Part of the company's initiative was to replace cartons it was using made from cut trees with a more sustainable alternative. “Those trees were logged, transferred to the mill, cut down into boards, processed into pulp and shipped to large plants that produced paperboard,” Weeda says. “People used a lot of electricity, water and energy to process that. Plus, a lot of oxygen-producing trees were being removed from the forest. We figured there had to be a better way.”

Weeda found a company that produces 100-percent recycled board made from old cardboard that is actually repulped, repressed and remade into board. No trees are destroyed in the process.

King's Hawaiian partners with the SmartWay program of the Federal Department of Transportation that supports providers of transportation using modern, state-of-the-art, fuel efficient diesel engines. Part of the policy requires that diesel engines emit less, but also idle less.

Last year, the company performed a complete warehousing and line haul analysis that helped identify more favorable routes and cold storage to help make both inbound and outbound shipping more efficient, Weeda notes. The logistics company King's Hawaiian hired for the job also helped develop a routing tool for more efficient distribution.

The company has already seen a measurable impact from its efforts. Through extensive testing, the bakery has reduced the film gauge and, consequently, the volume of plastic resin used for its bread and roll bags by 122,035 lb. annually.

Fostering the aloha spirit

The “aloha spirit” is an actual part of Hawaii state law that encourages citizens and government officials to think and emote good feelings toward others. This “spirit” is manifested throughout the King's Hawaiian organization and the way it conducts business with its customers.

“Consumers want value today more than anything,” Weeda says. “What we want to do is go to market with our premium product and add value to the purchase experience.”

King's Hawaiian adds value in a number of ways. Its website is one of the top-viewed consumer packaging websites in the United States with recipes, product locator tools, product information and other value-added information, Weeda notes. An online sweepstakes reportedly garnered 1.2 million hits and its coupon redemption of 15 percent surpasses the typical coupon redemption of 0.5 percent associated with newspapers.

The company also helps its customers drive sales by providing menu ideas for in-store delis. “Obviously, we can't compete with meats and cheeses in the deli department, but we are probably the destination for sales as a branded product in that department,” Weeda says. “We drove at least 50 percent of the front of the counter displays for in-store delis.”

In addition, King's Hawaiian's sweet rolls are used for the chicken meal program in supermarkets throughout the country. Customers can purchase an eight-piece chicken, a side and a four-pack of rolls for about $7. The program is available with Kroger's, Publix, Dixie's and every major chain in just about every major market, Weeda notes.

The company reached its 27th consecutive year of sales growth, with an 18 percent increase over previous year's sales, an impressive number in a staggering economy. With a core product that was never designed to be a national product, King's Hawaiian seems to have spread the aloha spirit and taken the mainland by storm.

“What we have done basically is carve out a niche, not only in the deli department, which was the road I took more than 20 years ago because it was the path of least resistance, but throughout the country,” Weeda says. “It has always been about owning the sweet, indulgent, flavor profile of the core product that traces its roots back to its island heritage.”

King's Hawaiian Bakery West Inc.

Headquarters: Torrance, Calif.

Ownership: Privately owned by the Taira family

Web site: www.kingshawaiian.com

Plant size: 151,000 sq. ft.

Management: Mark Taira, C.E.O.; Shelby Weeda, president; Stan Shaffer, vice president, operations and Angela Davanzo, C.F.O.

Product lines: King's Hawaiian original sweet bread and honey wheat bread (16-oz. round loaf); Hawaiian sweet rolls, honey wheat and savory butter (4-pack and 12-pack); Hawaiian sweet snacker rolls,Hawaiian sweet sandwich rolls and Hawaiian sweet sliced bread

Marketing territory: In supermarkets nationwide, club stores, mass merchandisers, military worldwide, convenience stores and commercial foodservice

Production lines: Dividers for rolls and a divider for bread converges into one of two lines; packaging lines include one, 12-pack roll line plus a spare for peak volume; three, four-pack roll lines plus a spare for peak volume and two bread lines

Throughput: More than 6,000 lb. dough per hour

Sales: About $100 million

Number of Employees: About 148