Munji Kahalah never expected that a degree grounded in computational thinking would lead him to importing viral snacks from around the world. Today, the UNM alumnus is the creative force behind Monaco Market, New Mexico’s largest exotic snack store, with shelves stocked with Dubai chocolates, Chinese mango ice cream and South Korean juice pouches that have exploded in popularity on TikTok and Instagram.

Kahalah began as a computer science and computational math major, but discovered along the way that his true passion lived at the intersection of technology, creativity and entrepreneurship.

“I realized I really loved seeing how businesses go from A to Z,” Kahalah said. “Tech was always interesting to me, but there’s so much more to building something than just engineering.”

He came to UNM in 2015, immersing himself in computational math and computer science. While challenged by the coursework, he grew increasingly curious about innovation beyond the technical side.

That curiosity led him to enroll in several courses through UNM’s Innovation Academy (IA), a decision he now calls pivotal. Through IA, Kahalah participated in pitch competitions, applied entrepreneurial thinking to real-world problems and found lasting mentorship.

“It was the total opposite of what I was doing on the engineering side,” he said. “Those courses were more hands-on and real-world. I enjoyed them a bit more because they were right up my alley.”

Kahalah now operates two locations: one in Albuquerque and one in Wilmington, N.C. and Instagram.