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Nico’s Ice Cream

New Zealand style ice cream made in Portland.

Crafted in NE Portland, this New Zealand style ice cream features Willamette Valley fruit mixed with vanilla ice cream for a delicious soft serve like treat.

Portland-native Nico Vergara has been swirling up New Zealand style ice cream on his own since 2021. Not a self-proclaimed “sweets person”, Nico is convinced real-fruit ice cream is in a league of its own. After visiting New Zealand, Nico discovered the delicious taste by chance after stumbling across a cart selling Real Fruit Ice Cream (also known as New Zealand style). Intrigued by the machine, which makes New Zealand style ice cream unique, he quickly learned this style of ice cream was found everywhere in New Zealand. Once he arrived back in Oregon, Nico learned only three or four real fruit ice cream companies existed in North America. Naturally, he wanted to bring the delicious taste to his hometown.

What is New Zealand style ice cream?

New Zealand style ice cream, or simply, Real Fruit Ice Cream, is unique by the machine which produces the ice cream. The machine, which looks like a ground drill and funnel, takes hard packed ice cream and real frozen fruit, blending it together into a delicious, creamy soft serve-like treat. Ice cream is added to a large mechanical funnel, along with fresh fruit (or any other add-ins, for that matter), and pulverized into one smooth product. Even though the result may look like soft serve, it carries the same dense, creamy texture of true ice cream. Each batch is made with 2/3 vanilla ice cream and 1/3 fresh fruit

Nico keeps his internationally inspired business local with fresh Willamette Valley fruit and vanilla ice cream made in Oregon. His popularity soared, and in November 2021, Nico moved from his ice cream cart to a brick and mortar in Portland’s Cully neighborhood.

Each half-pint of Nico’s Ice Cream is packed with fresh swirls of real fruit crushed into vanilla ice cream. The original four flavors include:

  • Marionberry
  • Strawberry
  • Blueberry
  • Raspberry
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