"Uniting As One Through Coffee" 

Short Summary

Lokahi Coffee was started in 2019 by Tiffany Russell, Mark Young II, and Marisha Young.

Owning a cafe has been a dream of Tiffany's since she saw one on television at three years old. In 2014, Tiffany moved to Oahu, Hawaii, and discovered Kona coffee, it was love at first sip, and she was HOOKED! Her obsession with coffee deepened, and she found a passion for fresh, quality coffee. Learning the importance of respecting and protecting the land and community and personifying the Aloha spirit, Lokahi Coffee was born. 

Our goal for this campaign is to raise the money for a coffee truck to service the greater Detroit area. Not only are we focused on supplying the highest quality coffee/tea drinks, but we also make our own coffee/tea syrups, pastries, and alternative milk from scratch.

Lokahi Coffee Legacy

1. Serving high-quality beverages and food at a great price

• The main difference that sets our coffee/tea syrups apart from our competitors is fresh, high-quality ingredients and healthier sugar in the recipes.
• Instead of unrefined sugar or turbinado, we use panela sugar which is pure, unrefined, whole cane sugar that has been boiled in a total natural dehydration process. It's mainly fructose (more beneficial to the body than sucrose) and much higher in vitamins, antioxidants, and minerals than unrefined sugar because it isn't chemically processed.
• Our syrups and alternative milk are homemade; we will also provide homemade pastries and pastries sourced from other small, minority businesses in Michigan.

2. Helping our Community

• Every month we are dedicated to donating a portion of our profits to charity and volunteering.

Mondays and Fridays will have certain drinks and pastries dedicated to different causes.

• Example;

Michigan Mondays - Will feature a Michigan Cherry latte and Michigan Mitten-shaped pastry; 25% of the profit will go to a different Michigan-based charity every month.

Aloha Fridays - Will feature a Taro Latte and Lilikoi pastry; 25% of the profit will go to a different Hawaiian-based charity every month.

Wildcard Wednesdays - We will set out a donation box for customers to donate to a specific charity. Every month our customers will get to vote on which charity to donate to.

We also plan to spend time each month volunteering as a business.

3. Built on Meraki

• (v.) To do something with soul, creativity, or love; to put something of yourself in your work.

Whole Sale Partners

Our coffee wholesale partners are;

1. Big Island Coffee Roasters (Big Island, Hawaii) - We wanted to bring authentic Kona coffee to Michigan, straight from the Hawaiian Islands. Kona coffee is a smooth, mellow, balanced coffee, it is unlike any other coffee on the market. 

2. Onyx Coffee Lab 9 - Oynx is known for its variety of smooth and bold flavor profiles. The coffee notes on each blend are unique and exploding with flavor.

Our tea wholesale partners are:

1. Spirit Tea (Chicago) - Their teas are some of the freshest,  highest-quality, unique teas we have tasted. Spirit Tea has taught us that tea is more than just a drink, it is an experience. 

2. Bisou Bar -  Their tea is not only bursting with flavor, it is also smooth and balanced. 

All of these companies also share our passion for community and sustainability!

Market Research

In May 2021 we gave away 50 free coffee/tea boxes filled with coffee and tea from Hawaii, (4) 2oz sample bottles of our homemade syrups (flavors ranged from our signature Lavender, Cardomom syrup to Fig, Blackberry), 4 shortbread cookies (Lemon & Thyme, Orange & Earl Grey, Salted Caramel, and Plain), 2 donuts ( Glazed, Chocolate, Coconut), 2 mini chocolate bars (Chocolate Covered Strawberry, Smokehouse, Smores,  and Caramel Apple), and a box of petit fours (Almond & Apricot, Strawberry, Flourless Chocolate, and Lemon with mixed berry filling). All syrups and pastries were homemade, made from scratch, with no preservatives and natural flavors!

 PLAY

What We Need

Up until this point, we have been funding our business 100% ourselves, but in order to expand and really reach our full potential, we need your support!

Overall Goal: $35,000 (this will fully fund our coffee truck and expand our online store)

In case we don't reach our overall goal of $35,000, we wanted to give a breakdown of how we plan to spend the money we do raise

$7,000 will provide us the funds to expand our online store to offer homemade syrups and baked goods, more inventory, and small pop-up shops at the farmers market.

$11,000 will provide us the funds to start doing pop-shops at farmers markets and smaller catering events;

• Purchasing a transportable coffee cart and completing the necessary renovations
• Purchasing equipment such as a burr grinder, pour-over station, cold brew station, French presses, etc.
• Purchase permits and licenses
• Purchase initial inventory

$17,000 will provide us the funds to start doing pop-up shops on a larger scale (catering events, becoming vendors at farmers markets, renting spaces in commercial buildings, etc.);

• Purchasing a transportable coffee cart and completing the necessary renovations
• Purchasing equipment such as an espresso machine, burr grinder, pour-over station, cold brew station, French presses, etc.
• Purchase permits and licenses
• Purchase initial inventory

$35,000 will provide us with the funds to start our coffee truck and expand our online store by allowing us to;

• Purchase a truck or small bus to convert into a mobile coffee shop
• complete all renovations, including; electric, plumbing, interior makeover, and exterior makeover
• Purchase equipment including; espresso machine, burr grinder, commercial fridges, three-compartment sink, etc.
• Purchase the necessary permits and licenses
• Purchase initial inventory

Other Ways You Can Help

We understand if you cannot support our campaign financially, another way to help would be to share our campaign on your social media, with friends and family, share with co-workers, etc. Allowing us to spread the word is highly vital to this campaign and does not go unnoticed.

We appreciate everyone that has taken the time to learn more about our business, supporting us, and helping us reach our goals. We can't wait to return the love and support to our community!