PURE is a range of ice creams, sorbets, and coconut-based gelato that is free of added preservatives, colours, flavours, gelatine or synthetic stabilisers.
What is your company background, how did you start the business? Who are the owners?
"Richard and Tracey Bullock are the sole owners of PURE New Zealand Ice Cream. Our background is several decades of hospitality running our own restaurants, catering business and cafes in Sydney. We were a successful team winning multiple inclusions in the Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide. Our desserts were always favoured especially our ice creams.We use to serve ice-cream straight from the churn to customer. Tracey ran the front of house and I, Richard, ran the kitchen. We met in Sydney and lived there with our two daughters till 2004. Then we relocated as a family to Wanaka for a lifestyle change. It was our idea to show our daughters where I grew up, being a Wellingtonian.”
“After some time as employees we decided to go back into business for ourselves and PURE New Zealand was born in 2010. We always wanted to own a 'bespoke' business that we could run as a family. Our daughters have always been a strong R&D team, always willing to sample new flavours, and suggest new ones too. They still are involved in the marketing, social media and development of website etc.”
“Our first kitchen was at the Treble Cone Skifield, where we were able to use the premises outside the winter season. Of course this was only temporary , so in 2010 we built our own commercial kitchen. Together with a fully registered FSP we were able to really grow PURE."
What is the current product range and variants and how do these products stand out in the market?
"We decided from the beginning to produce our range as Gluten Free. We believe that apart from a lot of people who are actually Coeliacs, there are also a lot of people who prefer to eat less gluten. Our premises are also nut-free so that we can assure those with nut allergies that there are no nuts used here in our kitchen.”
“Buying the very best of ingredients makes all the difference to the product and using local produce is just as important as it is in keeping with our “boutique” style. We only use New Zealand berries and our coffee is fair trade and single origin sourced.The company that supplies us with the manuka honey offers the customer the ability to trace the location of the hives.Thus adding to our regionalism approach with PURE. We use egg yolk as the sole emulsifier, buying the eggs from just one farm, in keeping with the idea of preferring to use a single local source. Our milk is collected daily from Lagoon Valley farm in Lake Hawea and is pasteurised in the manufacturing process. We believe we are the only manufacturer of ice cream available in supermarkets that can identify one farm as their sole source of milk. This allows us to boast that our ice cream is from 'Farm to Freezer'.”
“We produce a range of ice cream, sorbets and coconut based gelato. The gelato is dairy free so is not an ice cream, but contains coconut fat, so it is not a sorbet either. We have a strong list of core flavours in one litre tubs which is our retail size.”
“We have flavours including Vanilla Bean, Hokey Pokey, Boysenberry; Dark Chocolate; Manuka Honey and Fig; Salted Caramel; Kaffir Lime and Ginger; Mascarpone, Date and Orange; Roasted White and Dark Chocolate; Black currant and Coconut; Pineapple, Coconut and Lime; Berry Fusion sorbet; Passionfruit and Banana sorbet. Flavours such as Mascarpone, Date and Orange; Kaffir Lime and Ginger; and Blackcurrant and Coconut, amongst others are unique to PURE New Zealand Ice Cream.”
“We also produce a single serve 110ml tub with four flavours available, Vanilla Bean, Chocolate, Boysenberry and Salted Caramel.This size is sold in cinemas and a select few supermarkets, and on the local Skifields in the South Island. You will also find this size on the Real Journey boats in Milford Sound."
Has there been any recent company news?
"We have quite a trophy wall of awards from the annual New Zealand Ice Cream Awards, in fact 34 in total, and we have added two more silver awards at this years competition. We will be releasing a couple of new flavours in the spring."
What are the plans for the business moving forward, is there any expansion on the horizon?
"Expansion is always a topic of conversation around the coffee table. We are very active in expanding more into food service and hospitality as this is a big part of our core customer base."
Where are your products currently available to buy, and are you looking at or wanting to expand your availability? If so, where would you like to see the product situated?
"Currently available through multiple South Island New World supermarkets, mainly Wanaka, Queenstown, Dunedin, Timaru and Christchurch, Selected South Island Fresh Choice stores. All Raeward Fresh stores, Moore Wilson in Wellington, Farro Fresh in Auckland and some independent Nosh stores.”
“We would love to get back into New World North Island. When the upper and lower NI Foodstuffs combined we were squeezed out completely. We are able to trade with Woolworths too so a presence in their premium stores would be great."
