At Big Island Candies, everything we produce must look good, taste good, and bring happiness to others. Hawaii-based apparel and lifestyle brand Eden in Love shares a similar philosophy: to design products that make people happy. Therefore, it only seems natural that our brands would team up to create something special—and super-cute!
Established in 2005, one of Eden in Love’s earliest breakout creations was their ripstop nylon tote. The popularity of these tote bags became the catalyst to creating collections with other companies. And to this day, it all starts with a custom design that tells a brand’s story using Eden in Love’s adorable characters, who are surrounded by—and interact with—some of that brand’s most popular products, symbols, or other identifiers. To up the ante on the adorable, some of those brand icons have been designed as charming characters too, bringing even more life and playful energy to the creation. How fun is that?
For our collaboration, the design team at Eden in Love featured a few of our signature dipped shortbreads, including our famous Milk Chocolate Dipped Macadamia Nut Shortbread and even our classic red-label bag of shortbread cookies—exclusive to our Hilo and Ala Moana Center stores. Keep scanning the tote, and you keep discovering something new: a box of Mika Mints, some Macadamia Nut Biscotti, Pineapple Manju, and other goodies. Judging by their smiling faces and satisfied expressions, these confection characters are very content. It’s been a (holiday) joy to collaborate with Eden in Love, and we thought we’d catch up with co-founder Tanna Dang about collabs, customers, and creativity.
Aloha, Tanna! It’s been so fun collaborating with Eden in Love. What’s one of the things you look for before collaborating with a brand?
The most important thing we look for in our collab partners are businesses that exude the same core values as us: to create impact, spark joy, empower confidence, and inspire communities. We love working with companies where we can actually get creative with their leadership teams because they share the real stories about their signature items. When we know the stories, we can help make the design come to life.
What are some of the benefits of collaborating with another brand?
For me, the greatest benefit of collaborating with other brands is to create more abundance. It gives my team a cool new project to work on, my designer a chance to test her skills, our printer can secure another job, and so on… We’re just one tiny part of a massive org chart. These collabs started when we opted to close brick-and-mortar stores and focus solely online. I love that my new role is to continuously add amazing companies into our production ebb and flow!
Why do you think the Eden in Love bag collabs have resonated especially well with customers and companies?
On the simplest level, these totes are incredibly well designed. They’re 100% ripstop nylon, so they fold up, they are machine washable, and they’re actually practical. I’m constantly reaching for a tote whenever I head out the door! But, more importantly, the full color + vibrant pop + unique, hand-illustrated designs make these absolute collectables. Each design has a story, and it’s cool that you can “tote” around the designs that rep your favorite companies!
How did you come up with the Eden in Love aesthetic, particularly the charming characters and cheerful phrases that appear on many of your products?
All of the cute icons and hilarious sayings are birthed from my designer, Alyssa. She’s a Hilo girl who has such a hilarious, upbeat personality. True story: We used to sell a lot of “ALOHA” items like ALOHA doormats, signs, stickers. One day, she added a cute little smile on a shaka that went into the “O” of ALOHA. It was SO cute!! So we added smiles onto EVERYTHING!
Our bag collab showcases some of our signature goodies. Have to ask: What’s your go-to goodie when you shop at Big Island Candies?
Oh, I’m so glad you asked! Chocolate Covered Macadamia Nut Brownies for the win.
Mahalo, Tanna, great talking with you again. Definitely want to wish you and everyone at Eden in Love a safe, happy holiday season. And, who knows, maybe our partnership paths will cross again one day!
The Big Island Candies x Eden in Love limited-edition Holiday Tote Bag (medium size: 17” x 21.5”) is now available for purchase at Big Island Candies’ Hilo and Ala Moana Center stores, or place your order at www.BigIslandCandies.com. There’s also a Gift Bundle, which includes the Holiday Tote Bag, plus a collection of Big Island Candies’ confections. AND… EXCLUSIVELY IN OUR STORES: Get a FREE Big Island Candies x Eden in Love Holiday Tote Bag with your purchase of $250+. (Special terms and conditions apply, so visit our Hilo or Ala Moana Center stores to learn more.)
Carry on!
