FEATURE: ZIPPY'S
F
or Dave’s Ice Cream president,
CEO, and founder Dave Leong,
a family dinner at Zippy’s Pearl
City is a nostalgic meal. Leong
and his family would frequent
this location of the iconic Hawaii
restaurant two to three times a week for
a quick meal when his daughters were
growing up. But today, this meal serves
as a victory dinner for Leong and his ice
cream business.
At the end of last year, Zippy’s
Restaurants signed a contract to serve
Dave’s Ice Cream in all 24 restaurants.
Zippy’s previously served Dave’s Ice
Cream through a wholesale arrangement
that Dave’s had with Meadow Gold
Dairies-Hawaii, a subsidiary of Dean
Foods. Dean Foods elected to end its
wholesale Hawaii production of ice
cream through Dave’s. Dave’s is now
selling his products directly to Zippy’s.
This deal between Dave’s and Zippy’s will
result in just under 40,000 gallons of ice
cream production remaining in Hawaii
each year.
“Recently, I had to cut back production
to only two or three days a week because
of the loss of business,” explained Leong.
“With this new deal with Zippy’s, we
are making strides to get back up to
full production and continue to make
the same product that Zippy’s has been
buying for the last 15 years.”
This is not an anomaly for Zippy’s.
Zippy’s founders, Francis and Charles
Higa, went out of their way to buy local
products from the day they first opened
in 1966. Buying locally made ice cream
is only one example of Zippy’s tradition
of supporting local food. Almost 54 years
later, the Higa brothers’ practices are now
ingrained in the way that Zippy’s does
business.
“As a local company, we have made it a
commitment to buy from local producers
whenever viable,” said Paul Yokota,
president of FCH Enterprises, parent
company of Zippy’s. “We buy about 18
tons of ground beef from local ranchers
4
LOCAL INGREDIENTS FOR LOCAL FOLKS
for use in our famous chili each month.
We buy only fresh, local eggs, in addition
to so much more.”
Some other local companies that Zippy’s
uses in its supply chain include Eggs
Hawaii, a local grower and distributor of
eggs. There is a mutual respect between
both local companies in regard to the
commitment to buy local.
“Zippy’s is an amazing partner,” says Eggs
Hawaii vice president, Iris Shimabukuro.
“They’re dedicated to local produce, local
food for us local folks, and how exciting is
that? It takes a commitment to buy local
because it is more expensive.”
In addition to eggs, beef, ice cream, and
saimin noodles, Zippy’s also purchases
certain produce like tomatoes, salad
greens, and papayas from local farms.
Buying locally doesn’t come without
challenges. Yokota states, “We know
that buying from small, local producers
presents the risk of continuity of supply,
as well as the ability to scale-up for busy
periods. However, we believe that local
companies need to support each other.
It’s good for jobs, for the economy, and
for our shared food security.” +
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