Kiwis feel Tip Top over move to natural

1 July 2013

Kiwis feel Tip Top over move to natural

Tip Top is continuing to make Kiwi consumers Feel Tip Top, announcing today the replacement of all artificial colours and flavours with natural alternatives, starting from 1 July.

The move, which comes after more than two years of rigorous testing and research, is in response to Kiwis’ growing preference for natural ingredients. This trend was confirmed by consumer research which revealed that 81% of Kiwis are aware that artificial colours and flavours exist in most ice cream brands, and given the choice, 85% of Kiwis would choose an ice cream with natural colours and flavours over artificial.*

Minna Reinikkala, Tip Top Group Marketing Manager commented, ”We make our award-winning Tip Top ice creams with fresh NZ milk and cream, sourcing local fruits and ingredients wherever we can. While using artificial colours and flavours is safe and approved by the NZ Food Standards Code, we felt moving to natural colours and flavours was the next logical step for us.

“We’ve worked hard to minimise any noticeable change to the taste and appearance of our products, and our taste experts have worked through all of our recipes to identify natural replacements so that we can continue to deliver the same great taste that Kiwis have come to know and love. So much so, that we believe most people won’t taste any difference with the new recipes.”

Ms Reinikkala added that some Kiwis might notice a small change in colour with a couple of ice cream flavours like Orange Chocolate Chip due to the more natural orange colour, but said that Tip Top fans could rest assured that it tasted as good as it always had.

Tip Top has been making ice cream in New Zealand since the 1930s and many of its popular brands and flavours were created many years ago, for example Trumpet, which will shortly celebrate its 50th birthday.

“Tip Top has been around for more than 75 years now and listening to our loyal consumers has always been a focus for us. We don’t just listen to them; we look to initiate change that takes their opinions into account – so we decided the time was right for Tip Top to remove artificial colours and flavours from more than 120 of our ice creams.

“The Food Standards Code allows the use of artificial colours and flavours in ice cream. When these colours and flavours were first used by the food industry many years ago they were considered to be leading edge. They gave consistency in taste and appearance and enhanced natural colours already in ice cream – this is why many brands still use them.

“However times have changed and nowadays we can provide our customers with the same ice creams they’ve enjoyed over the years, but with the natural colours and flavours we know they prefer,” said Ms Reinikkala.

From this month, Tip Top branded ice creams containing only natural colours and flavours will begin to appear in stores and by January 2014, all Tip Top ice creams will use only natural colours and flavours. This will be identified by an ‘only natural colours and flavours’ badge on packaging.

The first products to move to natural colours and flavours will be two litre packs sold in supermarkets and scoop ice cream, as sold in dairies. The first two litre flavour will be the new Raspberry and Lemonade Fizz which will be available in supermarkets from July 1.

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