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OOB Organic (short for Omaha Organic Berries) is a New Zealand seller of ice cream and berries. It was founded by Shannon and Rob Auton, and the ice cream is made in a factory in their blueberry orchard in Matakana. OOB Organic is sold in both New Zealand and Australia.

History

The company was founded by Shannon and Rob Auton. Rob started growing berries in 2001; he was previously an investment banker. In 2012 the company and its products rebranded from Omaha Organic Berries to OOB Organic.

In 2012 OOB Organic started exporting to Australia, selling in 860 Woolworths stores. In 2014 the company's products were introduced in 750 Australian Coles supermarkets. In 2013 or 2014 OOB Organic started exporting to Singapore, the first Asian country to sell the brand, and after a few years the company started exporting to Malaysia and China. The company had a 64 percent increase in sales in 2014.

It was reported by The New Zealand Herald in 2015 that despite marketing giving the impression that the brand's berries were grown in New Zealand, fine print on the packaging said that they were grown in Chile and Turkey. A 2015 survey of 1797 New Zealanders conducted by Canstar Blue found that OOB Organic is one of New Zealand's favourite ice cream brands, reaching around the same level of satisfaction as Tip Top and Rush Munro's. In 2016 OOB Organic and Lewis Road Creamery partnered to create a limited edition strawberry-flavoured milk.

In 2017, OOB Organic's revenue for the previous year was reported as $17 million (equivalent to $19 million in 2021). In 2017 the company was fined $26,000 (equivalent to $28,000 in 2021) for building without consent, relating to a 2011 development of five buildings which lacked proper fire escape routes or signage. The judge noted that there was no evidence of harm having been caused. In 2018 OOB Organic started selling smoothie mixes in Australia.

References

1. ^ "Small Business: Shannon Auton – OOB Organic". NZ Herald. 26 October 2023. Archived from the original on 26 October 2023. Retrieved 26 October 2023.
2. ^ "Real organic berries – shame about the air miles". NZ Herald. 26 October 2023. Archived from the original on 26 October 2023. Retrieved 26 October 2023.
3. ^ "Berry growers branch out – Business News". NZ Herald. 26 October 2023. Archived from the original on 26 October 2023. Retrieved 26 October 2023.
4. ^ Nadkarni, Anuja (30 April 2017). "Singapore gateway into Asian market". Stuff. Archived from the original on 26 October 2023. Retrieved 26 October 2023.
5. ^ "Organic berry firm snares new market". Stuff. 27 August 2014. Archived from the original on 26 October 2023. Retrieved 26 October 2023.
6. "Oob wins in organic food sales surge". Stuff. 19 June 2015. Archived from the original on 28 October 2023. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
7. Yeoman, Scott (30 November 2015). "Family-owned brands cream big competition". The New Zealand Herald. Archived from the original on 28 October 2023. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
8. Heaton, Thomas (16 September 2016). "Lewis Road Creamery release limited edition strawberry milk for Spring". Stuff. Archived from the original on 27 October 2023. Retrieved 27 October 2023.
9. ^ 1850-2017: "Consumer Price Index, Annual Growth". Data1850. New Zealand Institute of Economic Research. 2018-2021: "Consumers Price Index". Infoshare. StatsNZ.
10. "Unsafe icecream factory built without consent". Stuff. 18 January 2017. Archived from the original on 26 October 2023. Retrieved 26 October 2023.
11. "New food and booze". The West Australian. 10 April 2018. Archived from the original on 10 December 2023. Retrieved 26 October 2023.

• Dairy products companies of New Zealand
• Food and drink companies of New Zealand
• Ice cream brands