It is the second-most popular ice cream flavour behind vanilla in New Zealand,[6] and is a frequently cited example of 4️⃣ Kiwiana.[7] It is also exported to Japan, Australia, and the Pacific Islands.[8]
Coincidentally, "hokey pokey" was a slang term for ice 4️⃣ cream in general in the 19th and early 20th centuries in several areas — including New York City[9] and parts 4️⃣ of Great Britain — specifically for the ice cream sold by street vendors or "hokey pokey men". The vendors, said 4️⃣ to be mostly of Italian descent, supposedly used a sales pitch or song involving the phrase "hokey pokey", for which 4️⃣ several origins have been suggested. One such song in use in 1930s Liverpool was "Hokey pokey penny a lump, that's 4️⃣ the stuff to make ye jump".[10]
The term hokey pokey likely has multiple origins. One of these is the expression "hocus-pocus", 4️⃣ which is possibly the source of the name hokey pokey in New Zealand. As a general name for ice cream 4️⃣ outside New Zealand, it may be a corruption of one of several Italian phrases. According to "The Encyclopedia of Food" 4️⃣ (published 1923, New York) hokey pokey (in the U.S.) is "a term applied to mixed colors and flavors of ice 4️⃣ cream in cake form". The Encyclopedia says the term originated from the Italian phrase oh che poco - "oh how 4️⃣ little". Alternative possible derivations include other similar-sounding Italian phrases: for example ecco un poco - "here is a (little) piece".[citation 4️⃣ needed]
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