Warm reception in new market for unusual Auckland ice cream

AUCKLAND: A new dairyfree ice cream company based in Auckland has broken into the Chinese market.

Wahiki Creamery, which was founded in late 2016, has signed a deal to supply its coconut ice cream product to Asia’s biggest childcare centre.

Cathay Future has about 20,000 children enrolled in Tianjin, a major port city in northeastern China.

Two thousand of the children are at the centre fulltime and the rest are enrolled in the afterschool programme.

Wahiki Creamery’s cofounder, Haman Shahpari, said it secured an agreement with the centre after attending an ice cream expo held in the city last month.

He said the coconut ice cream stood out among hundreds of other exhibitors as it was a healthier alternative to other ice creams currently served in Chinese schools and daycare centres.

‘‘As a result we managed to partner up with a lot of cus tomers and retailers,’’ he said.

‘‘We were very stoked to see the reception of the Chinese . . . and their understanding of how nutrition is important.’’

Last year, Wahiki sold about 23,000 tubs of its ice cream and Mr Shahpari said next year it expected to sell up to 10 times as much.

He said while it had supply agreements around New Zealand, some Pacific Islands and China, it was also seeking to trade with other markets.