Family-owned brands cream big competition

Photo / iStock

Two family-owned icecream companies have scooped big manufacturers in a survey of favourite Kiwi tub brands.

And it appears this is because ice-cream lovers are satisfied more by taste and packaging than variety and value for money.

The New Zealand icecream brand survey asked 1797 New Zealanders about their preferences.

Long-time Kiwi favourite Tip Top was joined by family firms Rush Munro's and Oob Organic at the top - all scoring five stars in three of the five categories, including overall satisfaction.

Fourteen brands were compared in the survey and each had to have 30 responses to be included.

As well as overall satisfaction, Oob, an Omaha-based organic icecream company, received top marks for taste and packaging appeal, while Tip Top also got five stars for value for money and variety/range.

Rush Munro's, a Hawkes Bay manufacturer, added variety/range and taste to its five-star haul. Foodstuff's brand Pams earned five stars for taste and value for money.

So did Much Moore and Countdown Signature Range for value for money and variety/range.

New Zealand Natural received five stars for variety/range, as did Cadbury, while Talleys and Bulla earned five stars for value for money.

The survey - commissioned by consumer research company Canstar Blue and conducted by data collection agency I-view - also asked about drivers of satisfaction. Forty per cent said taste was the number-one factor, 24 per cent said packaging appeal and 20 per cent said variety/range.

The final 16 per cent gave value for money as the biggest driver of satisfaction.

Shopping around

The Herald talked to shoppers outside a busy central Auckland supermarket yesterday afternoon and asked: What's your favourite New Zealand icecream brand?

Tip Top

Harry Hewitt, 24, sales and market development manager.
"I don't know, I just like Choc Bar. It's just good."

Rush Munro's

Matilda Hidalgo, 30, lawyer.
"The chocolate one is the only one that I have. Always chocolate."

Tip Top

Brooke Woollams, 8, pupil at Westmere Primary School.
Likes the Goody Goody Gum Drops flavour.

Kapiti

Karen Hatton, 53, sales.

"The flavour range. Vanilla bean -- it's richer than your average Tip Top."