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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 manufacturer of Hawaiian sweet rolls in Torrance, California, which led to Galinsky’s complaint. In his suit, Galinsky says that although the place in California is indicated on the back of the packaging of the rolls, ‘Hilo, Hawaii’ adorns the front, which led him to believe that the bread was made in the Aloha state. Galinsky adds in his complaint that King’s Hawaiian has filed its own lawsuit against other manufacturers to prevent them from using the word “Hawaiian rolls” in their collateral for marketing, which makes the company essentially its main target.
King’s Hawaiian “is the leading seller of Hawaiian sandwiches and has essentially invented this category of food,” says Galinsky in his suit. The company’s website explains that it was founded in Hilo in the fifties by the Hawaiian Robert Taira and got the name 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 across the continent,’ the website says, and in 1977 the company moved to a new facility in Torrance and was renamed King’s Hawaiian Bakery, which is its current name. Galinsky says the company knew “Hilo” would be prominently placed on the front of the package. [mislead] consumers, “claims his lawsuit, according to top-class lawsuits. Hawaii News Now notes that this type of complaint about the use of Hawaii-themed labels has occurred, including with Kona Brewing and Hawaiian Host. (Read more stories about lawsuits.)