“If I don’t do it, somebody else will.” Sometimes the thought of a missed opportunity is enough to push something from idea to reality. Elissa Brown, co-owner with Chris Pike of Wild Scoops in Anchorage, fell in love with ice cream because she realized it was the perfect “canvas” for her to paint flavors. She had been making ice cream for a few years before she thought of turning her obsession into a business.
In the fall of 2014, Brown and her husband Pike moved to Anchorage. “I saw that Alaskans love Alaska-made products and there is such a sense of pride over ingredients that are local; those kinds of ingredients are really special.” She found out the famous statistic was true—Alaskans really do eat more ice cream per capita than residents of any other state. And she noticed there weren’t a lot of local ice cream options.
When Brown decided to get started making ice cream commercially, she cold-called about 50 places looking for a commercial kitchen. She landed at Mad Myrna’s making ice cream during their off-hours. “Before we knew it, we were selling at the South Anchorage Farmers Market.” Brown credits the market with their initial success. “Starting out selling at farmers markets was the best thing we ever did. It allowed us to start small and make sure this was a viable business. It allowed us to start forming relationships to farmers and other businesses who sold at the market.” Read more over at Edible Alaska …
This web story is in collaboration with our partners at Edible Alaska