Kapiti, New Zealand’s Premium Ice Cream Lands in Malaysia @ Masak Masak, BIG

Kapiti makes a Cool Landing in our shores…

If one has ever traveled to the land of the Kiwi, then one will immediately gushed at New Zealand’s iconic premium ice cream, Kapiti. That’s also how I got to know of Kapiti when my brother-in-law raved about how delectable Kapiti is and swears to be their ardent follower. When I received an invite to attend the Kapiti launch recently, I was really excited that Kapiti has finally landed on our shores.

This premium New Zealand ice cream brand has received many accolades over the years for churning out tubs and novelty packs of luscious premium ice creams in various flavors. Kapiti is a premium ice cream by Kapiti Fine Foods ltd. famous for its gourmet cheeses, ice cream and other dairy products. The Kapiti brand started as a boutique cheese shop at the Kapiti Coast in 1984, founded on a dream to craft quality, award-winning and uniquely New Zealand dairy products, a dream that Kapiti remains true to until today.

The event was graced by New Zealand Trade Commissioner, Mr Matt Ritchie who officially launched the brand at Masak Masak in Ben’s Independent Grocer at Publika along with Mr Darren Tan of Sungei Timur Sdn Bhd, the sole distributor of Kapiti in Malaysia and En Shamsul Amree Salleh from Malaysia Airlines’ Head of Inflight Services.

Mr Ritchie at the launch said Kapiti is one of New Zealand’s best-selling gourmet products and is a brand that New Zealanders are extremely proud of. “When you want to feel a sense of the land and the people of New Zealand, Kapiti ice cream invokes the senses of a sunny day overlooking the beautiful New Zealand landscape. Its distinctive taste comes from the use of real fruit and natural ingredients from New Zealand,” said Mr Ritchie.

On being chosen as the sole distributor of Kapiti Ice Cream in Malaysia, Darren Tan, Head of Sales and Marketing of Sungei Timur Sdn Bhd said that having been in the ice cream business for over 35 years, the company has established one of the best distribution networks in the industry, with specialized expertise in the premium ice cream category. “Being an advocate of quality ice cream our main aim is to make this ultimate indulgence in ice cream more affordable as we want gourmet ice cream to be enjoyed by more people, and not be seen as a rare treat.”

Speaking at the event, Malaysia Airlines’ Head of Inflight Services, En Shamsul Amree Salleh said, “Kapiti is well-known for its award winning ice-cream and is synonymous with luxury. We are excited to introduce this premium product to our passengers as the ice-cream complements our brand. This is part of our effort to enhance our in-flight dining experience in our existing service. Kapiti gourmet ice-cream will tempt our guests in First, Business and selected Economy class when they travel from Kuala Lumpur to Hong Kong, Perth, Melbourne, Brisbane, Sydney, Auckland, Narita, London and Shanghai,” he added.

Malaysia Airlines’ Head of Inflight Services, En Shamsul Amree Salleh, New Zealand Trade Commissioner, Mr Matt Ritchie and Sungei Timur Sdn Bhd, Mr Darren Tan

Here’s a little more about Kapiti. The owners started out with cheese in a small cheese shop and boutique factory at Lindale Tourist Complex on the Kapiti Coast. Ice cream was only produced in 1997 mainly targeted for restaurants and airlines. Soon word got out on the premium quality of the ice cream and now, Kapiti produces tubs, multipacks and novelty ice creams for all.

After the speeches and official photo sessions, media and guests are treated to a sumptuous demonstration by Chef Maria Conte. It was a drooling experience as Chef Conte worked her magic on Kapiti ice creams in various desserts like Kapiti Ice Cream Cupcakes, Kapiti Ice Cream Pavlova with Berry Compote, Lemon Cup Kapiti Ice Cream, Kapiti Ice Cream Baskets and more. Topping the whole dessert list, a representative from BIG made an Affogato, Kapiti Ice Cream with a shot of hot espresso!

Everyone got a taste of most of the desserts and we were also treated to all the flavors available in Malaysia. The irresistible flavors to look out for at the frozen isles of major supermarkets are the award-winning Vanilla Bean, Triple Chocolate, White Chocolate and Raspberry which are available in 1 Litre tubs at RM 38.80. The multipacks (6 sticks in a box) will feature Boysenberry Mini, White Chocolate and Raspberry Mini and Passionfruit Yoghurt Mini (RM 22.90).  The 145ml Chocolate Cup which is premium vanilla ice cream, swirled with choc flakes, topped with a rich fudge sauce and crisp shell retails at RM 7.90. For the Food Services industry, available flavors in 100ml cups are Vanilla Bean, Hokey Pokey, Triple Chocolate, Doris Plum and Crème Fraiche, and Double Cookies & Cream. Flavors for the 5 Litre tubs are Vanilla Bean, Triple Chocolate and White Chocolate & Raspberry among others.

My favorites of the day are the Vanilla Beam, Triple Chocolate, White Chocolate and Raspberry. Vanilla Bean is beautifully specked with lots of tiny minute dots of vanilla bean and is utterly creamy, luscious and filled with perfumed vanilla essence. Triple Chocolate proved that single chocolate is not sinful enough but triple chocolate takes it to another level. Deep and dark, the chocolate has a lovely light bitter edge, just my kind of chocolate. The combination of White Chocolate and Raspberry is perfect for each other, silky and rich, there is the tart swirls of raspberry to balance the white chocolate. I checked Kapiti website and found that there are about 18 flavors available in New Zealand, let’s hope more flavors will be coming in soon!

Kapiti Ice Cream is currently available in Ben’s Independence Grocer at Publika, Cold Storage, Jaya Grocer, Village Grocer and Malaysia Airlines.

For more information on Kapiti, check out their website: www.kapiticollection.co.nz or their Facebook: www.facebook.com/kapiti