Diamond Bakery in Kalihi celebrated its 105th birthday in early October. HPR took part in the celebrations happening in Kalihi as the company opened its factory to the community for public tours.
The parking lot party included nods to the company’s Japanese roots. Also on hand for the event were Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi and Gov. Josh Green, who proclaimed Oct. 12, 2026, “Diamond Bakery Day.”
Green delivered remarks celebrating the bakery’s history as a company founded by three immigrants in 1921.
“I love the blueberry ʻulu cookies. They were amazing right from the start, and I do not lie about cookies,” he joked.
“This is a story of success. It goes back to our Japanese immigrants. It is a common dream that creates something special for us, and it is our heritage and culture in this way that is super important to us.”
Diamond Bakery is as well known for its staples — like soda crackers and saloon pilot crackers — as it is for the wide variety of treats it has produced as the company expanded over time.
HPR spoke with the Diamond Bakery’s Director of Development and Strategic Initiatives, Jackie Murai-Pedersen, about the big day.
For her, opening the factory to the public made the celebrations especially meaningful.
“This is a day meant to give back to the community who has kept us going,” she explained. “And it's pretty amazing. If you walk through the factory, you never knew that they were baking it right back here.”
Murai-Pedersen also shared what it meant to help keep the company's legacy alive.
“We have some of the descendants here, and they said their founders, their grandparents, great-grandparents'd be so proud if they knew that their crackers are a pantry staple in Hawaiʻi today,” she told HPR.
This story aired on The Conversation on Oct. 13, 2026. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m. Jinwook Lee adapted this story for the web.
