Ed “Coconut Ed” Hartz of Sandy Hook founded Noelani Coconut Water in 2012, and recently announced the opening of its first retail store, in collaboration with The Molecule Store, at 259 East 10th Street, Manhattan.

Noelani delivers fresh, raw coconut water to residential and business customers. The “Dew from the Heavens,” as Noelani translates from the Hawaiian, never undergoes processing that Mr Hartz believes destroys the natural minerals and nutrients present in coconut water, but is always distributed within two days of being tapped from the whole green coconut.

Mr Hartz began delivering Noelani Coconut Water to customers in the Hamptons last summer, and currently provides delivery to Scarsdale in Westchester County, Boston, various districts of Manhattan, and several towns in Fairfield County. What is good news for Newtown residents, Mr Hartz said, is that he will begin delivery service to Sandy Hook and Newtown homes and businesses in February.

An assistant broker on Wall Street when he was fresh out of college, Mr Hartz said he soon realized that was not the career for him, despite having studied economics and social sciences. Instead, he went into construction and restoration, with a side step into delivering raw milk products in Fairfield, three years ago.

“I was restoring buildings,” he said, “and I guess now I’m into restoring the body.”

Research on coconuts and coconut water has convinced the entrepreneur that it is a food of high nutritional quality, and that there is a local demand for it. It was a visit to the biodynamic New York State Hawthorne Valley Farm that inspired him to start his own company featuring coconut water.

“My son pointed out the frozen coconut water sold there, so I tried it and thought maybe I could become a distributor,” he said. But it didn’t have the taste appeal he thought it should, so he decided that his own company, selling only fresh, raw coconut water, would be a better idea. He liked the idea, too, of starting a company that could help people improve their health.

“Coconut water was picking up momentum, month to month. You see it on every store shelf,” Mr Hartz said. That, he believed, was the problem. Coconut water processed for shelf life was not the best thing for customers.

He imports coconuts from Florida and the Caribbean. Lopping off the top of the green coconuts, he drains the water from it, filters it, and stores it in a large stainless steel container. From there, it is transferred to 16-ounce glass bottles or BPA-free gallon jugs. He opens only as many fresh coconuts as required to fill orders. “It’s always fresh,” he emphasized. “That’s the only way to do it.”

Noelani Coconut Water, Mr Hartz explained, like all pure coconut water, contains a similar chemical profile as human blood plasma, and is actually used in emergencies to replace fluids.

Coconut water contains cytokinins, he said, which enhance cellular structure and connectivity between cells and tissues. It is high in phytonutrients, and replaces electrolytes in the body. It is a source of potassium and magnesium, and other vitamins and minerals, making it superior even to water for rehydration.

According to material provided by Mr Hartz, coconut water is “cited by health, fitness professionals, and nutritionists as an aid to preventing circulatory, urinary, digestive, and immune diseases, as well as some cancers.”

He sees it as nature’s answer to commercial sports drinks, with all of the advantages and none of the disadvantages. Noelani Coconut Water has one more edge over competitors, Mr Hartz said. “It has a better taste profile.”

It has gained popularity among athletes, Mr Hartz said, but is for everyone, “Not just because you’re sweating. Your body knows what it needs,” he said.

The initial home order requires customers to purchase the glass bottles, for $1 each. After that, Mr Hartz will pull up in his bright, tropically colored delivery truck and refill bottles from a main tank, once or twice a week. Noelani Coconut Water can be purchased in 16-ounce bottles, or by the gallon. There is a minimum $40 order for home delivery, plus a $7 delivery charge.

Businesses will have stock rotated on a two-day system, he said, as that is the optimum time in which the product should be consumed.

For more information on Noelani Coconut Water delivery service, visit Noelani.US.