As another election nears, politicians from across the country have been hitting the campaign trail, meeting New Zealanders and vying for votes.
But there is one stop that has become a familiar fixture for party leaders: Christchurch ice cream business Rollickin Gelato.
National leader Christopher Luxon, Labour leader Chris Hipkins, The Opportunity Party’s Qiulae Wong, Green Party co-leaders Chlöe Swarbrick and Marama Davidson, and Act leader David Seymour have all visited at least one of the firm’s stores over the past few weeks.
So how did a Christchurch gelato shop become a campaign trail hotspot?
Owner-operator Jed Joyce said it all began in 2017, with the introduction of election-themed gelato flavours and an idea called the “Scoop Poll”.
Every scoop sold is counted as part of the poll, with results updated each morning on a chalkboard in the stores. When a party leader visits, the store also gives away their corresponding flavour free for an hour.
To qualify for a flavour, a political party must already hold a seat in Parliament or be polling above 5%.
When the Scoop Poll launched in 2017, it featured just two flavours, one representing Labour and the other National.
The idea quickly gained momentum.
“That just got so much traction, so then the next Scoop Poll we did, we just took it bigger and better,” Joyce said.
In previous years, flavours on offer have included “Jacinda Fever”, a red velvet and cheesecake-inspired flavour.
“Naughty Ol’ Winston” was a previous flavour for Peters, made with liquorice and chocolate lumps, while “Cookie Crusher Collins” was for Judith Collins – a cookies-and-cream-inspired flavour.
This year, Rollickin Gelato is serving up flavours representing seven New Zealand political parties.
It has also partnered with the Electoral Commission to educate under-25s about the importance of voting.
“When the [Electoral Commission] people come through, they definitely get a lot of sign-ups,” marketing manager Megan Grauchstuck said.
The Scoop Poll had created conversations about voting and elections, both in person and online, she added.
“You have people messaging saying they love a flavour, or saying they’ve chosen a flavour because they like the taste but they don’t actually like the politician.
“You can just sit in the cafe and hear people talking about the Scoop Poll as well, and then they start talking about the election.”
But creating a menu of politically inspired flavours takes more than a scoop of creativity.
“There’s a lot more planning than I think people realise. So probably about a good couple of months maybe before the Scoop Poll, we were already thinking [about flavours],” Joyce said.
The challenge was to create something that captured the character of each party or politician while giving customers a flavour they would want to come back for.
“We try to elevate pretty much them all, but we try to tie in a clever way to either the politician of the party, or the party itself.”
For Joyce, the appeal of the Scoop Poll goes beyond gelato.
He said getting visits from politicians “demystifies politics and the people behind it”.
“Normally they’re in very serious spaces and probably aren’t sure what they’re going to get, but at Rollickin they know they can turn up and the vibes are relaxed.
“You see them on the news, and it’s all serious and you probably kind of picture these people in different ways, but when you actually meet them, you realise they’re just real people.
“They’ve all got different views, but they all truly believe that their view is going to make New Zealand a better place.”