NZ icecream may go global
New Zealand could take a bigger scoop of the world’s $107 billion worth of icecream sold a year, and potentially repeat the success of wine and honey exports, according to new research.
With a homegrown icecream tradition more than 100 years old, almost every region in the country produces the frozen treat and there are around 48 local manufacturers, Economic Development Minister Stuart Nash said yesterday.
The report, Opportunities in New Zealand icecream and frozen novelties from research group Coriolis, was commissioned by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment after icecream was identified as a growth sector, and as a product New Zealand could send to Britain post-Brexit.
‘‘It suggests premium icecream could potentially follow the global success of premium wine and honey exports,’’ Nash said. ‘‘The challenge is translating our strong global position in dairy exports into a lucrative global market for our icecream and other frozen treats.’’
As well as more traditional sorbets and icecream made from cow milk, consumers were also seeking out plant-based frozen desserts, and icecream made of milk from sheep, deer, buffalo or goats, he said.
New Zealand signed an ‘‘inprinciple’’ trade deal with the UK in October, promising zero tariffs for all New Zealand exports to the UK and an economic boost of almost $1b.
New Zealand icecream already had tariff-free access to China, Australia and several other Asian markets, and reduced tariffs into
Japan, our second-largest export market.
Two-way trade with the UK, New Zealand’s seventh-largest trading partner, is currently worth about $6b a year. The UK’s main New Zealand imports include meat, wine, fruit, honey and wool, as well as services.
Amid the global Covid pandemic, there was growing interest in healthy, sustainable, low-carbon or vegan food, and easily accessible premium products, Nash said.
Icecream producers could build on the country’s existing dairy export supply chain, formulate unique New Zealand flavours, and target developed countries which already had high icecream consumption, the report suggested.
New Zealand had seen an explosion of new icecream companies since the 1990s, offering new and innovative products, according to Coriolis.