fun. We'll make the smart decision as we learn."