Rebeca Krones

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Tropical Traders co-owners Rebeca Krones and Luis Zevallos have a singular goal: to introduce the incredible honeys Krones’ father produces in Hawaii to people around the world. The husband-and-wife team sources exclusively from the Hawaiian Queen Co., her father’s honey farm located on the southwest side of the Big Island, in Captain Cook. They distribute the honey from the family farm, as well as their distribution warehouse in Oakland, Calif.

Growing up in Costa Rica and the rainforest of Peru (also Zevallos’ home country), Krones says her upbringing led her to her career calling. Whether it was traveling on a boat for two years with her family when she was 16, where she was the main cook and had to source foods locally at each port, or working at Chez Panisse Restaurant in Berkeley, Calif., her experiences fed her desire to focus on a product she had known and loved since she was a baby. When her father proposed the idea of her joining the business, “I called Luis long-distance from Argentina and told him what we were thinking, and he immediately became interested, too,” she recalls. “The opportunity had been sitting in front of me for so many years, yet I had never really seen it.”

Her first lesson in entrepreneurship: “Opportunities exist all around us; you just have to be the one to take hold of them.”

Krones shared more of her story with us:

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How did you come up with the idea to sell honey and exclusively source from your father’s bees?

Selling my dad's organic Hawaiian honey wasn't so much my idea as it was his. I studied art history at Oberlin College but became disillusioned with what I perceived to be the ivory-tower nature of the commercial art world in which I worked. During a trip to Argentina, where my dad is from, he and I started talking about my doing something that was more grounded. “‘You know,’ he said, ‘you always have a place in the family business if you want it.’”

How is it to work together with Luis as a couple? Do you separate responsibilities?

I'd be lying to say it’s easy to work together. I think it's hard for any couple to be together all the time. We've been together for more than seven years, we've owned the business for the past five, and we got married last January—so you can say we've decided that it's more positive than anything else! We do separate responsibilities: I'm more on the marketing and operations side, he is on the production and shipping end. We are both 150 percent invested in this venture because it’s our future. That kind of dedication is rocket fuel.

Did you grow up around bees?

Yes, I grew up around bees. My dad has been beekeeping on and off for more than 32 years. He began with about 20 beehives in Costa Rica, where I was born, and now owns more than 1,500 in Hawaii. They say babies aren't supposed to eat honey before they're a year old, but my younger brother and I were eating honey way before our first birthdays. I'm completely addicted to it.

What is the most challenging or satisfying part of your job?

The most challenging part of my job is navigating change. For example, weather conditions in Hawaii affect nectar flow and therefore honey crops. Conversely, this is also the most satisfying part of my job: finding ways to work through challenges and succeeding is fun.

If someone could shadow you for one day at your job, what would surprise that person most?

It's amazing what you can do with a computer and an internet connection!

When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?

A marine biologist.

Aside from your products, what three food items can you always find in your kitchen?

Rice, beans and olive oil.—Denise Shoukas

Denise Shoukas is a regular foodspring.com contributor
and is the author of foodspring's food forager blog.

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