Company History

1936 | 1962 | 1953 | 1959 | 1960 | 1962 | 1963 | 1964 | 1968 | 1970 | 1974 | 1977 | 1979 | 1981 | 1988 | 1989 | 1991 | 1992 | 1997 | 2000 | 2001 | 2006 | 2007

The Company

Welcome to Tip Top where the passion for ice cream is mixed with kiwi ingenuity to create what we believe is the world's best ice cream.

It's a national icon, it's a famous corner, it launched a world famous New Zealand supermodel, it's something we have all grown up with, it's over 70 years old. It's real ice creamier Tip Top Ice Cream.

Tip Top is New Zealand's leading ice cream company and market leader in all categories. Among our portfolio of brands are kiwi icons such as: Trumpet, FruJu, Jelly Tip, Popsicle, Memphis Meltdown, Moritz

Tip Top has around 400 staff and produces approximately 50 million litres of ice cream per year, which would be enough to fill over 6000 classrooms! We have a wide variety of flavours from the old favourite Hokey Pokey, to the delicious Cookies and Cream and exciting Goody Goody Gum Drops.

So welcome to a world where a lot of love and a little magic goes a long way in creating fabulous brands and products that have been shared with all New Zealanders for over 70 years.

History

In 1936 two gentlemen named Albert Hayman and Len Malaghan opened an Ice Cream parlour in Manners Street, Wellington. Little did they know that their humble ice cream parlour would turn into a national icon.

The story of where the name Tip Top came from is a bit of folklore. Hayman and Malaghan were discussing business over a meal whilst travelling in a train dining car one evening. They overheard a fellow diner commenting that his meal was 'tip top'. Albert and Len immediately decided that they would like to hear people say that about their ice cream, and so the name for their newly founded ice cream business was born.

The popularity of Tip Top ice cream grew rapidly. In 1936 a second milk bar was opened in Wellington, and another one in Dunedin. The same year, Tip Top Ice Cream Company was registered as a manufacturing company. By 1938 Tip Top was manufacturing its own ice cream and was successfully operating stores in the lower half of the North Island, and in Nelson and Blenheim.

Encouraged by their success to date, Hayman and Malaghan turned their attention to Auckland, and in May 1938 Tip Top Ice Cream Company Auckland Limited was incorporated into their growing ice cream business. Due to distribution difficulties, and World War II, this was operated as a completely separate company to the Wellington Tip Top.

By 1964 the Company had expanded to such an extent that a parent company was formed, General Foods Corporation (NZ) Limited. It was rated as one of the soundest investments on the stock exchange and other companies were quick to note it's potential.

In April 1997 Tip Top was purchased by a West Australian food processor, Peters & Brownes Foods from Heinz Watties. This merger of Peters & Brownes and Tip Top created the largest independent ice cream business in the Southern Hemisphere with combined sales of $550 million.

On the 18th June 2001 Tip Top Ice Cream became part of Fonterra Co-operative Group, New Zealand's biggest company and ninth largest dairy business in the world.

Tip Top Corner

Where the magic starts

It was November 1962, Hayman and Malaghan sensed that post-war New Zealand was ready for some ice cream hedonism! Their answer, the biggest and most technically advanced ice cream factory in the Southern Hemisphere, built right on Auckland's doorstep. The Tip Top factory included staff houses, and 20 acres of farm land overlooking the Southern Motorway and cost NZ£700,000. Prime Minster Keith Holyoake was at the opening, eager to be the first to sample the creamy Tip Top ice cream that we still know and love today.

The Tip Top building on the side of the Southern Motorway became a true New Zealand landmark and 'Tip Top Corner' was born. It marked the place on the motorway where work finished and the holidays began when journeying South, and that Auckland City was close when travelling North.

The Tip Top factory was originally a seasonal factory that worked only to produce ice cream for the summer months. They sold for a shilling, and early innovations led to ice cream inventions like Topsy, Jelly Tip, FruJu and Ice Cream Sundaes, some of which are among the country's icons today. The overwhelming success of these products transformed the Mt Wellington site from a summer-centred seasonal factory into a 24 hour, 365 day operation.

Pictures of Hayman and Malaghan

1936 In July the Tip Top company was established and registered.

Topsy was created which makes it the 1st ever stick product produced by Tip Top. So, where did the name Topsy originated from? It was named after one of Len Malaghan's favourite cows!

1937 The first Tip Top factory opened in Wellington.

• Mercina Viatos remembers her father's Golden Gate milk bar in Courtenay Place in 1937. The milk bar was one of many owned by Greek families in Wellington at the time, selling Tip Top ice cream - popular meeting places, especially for the Americans during the war.

• Bill Goodwin (now of Tauranga) remembers the "never ending" trips in the family's Ford V8 Coupe with his Dad from Tip Top's factory in Wellington. The boot was full of ice cream for Upper Hutt's first milk bar that the family opened in 1937. Bill Goodwin took the photo above/left of four members of the Women's Army Corp, WW2 in 1944 at Trentham Military Camp on their way back to barracks eating Choc Bombs.
  

1938 Tip Top Ice Cream (Auckland) was formed as a separate company. Due to geographical problems and the outbreak of war, ice cream operations in Auckland and Wellington were operated separately.

1953 The Wellington factory opened on a new site in Johnsonville.

• Brent Martin recalls helping his parents roll ice creams as a youngster at their Moanataiari Flats dairy at Thames in 1958, "and Tip Top ice cream was the big seller. My father never knew but whenever I made the ice creams and milk shakes for my friends, they got double quantities of ice cream and kept coming back for more."

1950's Jelly Tip was born closely followed by Toppa.

1959 A 30 acre site was purchased by General Foods Corporation (NZ) Ltd at 113 Carbine Road, Mt Wellington. The property was purchased from Fisher and Paykel who had stables in the area.

1960 Tip Top (Auckland) had changed its name to General Foods Corporation (NZ) Ltd. The Auckland and Wellington companies merged and within four years had expanded throughout the whole of New Zealand. Their operation now included localised storage, distribution, and huge bulk haulage.

1962 The Auckland factory was opened on the site at Mt Wellington.

1963 A new head office for General Foods Corporation (NZ) Ltd was built. The company consisted of the Tip Top Ice Cream Company, Refrigerated Freight Lines Transport, and Irvines Bakery. General Foods bought the Supreme Ice Cream Company in Dunedin. All major ice cream companies in the South Island were brought up to allow for ice cream distribution on a national basis. Such companies included Apex and Perfection in Christchurch, Robinson Ice Cream in Westport, and New Joy in Dunedin.

1964 Trumpet was launched

1968 Watties, the major food processing company in New Zealand, acquired the total control of General Foods Corporation (NZ) Ltd.

1968 The new Tip Top plant in Christchurch opened on Blenheim Road.

Mid 1970's Unilever withdrew from the ice cream market and sold the Walls brand franchise to the Rangitikei Plains Dairy Company.

1970's R2D2, the much loved Star Wars robot - turned ice block was launched as well as and New Zealand's first solid chocolate centered ice cream - Choc Bar. Popsicle ice blocks, originally called TT2's, were also launched in the '70's

1974 Round bowls were replaced by square bowls.

1977 Product range in 1977

1979 The Walls brand franchise was bought from the Rangitikei Plains Dairy Company.

1980's The Popsicle Band was launched.

1981 The Colbourn cheesecake plant was bought from the Rangitikei Plains Diary Company. Colbourn produced 500g cheesecakes for retail sales and 2 kg catering cheesecakes were made by hand.

1988 In September, Tip Top Ice Cream Company and General Foods distribution were reamalgamated under a new general Manager, Alistair Bowes.

1989 In March, the plant in Wellington closed down.

1991 The Tip Top plant in Christchurch was totally refurbished and upgraded to cope with increased export demands.

1992 Heinz acquires the Watties group of companies, including Tip Top, from the Goodman Fielder Group.

1997 Australian company, Peters and Brownes acquires Tip Top from Heinz.

1997 Memphis Meltdown is launched

2000 Kiwi Cooperative Dairies acquires Peter and Brownes, and merge with New Zealand Dairy Group to eventually form one of the world's largest dairy entities - the Fonterra Co-operative Group.

2000 The iconic kiwi flavour, Hokey Pokey, is sold in Japan.

2001 Tip Top licenses the Pizza board machine, which makes ice cream with large inclusions, to a US food processing equipment manufacturer.

2006 Tip Top has its 70th birthday

2007 The plant in Christchurch closes and the export business is moved to Perth and Auckland