The Korean Air “nut rage” incident unleashed a firestorm of controversy in South Korea, and a boom in sales for a locally-based macadamia nut company, according to the Associated Press.

Cho Hyun-ah, a Korean Air executive and daughter of the airlines’ chairman, publicly apologized for her anger over a bag of nuts that caused a Dec. 5 Korean Air flight to turn around back to New York, just to kick off the senior flight attendant who was responsible for serving her macadamia nuts in a bag.

Not surprisingly, the bizarre story has taken a turn for the better for Mauna Loa Macadamia Nut Corp., which has seen sales surge  in South Korea, where the AP says macadamia nuts have become an overnight sensation and household name.

Various websites, including two owned by eBay and a separate e-commerce firm Coupang, show macadamia sales have jumped anywhere from 12 to 20 times, to completely selling out.

Screenshot/Mauna Loa

Mauna Loa, the largest processor of macadamia seeds, is a subsidiary of The Hershey Company as of 2004, but nut processing still takes place in a plant on Hilo.

This isn’t the only Hawaii tie to the incident and to Cho. She has been criticized for giving birth to twin sons in Hawaii just last year, entitling them to U.S. citizenship and allegedly dodging the compulsory military draft all abled-bodied young men must eventually face in South Korea.

It seems Hawaii has always had a special place in Cho’s life, given her love for our macadamia nuts, and our American way of not being forced into the military. Now our “sunny, island treat” is making its way into Korean homes.

Since Korea is known for its adoration of Spam (the luncheon meat), it’s only a matter of time before Spam-flavored macadamia nuts become all the nut rage.