Mandy and Sebastian's Kiwi Summer Story

Tucked just off the road in the heart of Sumner is a little garden oasis, a swing chair, flowers in bloom, and the sun on your face as you hold a perfectly crafted scoop of ice cream. “For a moment,” Mandy says, “it’s just a sweet pause from the world - a peaceful little utopia.”

Mandy and Sebastian, originally from Berlin, have poured their hearts into Utopia Ice. “There are a lot of ourselves in this little business,” Mandy says. “It’s more than ice cream, it’s a space we created where people feel comfortable, happy, connected.”

The pair moved to New Zealand over a decade ago with their four-year-old son, chasing a dream and a new way of life. “Berlin had everything,” Sebastian reflects, “but it was all too much, too set in stone. New Zealand was the opposite. Freedom, space, opportunity, and a community that wanted us to succeed.”

They started small, with a single tabletop ice cream machine at the local farmers’ market. “We really came with nothing,” Mandy remembers, “but the market community rallied around us. We bought fruit from the local growers on Saturday, turned it into ice cream during the week, and sold it back to them the next weekend.” That commitment to local, seasonal produce remains at the heart of what they do today. “There are no shortcuts,” says Sebastian. “If you want deep, real flavour, you have to use good ingredients and keep it honest. It’s a win-win for the supplier, the maker, and the customer.”

These days, a perfect Sumner summer’s day might mean a morning walk with the dog, a dip in the sea, then a stop at Utopia Ice, where you’ll likely find Mandy and Sebastian greeting customers with a smile. “On a sunny day, everyone comes in happy,” says Sebastian. “And it doesn’t even feel like work. This is ours and it makes our customers happy, but it makes us happy too.”

Their connection to summer is deeply personal. “Ice cream, beach, sun, water - they just belong together,” Sebastian says. Mandy adds with a grin, “If the sun’s out, the ice cream’s out. That’s how we live.”

For them, a perfect Kiwi summer means barefoot days, salty skin, fresh food, and time outdoors. “It’s that little bit of carefreeness,” Mandy says, “the kind you can taste in every scoop we make.”