 | |
| 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 |
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]
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]
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 tv personality Guy Fieri. [18]
In 2022, King’s Hawaiian entered a sponsorship deal with NASCAR team RFK Racing to sponsor driver/co-owner Brad Keselowski in races at Kansas Speedway in May, & Nashville Superspeedway in late June. They also sponsored him at Las Vegas Motor Speedway to get somebody to win $1,000,000. They also sponsored him at the 2023 Busch Light Clash at The Coliseum.
The cuisine of the American Midwest draws its culinary roots most significantly from the cuisines of Central, Northern and Eastern Europe, and Indigenous cuisine of the Americas, and is influenced by regionally and locally grown foodstuffs and cultural diversity.
Arby's is an American fast food sandwich restaurant chain with more than 3,300 restaurants. The flagship property of Inspire Brands, it ranked third in systemwide sales in the United States in the quick-service and fast-casual restaurant industries in 2012, behind Subway and Panera Bread. In October 2017, Food & Wine called Arby's "America's second largest sandwich chain ".
A po' boy is a sandwich originally from Louisiana. It traditionally consists of meat, which is usually roast beef, ham, or fried seafood such as shrimp, crawfish, fish, oysters, or crab. The meat is served in New Orleans French bread, known for its crisp crust and fluffy center.
Wonder Bread is an American brand of sliced bread. Established in Indianapolis, Indiana, in 1921, it was one of the first companies to sell sliced bread nationwide by 1930. The brand is currently owned by Flowers Foods in the United States.
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Flowers Foods, headquartered in Thomasville, Georgia, is a producer and marketer of packed bakery food. The company operates 47 bakeries producing bread, buns, rolls, snack cakes, pastries, and tortillas. Flowers Foods' products are sold regionally through a direct store delivery network that encompasses the East, South, Southwest, West, and the Northwest regions of the United States and are delivered nationwide to retailer's warehouses. It has made acquisitions of a number of bakeries and other food companies over the years, continuing through to the present day. As of February 2013, it had grown to be the "second-largest baking company in the United States".
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Barbecue is a tradition often considered a quintessential part of American culture, especially the Southern United States.
Robert Taira was the founder of King's Hawaiian bakery.
Bimbo Bakeries USA, Inc. is the American corporate arm of the Mexican multinational bakery product manufacturing company Grupo Bimbo. It is the largest bakery company in the United States. The subsidiary, headquartered in Horsham, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Philadelphia, owns many fresh bread and sweet baked goods brands in the United States, including Arnold, Levy's, Ball Park, Columbo, Francisco, Oroweat, Entenmann's, Sara Lee, and Thomas'. It is also a top advertising sponsor for many major soccer teams around the globe.
Roland Leong was an American drag racer from Honolulu, whose "Hawaiian" brand cars achieved many victories. He later went on to act as crew chief in Funny Car races.
Zylberschtein's is a Jewish deli and bakery in the Pinehurst neighborhood of northern Seattle, Washington, United States. The deli is named after owner Josh Grunig's great grandfather Morris Zylberschtein.
