Best Hawaiian Snacks & Treats to Order Online (2026 Guide)

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If you’ve ever been to Hawai’i, you know the airport struggle. That last-minute dash through ABC stores and Longs Drugs, stuffing your carry-on with crack seed, mochi, and chocolate-covered macadamia nuts because you know you can’t get this stuff at home.

Good news: almost all of the best Hawaiian snacks are available online now. Whether you’re a homesick local on the mainland, planning a Hawaii-themed party, or putting together a gift box for someone special, these are the snacks worth ordering.

The Classics — Snacks Every Local Knows

Hawaiian Hurricane Popcorn

This is the snack that defines Hawai’i movie nights and gatherings. Buttered popcorn mixed with arare (Japanese rice crackers), furikake, and nori. The combination of buttery, salty, crunchy, and umami is addictive beyond reason. You can buy pre-made versions or assemble it yourself — but honestly, the pre-made bags from Hawaiian Hurricane Popcorn Co. are excellent.

Why it’s essential: Once you try hurricane popcorn, regular popcorn feels naked. It’s the gateway snack to Hawaiian food.
Price: ~$8–$12 per bag
Also try: Making it yourself — pop your own popcorn, toss with melted butter, furikake, and arare. Recipe is dead simple.

Li Hing Mui Anything

Li hing mui is the sweet-salty-sour plum powder that Hawai’i puts on EVERYTHING. Gummy bears, dried mango, fresh fruit, margarita rims, shave ice. If you’ve never had it, it’s hard to describe — tangy, slightly salty, deeply savory, with a sweetness that sneaks up on you. It’s the single most “Hawaiian” flavor that mainlanders have never heard of.

What to order:

• Li Hing Mui Dried Plums: The original. Wrinkly, chewy dried plums coated in li hing powder. An acquired taste that becomes an obsession.
• Li Hing Mui Gummy Bears: The gateway drug. Sweet gummy bears dusted in li hing powder. Kids and adults alike can’t stop eating these.
• Li Hing Mui Powder (plain): Buy a jar and put it on everything — fresh pineapple, mango, watermelon, rim your Mai Tai glass with it. Or use it to make my li hing mui margarita — the ultimate li hing cocktail.

Price: ~$6–$12 depending on variety and size

Crack Seed

Crack seed is the umbrella term for preserved, seasoned dried fruits — plums, cherries, mango, lemon peel — that have been a snack staple in Hawai’i since Chinese immigrants brought the tradition. Every crack seed shop has dozens of varieties in big glass jars. The flavors range from sweet to sour to salty to spicy, often all at once.

Best varieties to try:

• Sweet Li Hing Mui: The classic — sweet and salty dried plum
• Rock Salt Plum: Intensely salty-sour, an acquired taste that rewards patience
• Dried Mango with Li Hing: Sweet mango meets tangy li hing — the perfect combo
• Lemon Peel: Candied, chewy, and surprisingly addictive

Where to order: Hawaii Candy Company and Jade Food Products both ship excellent crack seed selections nationwide.
Price: ~$8–$15 per bag

Chocolate-Covered Macadamia Nuts

The classic Hawaiian souvenir for a reason — because it’s genuinely delicious. Creamy, buttery macadamia nuts enrobed in milk or dark chocolate. The key is buying from companies that use Hawaiian-grown macadamias (not all do, despite the packaging).

Best brands:

• Big Island Candies: The gold standard. Their chocolate-dipped macadamia nut shortbread cookies are legendary. Everything is made in Hilo and uses real Hawaiian ingredients.
• Hawaiian Host: The OG chocolate-covered macadamia nut brand. Consistent quality, widely available, and the classic box makes a great gift.
• Mauna Loa: Their dry-roasted macadamias (without chocolate) are the best plain macadamia nut you can buy. Perfect for snacking or baking.

Price: ~$12–$30 depending on brand and box size

Sweet Treats

Mochi

Soft, chewy rice flour treats filled with everything from red bean to peanut butter to haupia. Butter mochi is the baked version, but traditional mochi is the soft, pounded variety. And if you want to take it a step further, try making mochi ice cream at home.

Best to order:

• Two Ladies Kitchen Mochi (Hilo): If you can get it shipped fresh, their strawberry mochi is the single best mochi in Hawai’i. Whole fresh strawberry wrapped in cream and mochi. Often sold out — order early.
• Nisshodo Mochi: Honolulu’s beloved mochi maker. Their chi chi dango (plain mochi) and peanut butter mochi ship well and taste like home.

Price: ~$15–$25 per box

Malasada Mix

Can’t get fresh malasadas? Order a malasada mix and fry them at home. Leonard’s Bakery (the most famous malasada shop in Hawai’i) sells their mix online. It’s not quite the same as getting them hot from the shop, but it’s remarkably close — and your house will smell incredible.

Price: ~$10–$14 per box (makes about 2 dozen)

Haupia Mix

Haupia (coconut pudding) is served at every luau and local party. Making it from scratch isn’t hard, but the instant haupia mix from Hawaiian Sun makes it foolproof — just add water. It sets into that perfect jiggly, coconutty block that you cut into squares.

Price: ~$4–$6 per box

Savory Snacks

Arare (Japanese Rice Crackers)

Arare is the crunchy rice cracker component of hurricane popcorn, but it’s also an excellent snack on its own. The most popular variety in Hawai’i is the small, round, soy sauce-flavored kind — but there are dozens of shapes and flavors.

Best brand: Nishimoto Trading Co. or any brand labeled “mochi crunch” — that’s the Hawai’i name for the classic soy sauce arare.
Price: ~$5–$8 per bag

Hawaiian Chip Company Taro Chips

These thick-cut, hand-cooked taro chips are leagues beyond any potato chip. Purple-hued, earthy, and perfectly salted, they’ve won national snack awards. The Maui Onion flavor is the bestseller, but the Original is my favorite — it lets the taro flavor shine.

Price: ~$8–$12 per bag

Beef Jerky — Hawaiian Style

Hawaiian-style beef jerky is different from mainland jerky — it’s often sweeter, with teriyaki or li hing seasoning. If you liked my pipikaula recipe, you’ll love these commercial versions for when you don’t want to make your own.

Best brands:

• Big Island Beef Jerky: Made with Hawaiian-raised beef. Teriyaki flavor is outstanding.
• Paniolo Jerky: “Paniolo” means Hawaiian cowboy. Their peppered and teriyaki flavors are top-notch.

Price: ~$12–$18 per bag

Drinks

Hawaiian Sun Drinks

Hawaiian Sun juice cans are iconic — the colorful cans with the tropical labels are in every local lunch box and convenience store. Guava, POG (passion-orange-guava), lilikoi, and luau punch are the most popular flavors. They also make shelf-stable juice boxes that ship easily.

Price: ~$15–$20 for a 24-pack of cans

Hawaiian Iced Tea

Hawaiian Sun also makes excellent powdered iced tea mixes — passion fruit iced tea is the standout. Mix with cold water for an easy tropical drink that pairs perfectly with any backyard party.

Price: ~$6–$8 per canister

Gift Box Ideas

Putting together a Hawaiian care package? Here’s what I’d include:

The Classic Box (~$50):

• Hawaiian Host chocolate macadamias
• Li hing mui gummy bears
• Hurricane popcorn
• Hawaiian Sun POG juice cans (6-pack)
• Arare mochi crunch

The Foodie Box (~$80):

• Big Island Candies shortbread cookies
• Hawaiian Chip Company taro chips
• Crack seed variety pack
• Li hing mui powder
• Kona coffee (8oz bag)
• Haupia mix

The Homesick Local Box (~$100):

• Nisshodo mochi assortment
• Leonard’s malasada mix
• Crack seed favorites (rock salt plum, sweet li hing, lemon peel)
• Kona coffee
• Hawaiian Sun variety pack
• Furikake and arare for hurricane popcorn
• A bottle of Adoboloco chili pepper water

My Recommendation

If you’ve never explored Hawaiian snacks before, start with three things: li hing mui gummy bears, hurricane popcorn, and Big Island Candies chocolate macadamia shortbread. Those three items represent the sweet, savory, and umami sides of Hawaiian snacking, and they’ll give you a foundation for exploring everything else on this list.

And if you’re a homesick local reading this from somewhere on the mainland — I see you. Order yourself a crack seed variety pack and a case of Hawaiian Sun. It’s not the same as being home, but it helps. While you’re at it, make a batch of Spam musubi — nothing cures homesickness like the snack that raised us all.