Salt has long been known for its healing properties.

It became just that for Lisa Strand.

A member of Hawaii’s consecutive NCAA championship volleyball teams (1982-83), Strand was laid off after 34 years as a dental hygienist, just one of many COVID-related downsizing casualties. Like many others stunned by the loss of decades of professional identity, she saw the chance to re-invent herself, turning what had been personal gifts prized by family and friends (and a small retail side) into a full-time business.

Hapa Hawaiian Salts was officially born in 2019, the name “Hapa” an homage to the Hawaiian-Norwegian ancestry of her four children with former husband and Warrior volleyball player Pono Ma‘a. But its genesis began in the 1980s while in college when the California native was introduced to Hawaiian sea salt as the ubiquitous seasoning for all things tailgate.

It further developed as a craft fair fundraiser when oldest child Micah was in preschool at Central Union in 2000.

“I was given a recipe and noticed that none of the ingredients were fresh,” Strand said. “The one ingredient I liked was Hawaiian sea salt. I began experimenting, incorporating fresh garlic and ginger, creating a salt recipe I could call my own.”

It was meant to be shared, as Strand said she was taught by her father when growing up in Santa Barbara. Homemade gifts are the best because they come from the heart, and family and friends could count on salts to season any holiday season or reason for celebration.

The layoff hit hard and Strand decided to hit back harder, going full-time with her salts. It was on-the-job training, originally renting a small commercial kitchen in Kailua that could only be used at night because the owners used it during the day; creating a logo (more on that later) and marketing strategy; and going local for everything from bottles and labels to salts and other ingredients.

One farmer’s market turned into several and then restaurants started calling. Foodland became a “partner,” as Strand calls clients, as has Red Bamboo, Koloa Rum, Aoki’s North Shore Trading Company and Adventist Health Castle Hospital, the latter which gives Hapa salt packets to women after a mammogram screening. The salts now are available at Honolulu International Airport (courtesy of Island Shoppers shops owned by former Rainbow baseball player John and wife Jennifer Matias), at various outlets on Maui, Kauai, California, Oregon and Washington state, and online (hapahawaiiansalts.com).

Strand’s ingredients come from various islands: on Oahu, it’s lemons from Waimanalo and olena (turmeric) from Kualoa Ranch; on Maui and the Big Island, it’s chili peppers.

The salts are done in small batches, using a six-hour roasting process. She’s a stickler for consistency.

“I sift every batch still,” said Strand, who continues to be part of the Spectrum Sports broadcasts for UH women’s and men’s volleyball. “It’s been fun and a little bit stressful.

“It’s not like volleyball where you have a team. It all boils down to you and there are late nights when I sit here (in her home office), put on an audio book and do 1,000 bags.

“Right now, I’m working on Christmas stuff … and it’s only March. Last year, I didn’t know you needed to work on Christmas stuff by April.”

The current best-seller? Li Hing Lemon Peel Gummy Bears, the label that includes a “Caution: Highly Addicting!” warning. Another warning: the gummy bears are back-ordered by over 1,000 units.

“The gummies have kind of taken over,” Strand said. “But they’re healthy, flavorful and I like providing them.”

The gummy bears logo has five bears holding hands, a stylized version of the original naupaka logo. Strand said she chose the flower because of its Hawaiian legend that tells of a princess from the mountains and a fisherman on the beach whose relationship was forbidden. Each is represented by a five-petal flower that, when put together, creates a whole flower, but both also thrive apart in their different environments.

“What I take from it is no matter where you’re planted, you can grow,” said Strand, who first came to Hawaii in 1981. “No matter where you end up, you can grow.

“That’s what I had to do when my world started changing. I changed my name back to Strand (from Strand-Ma‘a). If it’s going to be, then it’s got to be me. I wanted ‘me’ back.”

And so the healing properties of salt took hold.

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Reach Cindy Luis at cindy3luis@gmail.com.