HONOLULU (KHON2) — When it comes to cold treats on a hot summer day, nothing hits the spot like your favorite ice cream.
Few know that better than Mike Sakamoto. He heads up the company that has kept Hawaii residents happy and satisfied for decades.
Mike Sakamoto has one of the greatest jobs on the island, especially when summertime comes.
With a smile, Sakamoto said, “We are, all the coolest treats!”
Sakamoto runs Eight Point Distributors, Inc., a company that deals with frozen goodies, primarily ice cream.
He said, “The ice cream industry is actually awesome. They bring all the good flavors out every year. Every year, they make something new. New brands, new products, so it’s the best time in the summer for us — that’s our busiest time for us as well.”
For Mike, it’s a matter of continuing and growing the business founded by his grandparents who figured out how to bring ice cream to the islands.
“Way back in the day for our time back in 1975, they were asked to bring in and distribute Carnation ice cream,” said Sakamoto.
So grandma and grandpa brought on Mike’s parents to get the business started from scratch. And a handful of people and two trucks delivering ice cream to every grocery store on Oahu.
KHON2 asked, “How many trucks do you have now?”
Sakamoto replied. “About 17 or 18 trucks on each island. So Maui, Kauai, and the Big Island — distributed in the whole state. Even Molokai and Lanai.
No easy task considering it all spent five to six days on the water getting here. These days he says getting products in a week is the wish with supply chain challenges even affecting the world of ice cream.
This has been one of the most challenging times you faced as a company?
“Most definitely. ‘Challenges’ (is an) underrated word at this point because most manufacturers cannot keep up production. (It’s) because of labor or ingredients or whatever,” said Sakamoto.
Sakamoto says between production and shipping issues, the company has been forced to change the way they operate.
“We cannot plan for promotions the way we used to in the past. We would plan an advertisement for a weekly ad. We don’t know if we’re gonna get a product or not. Sometimes it’s here, sometimes it’s not,” said Sakamoto.
And it’s not just ice cream that his company distributes.
“We do, we actually do a lot of local products that are made with the local brands we help them distribute to the local supermarkets. They make them and we actually just help them get them into distribution,” said Sakamoto.
The company that started with his grandparents and his parents is now nearly 60 people strong.
And yes, mom is keeping an eye on things.
“She (is) still here. Works every day. Well mostly,” laughed Sakamoto.
And Mike says it’s that family feeling that is proven to be Eight Point Distributors’ recipe for success.
“Actually, it’s our employees. They really do all the work. Making sure things are working right. We do the planning and make sure things are working right. Awesome daily grind work but it’s in place to do the awesome daily grind work getting things in and out of containers, under the trucks and into the stores and onto the shelves,” said Sakamoto.
And when it comes to the ice cream, he says there’s never a bad time to indulge.
KHON2 asked, “I got to ask you, are you an ice cream eater?”
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Sakamoto replied, “I am an ice cream eater, you gotta be one.”
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