WAIPAHU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Tucked inside an industrial warehouse along Koaki Street in Waipahu, the rhythmic sound of agitating water and soaking seed carries on a local tradition that has spanned more than six decades.
For Hawaii residents, crack seed is a nostalgic staple of island life. At Jade Food, preserving that heritage is a daily, hands-on family effort that began more than 60 years ago.
Good Old Manual Labor
Inside the production facility, Jade Food President Deanne Ho oversees every step of the meticulous, labor-intensive preparation.
“We are back to good old manual labor,” Ho explained. “We’re just over here agitating just so we can get the salt out from the seed. And then after we do this, we let it sit, and then we’re going to change the water. Depending on how the seed is, you might have to change it twice, but at least once more.”
Jade Food carries more than 50 varieties of treats, ranging from traditional rock salt and dry lemon peel to li hing mango and pickled mango—the latter requiring two to three weeks of marinating before it is ready for packaging.
For Ho, quality control is both personal and essential.
“I grew up eating crack seed,” Ho said. “I eat it every day. I try all the batches. It’s my job.”
A Pivot from Pizza to Seed
The company’s beginnings trace back to 1961, when Ho’s father, Hollis Ho, set out to launch a business. He originally considered selling pizza, but found consumers unready for the concept at the time.
“He tried to sell pizza, but he was a little bit too early on the wave because people were like, ‘Why would we pay for bread and tomato sauce and cheese?’” said Taelyn Tyau, treasurer at Jade Food and Hollis’ granddaughter. “So, then he eventually landed on crack seed because, you know, he wanted something that like no one else was doing.”
Remarkably, Hollis did not personally eat crackseed. To build his catalog, he traveled to Taiwan alongside a family aunt to sample recipes from local factories. He eventually brought experienced cooks over to teach him the craft.
Over time, Jade Food refined the original formulas to cater directly to local palates.
“We’ve adapted the seed to a more local taste,” Deanne Ho said. “Before, it had a more oriental, I would want to say, Chinese medicine taste. And we’ve made it a more mellow seed, more adaptable to Hawaiians, and it’s been like that for decades.”
As for the company moniker? While family lore often links it to the aunt who helped scout recipes in Asia, Hollis maintained a different inspiration.
“The person that he took to the Orient, her name was Jade, but my dad swears up and down that’s not where the name for Jade Food came from,” Deanne laughed. “He said he wanted a Chinese name and something that was precious, so he settled on the name Jade Food.”
Preserving a Vanishing Craft
Learning the trade meant working through every facet of the enterprise, from managing payroll and books to operating forklifts, driving delivery routes, and ultimately learning seed-making.
Today, Ho worries about the future of the craft as master makers age across the globe.
“The batches vary from batch to batch, so you constantly need to try the product,” Ho said. “It’s a really older generation thing. All the people who are making seed in the Orient are older. So, I encourage you guys to eat the seed and get the taste now, because who knows—in 20, 30 years, not that many people will be making it and it’ll be a really hard product to get.”
Now, a third generation is stepping up to carry the torch. Tyau works alongside her mother, motivated by the deep-seated nostalgia the brand evokes in customers across the islands.
“What keeps all of us going is our customers and our community,” Tyau said. “When people come up to us, and they’re like, ‘I grew up on Jade, and I love your stuff, reminds me of my childhood’—that’s really what keeps us going.”
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