ABSTRACT
Poi was the major staple of the people of Hawaii when Captain Cook made his voyages to the Islands in the 18th century. Since that time, with the settlement in Hawaii of other ethnic groups from Asia, Europe, and the mainland United States, other staples such as rice and Irish potatoes have become of greater importance than poi. But throughout the post-contact period of Hawaiian history, poi has at least in the public mind been associated with Hawaiians. This is still the case today. But no attempt has been made to actually measure how much consumption of poi can be attributed to Hawaiians. A study was therefore initiated to interview a sufficiently large number of people to derive some meaningful information. Though deliberate efforts were made to ensure that Hawaiians would be well represented, in essence the size of the sample was such that the central question asked was, who in Hawaii in 1977 eats poi and how often.
In the first part of the paper, therefore, the procedures and results of a survey carried out on the island of Oahu, where Honolulu is located, are described. In addition to ethnicity, the importance of variables such as income and education in influencing poi consumption is also shown.
In the second part of this paper, some ideas are developed on the problems and strategies needed 421to market a traditional product in the present era of supermarkets and fast food restaurant chains. Given the changes in diet, buyer behavior, and emphasis on convenience foods of today, the need to consider changes in form, appearance, packaging, and indeed, the total approaches to marketing of poi, are discussed briefly.
