KISS Delivers On Kauai

Erik Coopersmith
Kauai Island Shopping Service

Please tell us about your business. Kauai Island Shopping Service — Kauai KISS — provides premium personal shopping and grocery-delivery services for residents and visitors. We serve all hotels, condos, vacation rentals and private homes islandwide. Realizing that everybody has personal tastes and dietary requirements, we wanted to provide an affordable, personalized experience through the entire process, addressing our customers’ unique needs.

Why did you start this business? I have an MBA in international business from St. Mary’s College of California, and always have been very entrepreneurial. I wanted to create an upscale shopping and delivery service that could grow organically, as our customers find us and let us know what they want purchased and delivered anywhere on Kauai. I am also Dad to an awesome 4-year-old daughter Becky. The fluid nature of this business allows me the flexibility to take care of my family obligations, while still being able to effectively manage this business and fully deliver the services Kauai KISS offers in the most professional Erik Coopersmith with daughter Becky Photo from Erik Coopersmith manner possible.

How did you start this business? Before I moved to Kauai, I lived in the ski resort town of Vail, Colo. I saw grocery-delivery and personal-shopping services become very successful there and in other vacation communities I visited over the years. People realize that their vacation time is very valuable, so arriving at their vacation rental to a fully stocked kitchen feels like a really nice, time-saving “cheap luxury” to start their hard-earned holiday. We also are finding that more and more people actually prefer to eat in for many vacation meals rather than the time, hassle and expense of restaurant dining. We even deliver alcohol, keeping Kauai safe from people drinking and driving. And it’s not just for tourists. Whether it is simply to help tourists do a little self-pampering, for convenience or because people are house-bound or don’t drive, I decided it was time to provide Kauai with this service.

Why do you continue to do what you do? Because of the people I get to meet. I love Kauai, remember it very fondly from a couple family vacations way back in the ’70s, and have lived here for 15 years now.

Who benefits from your business? We’ve delivered groceries as far west as beachfront homes in Kekaha to Hanalei Bay Resort and Haena on the North Shore. Also, local food establishments are realizing that using this service to shop for and deliver their basic ingredients and supplies allows the owner/manager to stay and run the business, rather than spending their valuable time shopping.

What’s the most interesting delivery you’ve made so far? The funniest delivery so far was just before Halloween. Kauai KISS delivered a huge pumpkin to a girl who works in a surf shop in Kapaa, ordered by a nice young man in L.A. I never know what’s next — that’s half the fun.

What makes you get up every day and go to work? Lots of Kauai coffee. But, seriously, I am really passionate about providing this valuable and appreciated service to both residents of and visitors to Kauai, and really having a lot fun doing it. I always have been a people person, and this business allows me to interact with people from all walks of life.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of your business? Providing services that improve not only people’s vacations, but Kauai residents’ lives too. Establishing Kauai KISS as a professional, dependable island-wide delivery service will allow me to support my family on my terms. Every day brings new experiences and people into my life. This keeps the business fresh and interesting. Besides, I am helping people; that’s just part of my DNA.

What are some of your plans for the future of your business? A critical part of this business concept is to be the green delivery service for Kauai. We utilize a high-mileage hybrid vehicle. It would be great to see a small fleet of super fuel-efficient Kauai KISS vehicles tooling around, taking care of shopping and delivery for tourists, locals and businesses. I look forward to providing high-quality, fresh local produce, flowers, honey and so forth, supporting our local farmers and other Kauai businesses, and cross-pollinating our products and services for our mutual benefit. Forgive my pun; I’m also a backyard beekeeper and co-founder of Kauai Beekeepers Association, thus my allusion to pollination and honey. I also really believe that with the price of gas on Kauai being so high, as well as our growing traffic woes and a never-ending flow of tourists, the value and benefits of this business will continue to grow.

kauaikiss.com
erik@kauaikiss.com
822-5477 (KISS)