Upon the birth of the last of his six children, Joseph Kozuki told his wife Monica that he was going to open a health food store with his eldest son Jules. Back in 1958, there was no such thing as a health food store. So, in a small town like Wailuku, Maui, this idea was way ahead of its time.
What Joseph and his son were doing was walking door to door in the sugar cane plantation camps selling a black, thick, sticky papaya extract. Though it was difficult for people to accept the fact that they needed supplementation, the few who ventured to try the “black goo” had fantastic results.
Word got around that this now named “miracle black goo” was really good for you–people were getting healthy–and business took off. Jules knew there was a demand for products that would enhance people’s health, so he decided to take this product to O’ahu. With his wife Annette, they started working the camps, selling out every time.
In 1967, the first Vim N Vigor store opened in Kapahulu. “Hippies” and surfers on their way to the beach came from all over the island. This location included a juicebar which served the “stretch-da-mouth” sandwich on stone-ground whole wheat bread.
Expansion came a few years later when Jules was asked to open a store in the Ala Moana Shopping Center. Through the forty-plus years its been in business, Vim N Vigor has gone through its ups and downs; but, one thing remained constant–its commitment to people’s health. Today, Vim N Vigor has two stores that serve the health needs of the people and visitors of Hawai’i. And now, with a cyber-store, Vim N Vigor can service the people of the world.