Loves History
On June 19, 1851, a baker from Scotland named Robert Love arrived in Honolulu, HI with his wife, Margaret, and three sons, Robert Jr., 15; James, 10; and William, 8 from Sydney, Australia. The 80-day voyage on an American ship named “Adirondack” was grueling, but Robert immediately began to work on a dream. By July 12, 1851, he had obtained a retail store license that permitted him to operate a bakery and sell its products. In less than 2 years, he opened the first Love’s Biscuit & Bread Co. on Nu‘uanu Street in 1853.
Several years later, the decision was made to concentrate the company’s entire efforts on wholesale business. Operations were consolidated at the Iwilei plant in 1932. By July 1943, with the demand for bread and crackers increasing due to the demands of both the armed forces and civilians, a new plant was opened on Kapahulu Avenue. Over the years, it was completely modernized and mechanized, as progressive as any bakery in the world. The transport of bread and crackers to the neighbor islands, once shipped by barge, began to be flown in the “flying bakery truck” as early as 1945.
The company was held closely through generations of Robert Love’s descendants and was sold in 1968 to outside parties. In 2021, Love’s signed a licensing agreement with Franz Family Bakery under which Franz produces the Love’s products primarily at its mainland bakeries located on the West Coast, and in partnership with Hawaii Foodservice Alliance, the Love’s brand continues to be distributed throughout the Hawaiian Islands.
