About

A Local Business

Volcano Wasabi is all about the love of two things: real wasabi and the beautiful Hawaiian Islands.

Team

jon

Tiffany

Olaf

Get to Know Us

Jonathan (Jon) Kindred, Founder & CEO

In 2019 Jon retired from a 36 year career as a financial markets executive in New York, London and Tokyo. After retirement, he turned his vacation home on Maui into his primary residence. He has fun golfing at Kapalua and building the Volcano Wasabi farm on the Big Island.

Tiffany Kindred, Chief Strategy Officer

Tiffany is Jon’s daughter and is a licensed psychotherapist in the SF Bay area. Tiffany grew up in Tokyo and spent four years working at a large management consulting firm in Tokyo prior to making her career change via a masters degree in Social Work at Columbia University in New York.

Olaf Lange, Farm Manager

Olaf grew up on the Big Island of Hawai’i as well as Cape Town South Africa. He is an accomplished agriculturalist having worked at, and managed, commercial farming operations in California and experimental projects in Hawai’i. Olaf resides on the Volcano Wasabi farm site and is responsible for all operations and product quality.

  • Our Story

    Volcano Wasabi is all about our love of two things. Real wasabi and the beautiful Hawaiian Islands.

    After retiring to Maui, Jon, an avid sashimi consumer, craved the authentic taste of wasabi he enjoyed in Japan. However, he soon discovered the difficulty of finding locally grown, real wasabi in Hawai’i. Disappointed with the reliance on substitutes – western horseradish-based paste or powder products – he explored growing wasabi on his Maui property, only to find the climate unsuitable. In 2021, he acquired our current farm site in Mountain View, nestled just off the Volcano Highway on the Big Island.

    Upon purchasing the Big Island site, Jon initiated the construction of what is now the Volcano Wasabi farm, as Tiffany began global market research on the wasabi market. Drawing upon their understanding of, and connection to, Japan, they deepened their knowledge of the nuances of authentic wasabi cultivation, refining their approach as they developed a plan for the Volcano Wasabi business.  Through this effort they made a connection with Japanese wasabi company Kinjirushi which has assisted in our technical understanding of how to grow great wasabi.

  • 2

    In early 2023 Jon met Olaf via a mutual friend. After several discussions, Olaf agreed to join our mission to grow great wasabi in Hawai’i. Olaf’s original interest in agriculture was sparked while attending the charter school West Hawai’i Explorations Academy located at Kailua Kona’s OTEC facilities. Becoming a pioneer in cultivating wasabi in Hawai’i was a natural extension of his agricultural explorations. Since joining Volcano Wasabi, Olaf has been instrumental in growing our plants from conception to edible excellence.

    Also early in 2023, Jon was introduced to the University of Hawaii College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources (UH CTAHR). By spring of the same year, UH CTAHR began leasing a greenhouse to Volcano Wasabi at their experimental growing station in Volcano, where early cultivation efforts were initiated. We are deeply thankful to UH CTAHR and continue collaborating with their team on experimental techniques aimed at optimizing agricultural efficiency.

    Our mission is, and will always be, growing great wasabi in Hawai’i.