Ep 158 Courtney Taira: Leading with Aloha - What Every Family Can Learn from King's Hawaiian

Speaker A: Hi, this is Jim Lally, Chairman and CEO of Enterprise bank and Trust Enterprise University.

Speaker B: Is, uh, our one of a kind,

Speaker A: no cost business skill development program for business owners and their teams. Learn more@enterprisebank.com Euro I've spent the better part of my career working with family owned companies. Even the license plate on my truck has a heart for my last name, the number four and fam biz. Because I just have a passion for working with family businesses. Having worked in three or four over the years and now working with hundreds in the last 30 years. I just love working with family businesses, seeing what makes them tick. I joked a little bit about how I started at age 5 in the trash hauling business. You weren't joking when you said you probably started younger than that. So let's go back. What was your first start in family business?

Speaker B: I mean, I always tell people it's however old I am, which is old and nine months. So I consider, I consider womb time also part of the family business because my mother worked in the business and was eating all the product and helping work every day. So from the moment I was conceived, I was in the factory.

Speaker A: So you've been eating King's Hawaiian rolls for those years plus nine?

Speaker B: Yes. So very, very long time.

Speaker A: What point did you know this was what you were gonna do?

Speaker B: Oh, I'm, I was still trying to get out recently. So you'll let me know when that happens. I'm not that old. You know, I went to business school and I graduated in 2018 from UCLA and at that point I was trying to get out of the family business for a little bit actually. And so I had, you know, the president, uh, at the time at Kings Hawaiian really wanted me to come back for a year and like, fix some stuff for him. So I said, okay, great, I'll do it for one year. And then I was trying to move to Argentina, uh, to get out of the family business for at least a year or two. And that's when Covid hit 10 days before my move. And then I kind of got pushed further into the family business. And now I've just said forget it.

Speaker A: So we're gonna blame you for Covid, huh?

Speaker B: Yes.

Speaker A: You wanna make.

Speaker B: My parents are like, the best thing about COVID is I didn't move. And I'm like, the best thing for you guys, not me.

Speaker A: I know from getting to know you over the years, you do definitely have a traveler's heart.

Speaker B: Yep.

Speaker A: So talk about the international exposure that Kings has or IfG all over the

Speaker B: world, you know, for Today, Kings, like our other companies, Grillos, Killer Brownie, they're all in the US But Kings Hawaiian is probably in about a little bit over 20 countries now today. So trying to get it out and, uh, you know, sort of share the aloha with the world.

Speaker A: There you go. You're third generation, right?

Speaker B: I'm G3. Yes.

Speaker A: Talk about Grandpa.

Speaker B: Uh, Grandpa started the business in 1950. Anyone been to Hilo? Yep. So if you've been there, you know how incredibly small it is. And so, uh, every time I go to Hilo, I really try to imagine how he could have built a billion dollar business out of this really incredibly small town in this small island that was not even a state at the time. And so, you know, very humble beginnings, and he was really the entrepreneur. So we've been in business 76 years this year.

Speaker A: Wow, that's fantastic. What, what lessons stick out to you about running the business that you learned from him?

Speaker B: You know, one of them is, you can't please everybody. So, you know, he. We have restaurants. And so, uh, growing up, I spent a lot of time in the restaurants. And in the restaurants, you have a lot of customers. Right. Some are happy, some aren't. And so he's always just telling me, like, you can. You can't please everybody. So I, um, think I learned that from him. I think he was an extremely approachable person. And so whether you were the dishwasher, whether you were, uh, the CEO of a bank, he didn't care. And he would talk to everybody. So today, we really try to still live those values of treating everybody with dignity, no matter who they are.

Speaker A: Question that I like to ask a lot of successors in business is you obviously want to honor his legacy.

Speaker B: Yep.

Speaker A: But you want to leave one of your own as well as a leader. How do you marry those two without just being a replica of, uh, Grandpa or of dad and put your own stamp on the business as well?

Speaker B: I mean, I think what we've done really well is we've really defined, like, our three core values for Kings Wine and now, you know, through IfG, and we just added a fourth. And so through those four values, they're excellence, dignity, telling it like it is in a way that can be heard, and courage based off of the family values. Those are what we really want to make sure permeate through the next generations and throughout our businesses. Everything else is kind of like our own flavor. So we, uh, like to give people the space and creativity to be able to do that. So Kings Hawaiian has its own, you know, Feel. Grillo's clearly is a very different feel, and so the different brands kind of have that space to be their own personality.

Speaker A: You guys know what Grillo is?

Speaker B: Pickle people. Yeah. So we are, uh, a, uh, refrigerated pickle. So

Speaker A: sorry that we didn't have any grillless pickles for the pickle lovers in

Speaker B: the room, but much harder to bring that.

Speaker A: Yeah, harder to bring those in.

Speaker B: You can find it in Walmart, Costco. Yeah.

Speaker A: How many associates do you have overall, worldwide?

Speaker B: Uh, we have close to a couple thousand.

Speaker A: Now, how do you keep that culture of those four values in such a big company?

Speaker B: Um, it's something we talk about constantly. It's something that we expect of all of our leaders to live out. It's something that we are, you know, when we coach employees, we coach based on the values of, like, this is not meeting our value of excellence. And here's why. We hire, and we talk a lot about value. So we kind of say, like, we'll hire you based on kind of, like, what you can do, your skills, but you will definitely 100% be fired if you are not kind of fitting our values.

Speaker A: Is there a leader? I'm kind of jumping all over the place, and I definitely want you guys to ask questions as well. If we were sitting doing this podcast and you weren't here, I'd be in the comfort of my office at home, and you'd be in the comfort of somewhere else, not here. We're all here, and we're in front of 80 people. Is there a leader that you think back about that you admire the most, and what is it about that person that you admire?

Speaker B: I think my dad, he still continues to coach and mentor and always is trying to give me as much insight as he possibly can while he has, you know, he always says, like, learn from me and my mistakes. I have done decades more of, you know, things than you have, like, learn from me. So, um, he's somebody that I don't always listen to. My mom says, you're so rude. You don't listen to your dad. But, you know, I take. You know, I do listen. I just may not follow.

Speaker A: That's good.

Speaker B: I like that, uh, really good advice he gives. And sometimes what I tell him is like, I know you said this to me, but it sounds better coming from our president. So I heard what he said, and I'm gonna do it. So he always gives really good advice.

Speaker A: Do you call him dad or do you call him by his first name at work?

Speaker B: Dad?

Speaker A: Yeah.

Speaker B: Yeah. I mean, we grew up in the family business, so at 5, I wouldn't be going around saying Mark and Leetric. And, you know, it was all my family. So mom, dad, grandma, grandpa, auntie, uncle. So it's so much that way that my staff refer to my parents and my aunties and uncles as auntie and uncle. And, you know, so everybody's auntie and uncle. Basically, everybody is auntie and uncle. So, yeah, it's very family feel.

Speaker A: Does business stay at work and family stay at family, or is there a

Speaker B: lot of all together?

Speaker A: All together, yep. Do you. Do you like that?

Speaker B: Um, you know, it's funny because I was just having a conversation with G2 earlier, and they were saying, like, what was great is we all went to work, but we all came together for dinner at night, but there was no business talk allowed. We only were a family. And, like, everybody left everything at work, where we grew up, where there was business and family, and we talk about it. We talk about on vacation. Like, it's just, you know, there's no fighting ever. So that's why it's never a big deal. It's all one big thing.

Speaker A: When you are, uh, out in the public and telling people where you work and what you do, what are you most proud of about your brand?

Speaker B: Uh, you know, I think for King's Hawaiian specifically, everybody has a story. So it's like, oh, let me tell you about my favorite recipe, or how this is my grandmother's bread, or, like, you know, childhood memory of something. So everybody has an incredible story, and, like, it makes us feel like we are part of their family and that they are part of our family. So I really love that. And then again, to think, like, my grandfather created this recipe in Hilo, which is, like, such an incredibly small town, and that people in Japan are eating it, people in Colombia are eating it. So I always think, like, as I travel the world and see people eating our bread, it's, like, amazing to me to think, like, how he started and where we are today. And then for pickles, if any of you have the pickles, it's like, there. I've never seen a single person with a King's Hawaiian tattoo, but there are many, many grillo samsan tattoos on people's bodies.

Speaker A: So I'm showing off the tattoo on my. No, I'm just kidding.

Speaker B: So, you know, I think, like, the passion that people have for that brand is, like, so fun that you put it on your body.

Speaker A: So, yeah, I will bet that there are a lot of people out there with the King's Hawaiian tattoo.

Speaker B: There's definitely two now, because in Japan, they went got tattoos and came back and showed us. So I. I know that there are two.

Speaker A: Nice. Why pickles were asked.

Speaker B: So, you know, in terms of, like, why we got into things outside of King's Wine, I would say, like, the family, you know, it's important for us to diversify and everything goes into our business. And so we wanted something outside of bread. And then we also, as Kingswine is so large today, wanted a way for our employees to develop. And so it's like, you know, you have a cmo. It's like, we have great cmo. He's been there forever. And so, like, how does the next person continue to move? Well, we promoted the next person down into the CMO role of Grillos. And so we wanted to be able to provide the opportunity for growth for employees. And then for Pickles specifically, uh, we thought it was a really, you know, King's Hawaiian. The fans are so extremely passionate. We found that Grillos, the fans were clearly, they tattooed on their body also extremely passionate. And, you know, the holding company is now called Irresistible Foods Group. So we feel like King's Wine is an irresistible product. We thought Grills was an irresistible product, and so we just thought it had irresistible margins, irresistible fan base, and it was an irresistible product. So, uh, that was our first acquisition or our second, actually.

Speaker A: One by one, I could see lunch meats m and everything else, and eventually, you just got the sandwich right.

Speaker B: I know.

Speaker A: So 76 years ago, the organization was formed. The rolls we're going to be eating or have been eating tonight, how close to that recipe is what we have today?

Speaker B: It's pretty much the same. Like, the family's been really. The quality is, like, the most important, and so the recipe is kind of unchanged from the original. We've had to change things slightly due to regulations and whatnot. Right. We're talking about 1950, so it really is pretty much the same. And now it's just in a different form and roll. So, um, it's something we protect. Really crazy, you know, like, we're really crazy about quality control. We're really crazy about, like, we do whatever it takes for the best product possible. So if you come through our factories, which are close to the public, but if you come through them and you see us, like, pulling a lot of stuff, it's like most manufacturing companies would say, like, oh, this is good enough. Like, for us, it's like, unless it's perfect. If we can tell a difference, if the family can tell a difference. We're pulling it. So it doesn't matter whether the consumer can tell or not. The family can tell. It's different. And we do not find that acceptable for customers.

Speaker A: That's why people are wild about the brand and tattooing it on themselves, Right? Absolutely.

Speaker B: So now we're doing the same with grills.

Speaker A: Yeah, there you go. Now, grills, right? What's a day in the life and what keeps you up for if it didn't get picked up by the camera?

Speaker B: Day in the life for me this morning I was interviewing all my family and my grandmother. And so as a way to try to preserve for the next generation what it was important to my grandmother. What are the values that are important, you know, what do G1, G2 want to pass on to G3, G4, G5. And so that's what I was doing. Tomorrow I'm in tastings for mochi donuts. I have specials for the summer. I have calls with, um, my restaurant in the East Coast. And then, uh, you know, I can do anything from travel for a board meeting or a sales meeting. So it's a lot of family stuff mixed in with ifg, the, you know, the kind of overarching company, uh, we have. It's Kings Hawaiian. It's my actual job, which is the restaurant group. And then I travel for Grillo's and, um, some of our other opcos, like Killer Brownie. So. And then Kings Hawaiian itself is so massive that, like, you know, we do influencer events and we are in NASCAR and, you know, they're shooting Dodger Stadium. Dodger Stadium. So just extremely busy Monday, they reminded me that we are doing a Taste of Aloha event for our food service partners. And so every day is different. I travel a lot. Thing that keeps me up, me specifically, my job is the restaurant group. And so I have several hundred employees and I'm open to the public. And so just having a really live environment is what I love and thrive in so much. But it also means that, like, there could be a fire, like an employee could pass out guests, ah, can come in and trip and fall. So I'm always worried about, um, protecting the family from things that happen because we're King Sawai and because someone comes into one of our restaurants. So I'm always worried about that and worried about being the head of that and people coming after the family because I'm in there.

Speaker A: A lot of us have ideas of forming restaurants. I know I've always kicked the idea around. Probably never going to do it.

Speaker B: I don't recommend it.

Speaker A: I was going to say that's where, um, that's actually where I was going to go with the question. Although you were gracious enough, my good buddy Hector Garcia from NBN Creative, who you'll see up here. Hector and I went up and met with you at your, one of your restaurants last year. And she didn't just like, you know, hey, what's the best thing on the menu? And we ordered the loco moco or we ordered the burger or what have you. She said, let's just bring it all out. So we had a food tasting for sure. We tried, uh, everything, all the desserts. It was incredible. Yeah. Talk about the restaurant. What you, what do you love about. I know you just jokingly and sort of seriously said you don't recommend it, but you're doing it, you're going to keep doing it. So obviously you love it. What is it that you love about it?

Speaker B: This is what I tell people. I have my MBA and I went to culinary school. And the math does not math in restaurants. So I really, you know, I'm in it because I love it. And what I always tell people, it's like before we had dinner rolls and before we were famous for bread, we were actually a retail bakery store. So my grandfather, after World War II usage GI Bill, went to Chicago, a baking school, came back and opened up a actual retail bakery. So he did wedding cakes and, you know, pastries, and he was really famous for his wedding cakes and, um, his chiffon cake. And, you know, that was again, before the bread. And so we've been in that bakery space for a while, uh, from 1950, we got into restaurants. Funny story, or not so funny, but, um, people always want to know, like, why are you in restaurants? Well, I will tell you why. My great grandmother was probably in her mid-90s, and again, this being a really big family business, would go to work every day and then would cook breakfast, lunch and dinner for the whole family because the whole family was working. Everybody had to work. She was a matriarch. And so my grandfather, when she was finally like in her mid, late 90s, was like, look, you either come to work all day or you cook. It was like one or the other. Can't do both. And so she said that she would, uh, continue to work. And so my grandfather was like, great, I'll hire a cook. And he was like, well, if I'm going to hire a cook to cook for the family, I'm going to open up, you know, like 10 spots on a counter and open a coffee shop. So that's really how we got into restaurants. We got into restaurants as a coffee shop on King Street. That's how we got the name Kings Hawaiian. It's off of King street in Hawaii. And when we moved to the mainland and in the 70s, late 70s, we have a manufacturing facility. That's why I said it's closed to the public. So the family is so used to being in the public and in the community and engaging with customers. And it's like you go from that and being able to talk to all the doctors and businessmen and family and, you know, inviting all your friends over for lunch or dinner to having a closed food facility. So we opened up our restaurant, the one that you were at, in 1988, as a way to be a part of the community. So, you know, my goal in the restaurant, at least that particular restaurant, the ones in California are not to make money but to, uh, just be a part of the community. It's my grandmother's favorite restaurant, which every time I call her I'm like, let's have dinner. And she's like, let's eat at the restaurant. I'm like, not even questioning where you're going, just come join me. Um, it's my dad's favorite restaurant, so you can always see him. He's the CEO of Kings Wine, so he comes in every weekend and has sports, Spam and rice, so you can come in. And the restaurant is his retirement plan when he ever actually retires. So it's just something that the family really loves. Uh, during the holidays, Thanksgiving, you will see every family member in there working, including my grandmother. So it's just something that they really love and they love being part of the community and so that's why we still do it.

Speaker A: I've learned that there are three brands. I was just telling someone this the other day. Three brands that if you're affiliated with or associated with and you show up with that brand, they don't. If they don't like you, they now like you. Kings Hawaiian in n out in Porto's, all three family businesses, all three that we've had on the podcast. You're now third. So thank you for joining us for this. Um, yeah, you just can't go wrong. Highly recommend everybody have that experience. Go there, tell us where it is.

Speaker B: It's in Torrance, where King Swine is headquartered. And ifg right, Hector.

Speaker A: Hector's gone everywhere, but he keeps going back there. Let's talk about innovation. 76 year old business, food industry, the Roles are similar to what, like you said, the original recipe. But I know innovation's a huge part of your business.

Speaker B: So for Kingston Wine, we've really had one main product, and innovation for us was like, oh, we have savory butter and honey wheat, which isn't real innovation, um, in our opinion. So the first big one we had was actually our pretzel bites. Anyone have pretzel bites?

Speaker A: So good. They sent me home with some that day. They didn't make it home.

Speaker B: Just so, you know, attempt at, like, really innovation in a really big way. And so, um, that was, you know, we have pretzel bites. Uh, well, we just launched. I think maybe it might be this week or last week. We did a really fun collab with the Minions. And so we have, like, a banana sugar minion. Uh, it's banana sugar packet. You dump it in our pretzel bite tub, you close it, you shake it, and you eat it. And so, uh, at Kingswine, we're really looking at innovation and really pushing the team really hard to innovate. And so it was an idea that came out of a call, I think, with Universal. And, uh, I think the chefs had maybe a week to figure it out, get it approved, and, like, it's on shelves now. So, um, that, I think UBE rolls. Anyone try our UBE rolls? Yeah, those are really, really, really limited. They broke our website twice. We sold. Sold out in about two minutes. And so they were selling on eBay for $100.

Speaker A: So, yeah, like, Savannah Bananas tickets.

Speaker B: When my grandmother was like, oh, I'll take an extra roll, I was like, no, you can, like, you can only get one roll today. I was like, that's a $10 roll. Don't touch that. So, um, again, that was another idea that our CMO at the time had. He called the chefs, and I think a couple days later they had a sample, and we got it in and worked with Lilo and Stitch for their release of the movie. And so we had a Lilo and Stitch collaboration. So, uh, pushing hard for innovation at Kings Hawaiian. I think Grillos does a much better job at it. Killer Brownie does a much better job at it. So it's something as Kings Hawaiian so much bigger that we're really pushing hard for them to be really fast and nimble.

Speaker A: Can you talk about any kind of. Without getting too personal, but when you think back about challenges that you've had it yourself in the business, expand any way you'd like. But how did you get through it, and who was there with you? To help you get through that, I

Speaker B: would say a challenge I currently have is I opened up a restaurant in Atlanta in the middle of what I would consider to be nowhere. You know, it's in a town, and when I mean town, it's like, even the Pizza Hut's not good there. So that's kind of what we're dealing with. And, you know, out here, the restaurants do extremely well. You know, during Thanksgiving for bake, the bakery sells an item every nine seconds. And so, like, really, really popular. Has a lot of loyalty. Everyone comes in, they love the food. And here we are in the middle of nowhere in Georgia, in a place where they can't say huli or Loco Moco. Never been to Hawaii and trying to, you know, put up this, like, amazing Hawaii concept in a place that knows grilled chicken and fried chicken. And so just had a whole team and kind of had to work through, kind of reorgang the team and changing out a lot of the people and figuring out, like, you know, who really is our customer, what is the right way to market to them, and, uh, what's the right menu for them. And so I'm kind of, like, right in the middle of that transition. And so always my dad is the most helpful as he's had to open up all the other restaurants and has a lot of insight into, like, you probably should get a consultant for this. You probably should get help here and, like, help me figure out how to transition out, um, the team when it wasn't working. So, yeah, anyone out in the middle of nowhere, please come visit me in Georgia. It's not in the middle of nowhere. It's 10 minutes away from three of our factories. It's about 45 minutes. 45 minutes, uh, about an hour outside of Atlanta. So, uh, we have more than half of our employees now are actually in Georgia because we have three bakeries next, big bakeries on, like, one campus. And so put it close to that. So the reason why we're in Atlanta is that's where we could find the closest people to, like, who understand Aloha spirit. So we. When my dad built our first factory in 2010 out in Georgia, he was looking for something east of the Mississippi because of all the transport, uh, costs. So we're paying a lot to transport product from California all the way to the East Coast. So he was looking at a couple states, and he found that it was always about the workforce and the culture. And so he found that the culture of the Southern hospitality was the most similar to Aloha spirit. And that's how we ended up in Georgia, because we just felt like that gives us such a start in terms of, like, culture and trying to make sure that culture stays really strong in the company.

Speaker A: Great. Thank you.

Speaker B: Yep. What do you see for the future of Kings Hawaiian? You know, for Kings Hawaiian? Um, I hope a lot more innovation. I hope a lot more international. So right now we're pretty much in Central South America. Just launched in Japan last year, which was, like, really significant for the family since that were from Japan and hope it, you know, now we're working in London, Germany, things like that. So I think different product lines. Uh, we are testing cakes, so I really hope cakes make it out into the grocery stores. We've been testing for a couple years now. Paradise, uh, Cake M. I hope other products outside of bread too. But, you know, grandma says no alcohol, so. Or my dad said no alcohol work when grandma is still alive. So she says 97 and going strong.

Speaker A: So for now, right, you talk about your dad a little bit. I see more hands. And we'll go in one sec. You talk about your dad. Obviously you're close to him. He's been there for your challenges. What is your hope as his daughter and your hope as the next gen following him? Your hope for him?

Speaker B: Yeah, uh, my hope for him is that he. Well, I know what he wants, and he wants, you know, us to be able to transition successfully to the next generation and, like, really understand, like, why we have a business and how to, you know, keep the value strong and how to lead the organization. So as my brothers and I and my cousins are trying to work through that, like, I think it's very clear what we need to do. And, you know, he knows what he wants. We. I think we know what he wants. And so, um, I think hopefully if we can do that and make him proud, that's, you know, kind of what we want. And what I hope for him is that he just doesn't have to work so much. He works. You know, the thing I always tell him, I'm like, I know the one person I cannot complain to about working so much as you, but I have nobody else to complain to, so you are going to have to listen to me for one time. So, um, you know, he works a lot, and, like, I work a lot, and the family works a lot. And, um, it's always to make it best so that the family can continue and to thrive. And, um, it's just a lot. So hopefully we can set it up right and get him some time off. So we can go fishing and work at the restaurant, which is what he wants.

Speaker A: So we did the restaurant more than just on weekends.

Speaker B: Yep.

Speaker A: What's generation four look like for the business?

Speaker B: Uh, generation four, the oldest is maybe five. So.

Speaker A: But working hard right now, obviously trying

Speaker B: to figure out all this governance and how to really set us up for success as the next generation's kind of getting going now for G4, the gluten free conversation.

Speaker A: If the camera didn't pick it up.

Speaker B: Yeah. So gluten free everybody wants. And I'm like, you know, we're famous for being sweet and soft and fluffy. Right.

Speaker A: I don't go to Krispy Kreme for gluten free donuts. Right.

Speaker B: And so King's Wine is like, that's what we're known for. So that's a core like characteristic of who we are. So it won't be a King's Hawaiian thing, but what my dad has been working on for the past couple years is a rice cracker which is gluten free in honor of my great, who was one of our master bakers. So it's a, it's called Uncle Toki because that was his name and it's a rice cracker and gluten free. And, um, we're just probably gonna get into Costco, Louisiana in October or something, so you might see it in there. But, uh, it is gluten free. And that's kind of how I would say we're addressing it through that and through Grillos, which is, uh, you know, really healthy and gluten free product. Yeah. Kings of Wine is always going to stay fluffy.

Speaker A: I like it. Good to know. Good to know. Remember to get your Kings of Wine out. Has social media had an influence on the business much at all?

Speaker B: I would say not necessarily for demand of Kings of Wine, like, like internationally, like in the U.S. like, our social pages are insane and really crazy and like, you know, we have so many influencers and people using our product just organically. Some of them are paid. And so I would say for the US market, we have an amazing marketing team who cultivates that, you know, and works on that. Um, where I have seen things go viral actually is Grillos. And so where I've seen a difference, it's an unpaid post from this lady who, you know, I think we may have sent her one coupon for like a free jar of grillos and she made this dip and it was called the, she called it the viral Grillos pickle dip. And I could see because we were running out of pickles in the store. This was from one video on social media. And so again unpaid. And it just over the past half a year has just gotten so many millions of views. And so that's really where the last time I saw something from social media really have a real impact to our bottom line.

Speaker A: Someone write that down. I want to remember to go to that site, find that dip and try that. Right, that sounds really good. Shifting gears just a little bit. When I talk to business leaders and large businesses like Kings and others, and even small businesses get asked all the time. Case in point, I've been asking you for a long time to come and speak with us. Where do you choose as an organization to say yes and why?

Speaker B: Typically we say no. My dad will always say no. Uh, for, you know, last year we did, my dad and I did an interview with the Today show. It required months and months of our CMO asking my dad and it finally, it was kind of like American people assume that we're a big corporation and this is becoming a problem. And that's where my dad was like, okay, like we need to remind people that like this is a family business and there's a real family working behind this. It's not some just corporation. So things like this, especially family business stuff, we typically don't go out and don't share anything. Just we're just very private. The family is very private. Um, it's very Hawaii style.

Speaker A: So yeah, I guess I should say thank you. Huh. Huh. You chose to be with us tonight. I, I, I do really appreciate it and I try not to pester you too much. So it was only a few. I didn't have to talk to the cmo, which is good. So attorneys and everybody else, but no cm. No, I'm kidding. What about as far as giving? There's a lot of non profits out there. I'm on three nonprofit boards where it's probably 100 nonprofits represented by those of us in this room where we tend to serve in the community. A lot of nonprofit leaders here tonight. How do you. Are there certain causes or organizations that are more near and dear to the family where you will tend to give?

Speaker B: Yeah. So for the family, being from Hawaii, my grandfather was always a big believer and remember where you came from and remember who helped you out. And so he was a big supporter of go4broke, uh, which was something that a lot of my family was a part of. Serving in World War II. Being Japanese, um, was an interesting thing and a big supporter of janm, which is the Japanese American National Museum. Again, back to, um, a lot of family being in concentration camps and just trying to make sure that it's not repeated. And so to make sure that we have museums and information like that, uh, we support a lot for Hawaii. So, uh, the culinary schools and have spent a lot of time and money trying to help all the culinary schools and uh, set them up for success, whether it's building out, uh, full kitchens for them or helping pay for finding new staff, uh, supporting different competitions. And uh, the family does a lot locally. And so we have a lot of, we have a very family thriving philanthropy committee that plans a ton of events for the family locally. So whether it's a canoe paddling for like blind children or animals or environment or a lot of supporting Japanese American community events, uh, Okinawan. We're Okinawan, so Okinawan Association. So a lot of different things, like a lot of interest for the family.

Speaker A: Talk about your favorite baseball player right now. Speaking of. Yeah, we talk about this all the time.

Speaker B: I mean clearly. Shohei Ohtani.

Speaker A: Exactly. Right? Yeah. There you go.

Speaker B: I know I'm in Orange county, but he used to be here. But yes, she encouraged me to wear

Speaker A: my Dodger aloha shirt and I don't have one that's that nice. My friend Tiffany over here, on the other hand, we'll have to get a picture of you and put it up on the site. So she's got the Dodger gear.

Speaker B: Yeah. So we have a three year contract with Dodgers to do their aloha shirts. So we did year one last year. Year two, we'll see what it looks like this year and next year.

Speaker A: And you're serving your roles in Dodger Stadium too.

Speaker B: Yeah. So we had two grills in Dodgers, um, one on the main floor and then one on the third level. So we closed the main floor one, but the third level is still there. And then we still work with Dodgers on different things.

Speaker A: I've got a few more questions. Collaborations with other restaurants, potentially.

Speaker B: I mean, Kenshiro is a dear friend of mine. So like when I use his products in our restaurants just to support him. Um, and obviously we talk a lot. A lot. So, um, when it comes to restaurants like Kings, Hawaiian does support a lot of restaurants. So Hawaiian Bros will collaborate and have our dinner roll in there. So they have a slider in there. Ono Hawaiian. They reached out to us to try to do a brownie or a dessert for them. So we, uh, do actually work a lot together. And then, you know, for uh, Hawaii specific, like CPG companies, I would Say we are probably the largest company to ever come out of Hawaii and make it on the mainland in a big CPG way. So my dad is a longtime supporter of Mana up, which is a venture and a fund out of Hawaii. And they uh, have different cohorts of CPG companies that are trying to do exactly what we did, grow from Hawaii and make it to the mainland. So we send out our executives out there to coach and to uh, talk and then uh, we also help fund.

Speaker A: So you've joked or not joked about at some point in time trying to make an exodus from the family business. You're stuck. Didn't happen. You're not stuck. What would you be doing if King's Hawaiian wasn't a thing and you were doing something else? What would you be doing?

Speaker B: I always thought I'd m be really amazing at selling really high end homes and my dad always tells me you still can.

Speaker A: That's right.

Speaker B: And I probably would make so much more money than I do. So yeah, something like that.

Speaker A: Stock them with Kings Hawaiian rules and you probably get more people to come to your Saturday showings at the home. So how do you captivate that international audience when you're there for the first time?

Speaker B: Yeah, so I can talk about Japan because we're actually going through it right now. We've been in there in a really. We launched officially in November so we haven't been there even a year. But uh, this past weekend my brother was in Japan and doing this thing called Aloha Tokyo. And so we know in Japan people love Hawaii and everything Hawaii. So we really lean in heavy into that and we really said we know Hawaii, we know Japan loves premium product and feel. So when they were sampling our product they felt like it was cheap bag so we had to change the bag and we had to really make it look Hawaii feel and like really amp that up. And so we uh, really try to be good about understanding the local market and like leaning into that. In South America they're familiar with like, what is it called? Like sweet bread. And so things that's similar to that sweet bread. And that's how we sort of again use a lot of influencers to kind of start recipe developing and like using it. And so that's how we kind of got into a lot of the South American countries.

Speaker A: Are there any really cool stories of celebrities or others that you've heard of that either been into the restaurant or you know, in and out? We always see the Oscar winners going and getting their double double after they just won their Trophy any. Anything come up for you when you think about that?

Speaker B: I mean, so. God, this is when we were in business school. So I think in 2017, I started getting, like, a ton of. My phone was going off and it was like 11 o' clock at night, and it was, like, beeping and flashing and I was like, what is happening? And Kylie Jenner, who's a Kardashian or whatever, you know, Kardashian family, was on her way, I think, from the Oscars, and was, like, putting the bread all over her body. And she was not a tattoo, but at least the bread clearly, like, high out of her mind, but, like, was eating it and talking about it and like. Like, literally putting it on her body. And, like, everybody thought we paid for it, but it's like, we could never afford that.

Speaker A: Right?

Speaker B: So, like, you know, I think, like, that was a really big one that went everywhere. The Rock posted our roles once and, like, that went everywhere. And I would say, in terms of, like, having people come in, um, I don't know if you're familiar with Dax shepherd, but his wife is Kristen Bell. And so for one of his sobriety birthdays, you know, she can. He can get whatever he wants, but he really wanted to come into the King's Wine Factory, and so we opened it up for him. And I have never, ever in my life seen one. One single person eat more dinner rolls than I saw Dax eat. Cause I think he probably come to my house. I really think he ate, like, close to. He definitely ate over 12 rolls, so they're fresh out of the line. But, like, he ate so many rolls and then went upstairs and she catered a whole lunch for him with his favorite barbecue with our rolls and then continued to eat more bread. So I was amazed at how one man can eat that much. I mean, we are really, really mindful of, like, who we put in our commercials. So we've had, like, Guy Fieri, Peyton Manning, Eli Manning, and, like, we really vet them to make sure that there's going to be no crazy scandal like the Subway stuff. Because. Because we are a family brand and they do represent us no matter when the contract ends. So when it comes to those big ones, we really do look at that. Influencers can do whatever they want. Right? So, uh, the paid ones we've again vet. And so I would say there's definitely been times where, like, I've watched. I watch a lot of TikTok. And so there was, uh, Shannon Sharp has, like, a really, you know, amazing podcast with Ocho. Not Ochocinko but, um, I can't. I can see his face. But. And he talks about our bread. And I was like. So I sent it to the King Swine team. I was like, oh, my God. Like, I love this. It's amazing. Let's send something. And they were like. Like, we did a background check. And, like, he had had some, like, sexual stuff come up, like, recently. So then they're like, if you want, we can, but we really don't recommend it. So, like, they're really good about making sure that, like, if we're going to do anything, like, it protects the brand because we are a family brand. So I'll give one more example. Um, we did. I think this is 20. And I filmed Celebrity Apprentice. And so it was me and my boss at the time. And we went out, and my boss, he, uh, who I love dearly. He's like, super Mormon. And, like, we're a very family business. And so he. We went out there and we told the contestants, like, the celebrities, like, we are a family brand. We are very serious about this. Do not. If you. If you question anything, don't do it. Like, he was like, him more than me. I'm more like, go for it. But he was like, don't do any. If you have. If you think of anything, don't even do it. So what does Kenya Moore from the Real Housewives of Atlanta do? Everyone loves King Swine Buns and put like, a baby going like this to a lady's butt. And so she was definitely fired at it.

Speaker A: So.

Speaker B: So, you know, there's things like that that we can't control, even though we try to. But, yeah, we just control what we. What our narrative. And we make sure that we try to make sure everyone knows it's a family brand and family friendly.

Speaker A: Any big surprises when Covid was just

Speaker B: starting, um, my dad and our. At the time, he was Kingspan president. Today, he's The President of IfG sat and with a few big food manufacturing company around the company or around the country, got on a call and decided, like, we are going to stay open because we need to be able to provide food for America. And so from that moment, we stayed open and continued to provide bread. And so during COVID we were one of the only breads you could actually find in the stores. And so we knew that our sales went way up because we were one of the only bread products you can get. And so we thought after Covid, we would see a drop, but we actually saw an increase even though we raised our Price and Covid was over. Somehow. We continue to grow. So I think that was super exciting for us to see. And I. I think sometimes it's like we spent millions of dollars to protect our employees and to do, you know, good stuff by keeping the restaurant open and, you know, discounting, uh, a lot of product for all the first line people. And so I think sometimes you do a lot of good into the universe. And so things like that happen. We have no way to explain it. Like, we increased our price. Covid ended, and there was a lot of variety. And more people continue to join the brand.

Speaker A: No. I could tell story after story, and one of the guys is in the room. Tam from an advanced beauty college. Covid hit. And the first thing Tam started doing was, okay, how can we give away these protective equipment that we have? And wing lamb from Wahoos. We have all this food. What can we do? And everybody I know, Tam, you would tell the story that business just took off after that. Right? All of these companies just blossomed like you guys did as well. So thank you for that. How has AI impacted what you do?

Speaker B: I wouldn't say it's impacted our business. We're trying to use it as best we can to make all of our employees more efficient and upscale. Uh, so, like, we have teams. That's one of the things one of my brothers is working on is, like, how to bring in AI and technology into the function of finance. And then he'll move into the next. Into another department once he's done with that. So it's something like we're really interested in and, like, trying to figure out how to best use it in house.

Speaker A: I don't think we have any family businesses in here that are quite as big as Kings Hawaiian. But I know that there are some in here that have aspirations for growth. Some are very happy where they are. Obviously, a lot of us are right where we'd like to be. What wisdom or advice would you pass along to the family businesses that are here or that might watch this video later? Anything come to mind at all about wisdom you've learned or wisdom if other family businesses do come to you? Because I know they do, because I've been with you when that's happened up in Santa Barbara and other places where I've seen that happen?

Speaker B: I mean, when it comes to growth, I would say growth is, um, something that was very important for my grandfather. Like, he was really an entrepreneur and really passionate about growth. And so from Hilo, that's why he was like, yep, I'm Gonna move the family to Oahu. From Oahu. He was like, yep, I'm gonna move the family to California and go all the mainland. And then he knew the product could go international. And unfortunately he passed away before it did go international. But I think he always was about growth. So for us, growth is sort of part of our DNA and something that we talk about a lot. And that's why we talk a lot about innovation. And so good or bad, that's just a, uh, core piece to who we are.

Speaker A: As we start to wrap up, talking a little bit about your personal legacy. When you're done and you're off traveling and no longer in the day to day, what footprint do you hope you've left on the business?

Speaker B: I today sit and lead an organization that has like several hundred employees. And so every day, kind of to your point of like, what keeps me up and what do I think about? It's like, I really try to make sure that, like, the family values are alive and well within all the employees and that they feel cared for and that they feel empowered and engaged at work and they're happy. And so, um, I really hope to just have a nice environment for all the employees where they can continue to grow and support their families. So when I was talking to my grandma this morning, I was like, uh, in Hawaii, when in Hilo, you had zero employees was all family. But today, to think that your business that you started 76 years ago now supports 2,000 or more people and all of their family. And, you know, education being so incredibly important to our family. It's like you are paying for education of all of their children. So it's like, how proud can you feel of something like that? So hope to continue that the best

Speaker A: thing about my job is.

Speaker B: Best, uh, thing about my job is I get to work with my family.

Speaker A: Awesome. That's awesome. I have one last question I always ask at the end, but I want to make sure anybody else that has a question gets to ask it before we wrap up and get to that cake, which I can see from here and I've been looking at for the last hour. Anybody else have any questions? We'll reserve some time after as well if you want to come up and talk and so forth. So the last question, I ask all my podcast guests, and since we are somewhat treating this like a podcast episode and it's sort of redundant because you just shared it for the last hour. But I'm just going to ask you, Courtney, what's in your heart?

Speaker B: I think gratitude, you know, for my grandfather for starting the business, for my father to continue to grow the business, and to all the customers and consumers we have who purchase our product every day with their hard earned money. And, uh, for all of our employees who show up and continue to produce a really amazing product. Like, just a lot of gratefulness for kind of where I'm at and, uh, for the product we have today.

Speaker A: Is there anything we didn't talk about that you hoped we would talk about today?

Speaker B: No. I'm here for you guys.

Speaker A: All right. Well, I appreciate you so much. Thank you for saying yes. I feel very honored that you chose to say yes to us. Well, with that, then, Courtney, thank you so much. Let's give a huge round of applause.

Speaker B: Sam m.