Wanaka-based PURE New Zealand Ice Cream has once again licked contenders from all over the country - this week it received its 55th award since the business opened in 2009.

PURE has scooped up five new awards at the 2020 NZ Ice Cream Manufacturers’ (NZICM) Awards.

It received a gold medal for its boysenberry gelato, and silver medals for another four ice creams: salted caramel, mascarpone date and orange, roasted white and dark chocolate, and hokey pokey.

“We’re absolutely thrilled to receive recognition from our industry again this year,” PURE director and head of production Anna Howard said.

The NZICM is New Zealand’s only national ice cream, gelato, sorbet and dairy-free frozen products competition, benchmarking the best in New Zealand and celebrating the local industry.

Anna will attend the NZICMA awards dinner at the Cordis in Auckland on November 4, where the ‘Best in Category’ award will be revealed.

Earlier this year PURE’s boysenberry gelato was named Dairy Champion in the 2020 Outstanding NZ Food Producers’ Awards.

The award-winning boysenberry flavour.

Co-owner Brian Thomas described how PURE makes the double-gold winning flavour.

“Plump boysenberry fruit from sunny Nelson is basically combined with whole cream and sugar in the ‘Pure’ way, and what you end up with is a delicious burst of creamy boysenberry,” he said.

PURE uses natural produce and carefully sourced products. All its products are pasteurised, churned, flavoured and packaged by hand, and it aims to have a light environmental footprint. 

Its practices have also landed PURE as a finalist in the sustainability category at the Westpac Otago Business Awards (winners announced November 13).

Since beginning as a small operation in Wanaka PURE has grown quickly, now supplying supermarkets and food service businesses around the country.

PHOTOS: Supplied