Tip Top Ice Cream's factory at 113 Carbine Road in Mount Wellington, Auckland, is the Tip Top works that the company's history centres on. The website says the first Tip Top milk bar opened in Wellington in 1935, and that the Mount Wellington factory was opened in 1962 as the largest and most advanced ice cream factory in the Southern Hemisphere at the time. The brand, which the website says has been making ice cream for over 90 years, makes the Trumpet, Memphis Meltdown, Popsicle, Fru Ju and 2-litre tubs, and it also sells Whittakers, Cadbury and Oreo ice cream lines. The factory tour is the main visitor offer described by customers. Reviewers say it starts with the history of the brand, moves on through the range, and includes a view of the factory floor from above, with a sweet treat at the end.
Customers describe the tour as family friendly, informative, short and fun, with the kids enjoying it. One reviewer booked after seeing it on TikTok. The main drawback noted is that tours run on weekdays only. Of the surrounding places, no comparison is given. Our pick in Mount Wellington for a family outing with a history and an ice cream at the end.