Bizia Surf, a specialty surfboard retailer, first began as an initiative to put invasive albizia trees to new uses.
Husband-and-wife team Joey and Christine Valenti launched the Albizia Project in 2017, producing wood products and building materials from albizia trees that would otherwise end up decomposing or in landfills, they told PBN in a joint email.
Joey is an avid surfer, and their work expanded into surfboards in partnership with Eric Bello of Bello's Millwork, and Bizia Surf was born.
“By sourcing invasive albizia wood, we are reconnecting the tradition of wave riding Hawaii-grown wood while helping to restore native forests,” the Bizia Surf website explains.
Last spring, the company opened a retail location, Bizia Surf and Coffee Bar, in Wahiawa. Located in the same industrial warehouse as its surfboard manufacturing facility, the space doubles as its showroom and has a built-in coffee shop.
“The space has become a lighthouse of community events and a daily attraction for coffee enthusiasts and surfers in the Central Oahu area,” the Valentis said. “The interior design beautifully displays our surfboards and showcases stunning albizia wood finishes on the custom screen walls, windows, doors and furniture.”
As part of Cohort 9, the couple said they’re looking to strengthen their marketing strategies and increase public awareness of their storefront.
“We would like to see our products in more retail locations and establish export channels for our surfboards to the global surf community. We recognize there are some holes in our business model that could be improved on with the many resources Mana Up will provide,” they said.
When asked about their goals for the company within the next year, they said they’re aiming to grow their customer base and to increase revenue by 100%.
“Our brand is becoming more established in the local proximity, and we believe we are positioned well to expand our reach statewide and internationally in the years ahead. We are working on some innovative new surfboard designs as well as marketing opportunities to get our products in front of more customers.”
PBN is partnering with Mana Up to announce the 10 newest entrepreneurs joining Cohort 9 of its product business accelerator program, with profiles on each company slated to roll out one at a time through June 4. Stay tuned to pacificbusinessnews.com, and check out the June 7 print edition for the full roundup.
