Tip Top (ice cream) facts for kids
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| Subsidiary | |
| Industry | Frozen confectionery manufacturing |
| Founded | 1936 |
| Headquarters | Auckland, New Zealand |
| Products | Ice cream, ice blocks |
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Number of employees
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380 |
| Parent | Froneri |
Tip Top is a famous ice cream brand from New Zealand that started way back in 1936. It is now owned by a company called Froneri, which was created by PAI Partners and Nestlé. For many years, it was part of New Zealand's big dairy company, Fonterra.
Contents
The Story of Tip Top
How It All Began
In 1936, two friends named Albert Hayman and Len Malaghan opened their first ice cream shop in Wellington, New Zealand. It was so popular that they opened two more shops that same year! They registered Tip Top as an official company and started making their own ice cream.
No one is completely sure how they chose the name "Tip Top." One story says that Mr. Malaghan gave an ice cream to a Māori boy on a train. When asked if he liked it, the boy said, "Oh, it's tip top!" Another story says the founders heard someone on a train describe their meal as "tip top" and liked the sound of it.
By 1938, Tip Top was selling ice cream all over the lower North Island and in the towns of Nelson and Blenheim.
Growing Bigger
Because it was hard to send ice cream all over the country, a separate Tip Top company was started in Auckland in 1938. After World War II, the company grew very quickly.
In 1962, a huge, modern ice cream factory was opened in Mount Wellington, Auckland. It was the biggest and most advanced factory of its kind in the entire Southern Hemisphere at the time! The Prime Minister of New Zealand, Keith Holyoake, even came to the opening ceremony.
At first, the factory only made ice cream for the summer. But Tip Top invented so many popular treats, like the Jelly Tip, FruJu, and Topsy, that the factory soon had to run all day, every day, all year round to keep up!
Changes in Ownership
Over the years, Tip Top has been owned by a few different companies.
- In 1997, it was sold to an Australian food company called Peters & Browne's Foods.
- In 2001, New Zealand's dairy group Fonterra bought Tip Top, bringing it back to New Zealand ownership.
- In 2019, Fonterra sold Tip Top to its current owner, Froneri, a company that specializes in making ice cream.
In 2022, Tip Top stopped making a couple of its flavours, including a Cookies & Cream ice cream that had just won an award. Many people in New Zealand were sad to see it go!
Tip Top Today
Today, Tip Top is one of New Zealand's most loved brands. The factory in Auckland makes about 41 million litres of ice cream every year. That's a lot of ice cream!
Besides being sold all over New Zealand, Tip Top ice cream is also sent to other countries, including Australia, Japan, Taiwan, and Malaysia.
Famous Tip Top Treats Through the Years
Here are some of the famous ice creams and ice blocks Tip Top has made.
Before the 1950s
- Topsy (the very first ice cream on a stick made by Tip Top)
- Eskimo Pie (which is now called Polar Pie)
1950s
- Jelly Tip
- Rocky Road
- Toppa
- Joy Bar
1960s
- Trumpet (a classic cone first sold in 1964)
- Fruju
- Moggy Man
1970s
- Popsicle
- R2D2 Space Ice
- Choc Bar
1980s
- Goody Goody Gum Drops
- Batman ice cream
- Hokey Bar
1990s
- Memphis Meltdown
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ice cream
- Moritz
- Sonic the Hedgehog Milk Ice
2000s
- Popsicle Creamy
- Screwball
- Soft Serve
