Made in Alaska program: polar bear logo helps market Alaska products.

• Author: Colby, Nicole A. Bonham
• Position: MANUFACTURING

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From ice cream to coffee, explosive lasting agent to wooden bowls, Alaska's local producers are a creative lot, adding value and ingenuity to develop a locally branded commercial product. With its signature polar bear logo to identify authenticity, the Made in Alaska program, under the State Office of Economic Development, has helped hundreds of Alaskans market their goods to local and Outside buyers.

FROZEN NORTHERN TREAT

As Plato said, it is "necessity, who is the mother of invention." And likely no one would disagree that the frozen North needs a premium local ice cream product. So it was that, last year--a full 22 years after two brothers kicked off their ice cream startup in Fairbanks-Hot Licks Homemade Ice Cream Inc. was a nominee for the Made in Alaska Manufacturer of the Year. An example of how a good idea, quality product, persistence and effective marketing can eventually win out, the company now features three locations: two in Fairbanks and one in Denali Park.

Hot Licks' edge comes from its "homemade" style, according to the company Web site. "The term 'homemade' refers to the production method. Hot Licks ice cream is made by the individual batch, 40 quarts at a time, as opposed to the continuous flow system used by large companies to turn out thousands of gallons of each flavor," according to the company. "The batch freezing method, combined with the use of the very finest ingredients obtainable, imparts an 'old fashioned' or 'homemade' characteristic to the ice cream that is absent from even the best of the national brands. Batch freezing also allows for tremendous flexibility and virtually unlimited flavor possibilities."

Perhaps the company's greatest coups to date came in June of this year with its billing among luxury tour operator Tauck World Discovery's top 10 list of the world's best places to enjoy ice cream. "Our Tauck directors have a real in-depth, local knowledge of the destinations where we travel," says Tauck CEO Dan Mahar. "Because they take our guests off the beaten path to discover the hidden gems in each country we visit, it's only natural that they'd know where to find the best ice cream." The Fairbanks company made the top listing, along with nine others from Paris, Buenos Aires and Florence--even Ben &Jerry's of Vermont.

ROASTED COFFEE BEANS

The same year that brothers Geoff and Adam Wool of Hotlicks were dreaming of an icy cold treat, the minds behind Kaladi Brothers Coffee--the...