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Truth in advertising is important to most people, but especially to Robert Galinsky. UPI reports that the resident of Yonkers, NY, has filed a class action lawsuit against King’s Hawaiian, a maker of Hawaiian sweet buns based in Torrance, California, which has led to Galinsky’s complaint. In his suit, Galinsky says that although the California location is on the back of the sandwich’s packaging, “Hilo, Hawaii” adorns the front, leading him to believe the bread was made in the state of Aloha. Galinsky adds in his complaint that King’s Hawaiian has filed its own lawsuits against other manufacturers to prevent them from using the word “Hawaiian Rolls” in their marketing materials, essentially making the company its primary target.
King’s Hawaiian “is the biggest seller of Hawaiian sandwiches and essentially invented this category of food,” Galinsky says in his suit. The company’s website states that it was founded in Hilo in the 1950s by the Hawaiian Robert Taira and was called Robert’s Bakery. When it expanded and moved to King Street in Honolulu, it was renamed King’s Bakery. But “Robert was determined to spread his Aloha Spirit all over the mainland,” the site notes, so in 1977 the company moved to a new facility in Torrance and renamed King’s Hawaiian Bakery, which is its current name. Galinsky says the company knew putting “Hilo” prominently on the front of the pack “would [mislead] consumers, ”his lawsuit alleges according to Top Class Actions. Hawaii News Now notes that complaints of this kind about the use of Hawaii-themed labels have been reported before, including at Kona Brewing and Hawaiian Host.