This October, Kiwi ice cream favourite Tip Top is celebrating 90 years of serving little moments of ice cream happiness to New Zealand. From a humble Wellington milk bar in 1935 to the national presence it has today, Tip Top has been there with Kiwis for now over 90 years of New Zealand’s history, successfully making its way through the years by manufacturing delicious, sweet delights, continually delivering innovation, and in doing so, creating many happy memories across New Zealand and overseas.
Tip Top CEO Ben Schurr says the enduring presence of Tip Top across New Zealand won’t be lost on many people. “So many of us will remember the happy feeling of enjoying an ice cream on a hot summer’s day, very likely eating a Trumpet, a Choc Bar, a Jelly Tip, or even just a scoop of creamy Tip Top hokey pokey.
“Ice cream is a big part of who we are as a nation – we’re globally recognised as consuming the most ice cream per person in the world. And Tip Top continues to play a big part in that, bringing delicious, quality ice cream products to New Zealanders for 90 years.”
A slice of Kiwi history
On 10 October 1935, Albert Hayman and Leonard Malaghan opened their first Tip Top Milk Bar on Manners Street in Wellington. While exact origins of where the name came from vary, a widely accepted story is that “Tip Top” was inspired by overhearing Wellington diners describe their meals as “tip top.”
A successful and indeed, tip top venture, the duo soon opened a second shop on Lambton Quay, and by the end of 1937 there were six Tip Top Milk Bars across central Wellington. The company’s Auckland presence was established with a Tip Top Milk Bar at 53 Queen Street and an Epsom factory in 1938, managed by Hayman. By the 1940s, Tip Top ice cream volumes skyrocketed as home freezers became more common, alongside rapidly growing demand for quality ice cream by Kiwi consumers.
A new era
In 1962, Tip Top cemented its future with the opening of a state-of-the-art factory in Mount Wellington. Costing NZD $700,000, the factory was the largest and most advanced ice cream production facility in the Southern Hemisphere at the time. The opening ceremony was attended by then-Prime Minister Keith Holyoake. Overlooking the Southern Motorway, the 20-acre plot quickly became an Auckland landmark, known to many as “Tip Top Corner,” or affectionately as “Jip Jop Corner” by children who misread the distinctive cursive ‘T’ in the iconic logo. Tip Top Corner would symbolise the start of the holidays for many Aucklanders as families drove South past the iconic factory.
90-year legacy
Today, Tip Top continues to be New Zealand’s favourite ice cream company, favoured for its delicious frozen treats.
Tip Top is also recognised for its unique advertisements. One of its most famous ads in 1985 helped launch the international career of Kiwi supermodel Rachel Hunter, cementing the brand’s place in New Zealand’s cultural landscape.
90th celebration
To celebrate the mighty 90, Tip Top is bringing back a cult summer favourite – the Toppa!
First introduced in the 1990s, this nostalgic fruity and vanilla ice cream stick was the go-to choice in tuck shops and dairies around the country, before production was discontinued in 2014.
The returning Toppa features Tip Top’s signature vanilla ice cream coated in a delicious strawberry ice shell – a simple, sweet classic that generations of New Zealanders grew up loving. Since 2014, fans have been passionately requesting for it to come back, with growing calls every year. And now, in Tip Top’s 90th year, it’s back by popular demand.
From today, the Toppa will be hitting freezers in supermarkets and dairies nationwide.
As Tip Top looks back on 90 years of history, it is not only celebrating a business milestone, but its role in creating many sweet and happy memories for generations of New Zealanders.
