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King's Hawaiian
Company type	Privately held company
Industry	Bakery
Predecessor	Robert's Bakery
Founded	1950
Founder	Robert R. Taira
Headquarters	Harbor Gateway, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Website	kingshawaiian.com

King's Hawaiian is a Los Angeles-based family-owned and operated bakery, known chiefly for its Hawaiian bread. It was founded by Robert Taira in Hilo, Hawaii, in 1950.^[1]

History

Robert Taira founded the company, then called Robert's Bakery, in Hilo, Hawaii, in 1950.^[1]^[2] Taira originally specialized in baking cakes. He got his big break when he figured out how to extend the notoriously short shelf life of Portuguese sweet bread, which he could then sell in large volumes to supermarkets as shelf-stable "Hawaiian bread".^[1] In 1963, the company moved to Honolulu and changed its name to King's Bakery.^[2]^[3] In 1977, the company expanded to the mainland United States by opening a bakery, King's Hawaiian Bakery, in Torrance, California.^[3]

By the 1980s, Taira's company, King's Hawaiian Bakery, was grossing US$20 million annually.^[4] In 1988 the company moved its headquarters to the mainland.^[2] The Honolulu bakery closed in 1992.^[3] In 2002, the company opened a new restaurant and bakery called The Local Place Bakery & Cafe in Torrance.^[5]

Taira died in May 2003 and left the company under the control of his family.^[3] In October 2003, King's Hawaiian moved its bakery to a 151,000-square foot facility in the Harbor Gateway neighborhood of Los Angeles (which has a Torrance postal address).^[3] At the time, the new bakery was expected to be big enough for many years. However, by 2007, the company's bread had become so popular throughout the United States that it had already reached the limits of its manufacturing capacity, and the cost of shipping its bread products nationwide was becoming a problem.^[6]

In 2010, King's Hawaiian announced that it was planning to open a 111,000-square foot bakery and distribution center in Oakwood, Georgia, by fall 2011.^[7] In building a new bakery from the ground up, the company took advantage of the opportunity to heavily automate and computerize the new bakery's operations from start to finish.^[6] The manufacturing process from mixing raw ingredients to inserting baked bread into plastic bags is performed almost entirely by machines at the Georgia bakery. As of 2015, the most labor-intensive segment of the process which could not yet be automated was "casepacking", the process of manually inserting bagged bread into cardboard boxes for transport in bulk, because the fresh-baked bread is so soft and fragile.^[8]

Fast food restaurant chain Arby's seasonally sells sandwiches featuring King's Hawaiian buns. The sandwiches are the King's Hawaiian BLT and Roast Beef and Swiss (which includes Grey Poupon Honey Dijon mustard). There is also a seasonally-available King's Hawaiian Fish (which includes a slice of tomato and a slice of Market Cheddar, along with the usual lettuce and tartar sauce). In September 2014, a barbecue brisket sandwich was introduced on the King's Hawaiian buns. It is named "BBQ Brisket Sandwich" ^[9]

In 2016, King's launched a new line of BBQ Sauces consisting of four flavors; Big Island Lava, Smoked Bacon, Original Sweet Pineapple, and Kona Coffee.^[10]

By February 2018, King's Hawaiian had expanded its Georgia bakery from 100 employees to more than 650 employees with three production lines.^[11] By July 2019, approximately 75% of King's Hawaiian production was coming from the Georgia bakery.^[12]

In December 2023, King's Hawaiian disclosed that it was working on its first expansion into the Midwest. The company revealed that it was planning to spend almost $200 million to build a 300,000-square foot facility in Taylorsville, Indiana.^[13]

Marketing

In 1980, King's Hawaiian sponsored Ron Colson and Roland Leong in the National Hot Rod Association Number 5 Funny Car. Winning that season's NHRA Winston Finals in Ontario, California. ^[14]

In 2014, King's Hawaiian used now retired MLB player Shane Victorino to advertise their products, using the slogan "Go Pupule".^[15]

In 2016, King's Hawaiian entered a three-story-tall float representing the beauty of the Hawaiian Islands in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. The float included a volcano that erupted confetti and a stage for musical performers.^[16]

In 2018, King's Hawaiian released an 82-minute Halloween-themed animated film titled "The Legend of Hallowaiian" featuring the voices of Mark Hamill, Vanessa Williams, and Tia Carrere. The film was produced by Canadian animation studio Arcana Studio and King Hawaiian's production company Fresh Baked Films and distributed by SC Films International.^[17]

In 2021, King's Hawaiian announced a year-long marketing partnership with chef, restaurateur and television personality Guy Fieri.^[18]

In 2022, King’s Hawaiian entered a sponsorship deal with NASCAR Cup Series team RFK Racing to sponsor driver/co-owner Brad Keselowski in multiple races until the 2024 season.^[19] Beginning in 2025, they partnered with Denny Hamlin and Joe Gibbs Racing.^[20]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c Perry, Charles (April 3, 2002). "The King of Hawaiian Sweet Bread". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 17 November 2022.
^ ^a ^b ^c Elizabeth "Nani" Nihipali; Lessa Kanani Pelayo; Christian Hanz Lozada; Cheryl Villareal Roberts; Lorelie Santonil Olaes (14 May 2012). Hawaiians in Los Angeles. Arcadia Publishing. p. 49. ISBN 978-0-7385-9320-3. Retrieved 4 January 2013.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Espanol, Zenaida Serrano (6 June 2003). "King's Bakery founder Robert Taira, dead at 79". Honolulu Advertiser. Gannett Pacific Corporation. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
^ Laudan, Rachel (1996). The food of Paradise : exploring Hawaii's culinary heritage. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press. ISBN 978-0-8248-1778-7. Archived from the original on 2016-08-22. Retrieved 2020-02-17.
^ "King's Hawaiian Website".
^ ^a ^b Gorton, Laurie; Malovany, Dan (September 30, 2014). "Irresistible aloha spirit". Baking & Snack. Retrieved October 20, 2022.
^ Tobin, Rachel (8 September 2010). "King's Hawaiian to produce signature rolls in Hall County". Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Cox Media Group. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
^ Gorton, Laurie; Malovany, Dan (October 13, 2015). "King's Hawaiian seeks casepacking solutions". Baking & Snack. Retrieved October 20, 2022.
^ "Arby's® KING'S HAWAIIAN® Roast Beef Sandwiches – Developing Deliciousness". King'sHawaiian.com. Archived from the original on 2013-07-10. Retrieved 2019-09-10.
^ Shannon, Molly. "King's Hawaiian Just Stepped Into The BBQ Game With 4 New Sauces". Food Beast. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
^ Gill, Jeff (20 February 2018). "King's Hawaiian focusing more on adding products than production lines". The Gainesville Times. Metro Market Media. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
^ Podo, Kelsey (12 July 2019). "Meet three women who are breaking manufacturing stereotypes". The Gainesville Times. Metro Market Media. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
^ Munger, Lisa (December 18, 2023). "King's Hawaiian plans new plant in Indiana". BakingBusiness.com. Retrieved 27 January 2024.
^ Burgess, Phil (2021-03-26). "Remembering Ron Colson". [NHRA]. Retrieved 2023-06-09.
^ Rice, Katelyn (2014-04-04). "The Boston Red Sox "Go Pupule" for King's Hawaiian". GlobeNewsWire. Retrieved 2021-05-19.
^ Engle, Erika (2016-06-13). "King's Hawaiian bakes up Macy's float". Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
^ Wohl, Jessica (2018-10-22). "King's Hawaiian (yes, the dinner roll brand) releases a full-blown animated Halloween film". AdAge. Retrieved 2019-05-06.
^ "King's Hawaiian And Guy Fieri Join Forces To Take Sandwich Lovers To Flavortown". PR Newswire (Press release). Retrieved August 12, 2022.
^ "King's Hawaiian expected to depart RFK Racing". www.sportsbusinessjournal.com. December 5, 2024. Retrieved December 5, 2024.
^ Srigley, Joseph (2025-01-22). "King's Hawaiian Joins Joe Gibbs Racing in Multi-Year Deal". TobyChristie.com. Retrieved 2025-01-22.