“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.”
The relationships Wild Scoops developed at the market only helped their business grow. It also provided ample inspiration and ingredients for their hyper-local ice cream. “We made it a challenge for ourselves to make a flavor from almost every vendor. It helped us really see what was in season and learn the nuances of the growing season and know the progression from rhubarb to beets to blueberries to pumpkins—and learn the flow of the local flavors.”
Prior to becoming an ice cream entrepreneur, Brown was a science educator. “My whole career leading up to ice cream was working with youth to develop connections to the outdoors. I carried that over into food because food is another way to connect with place.” Brown continues to see opportunities for connection with Wild Scoops. “I've always felt that the community is like an ecosystem; it works best when there are all these connections and interweavings between the different parts. So we're always reflecting on where we fall within that web.”
Brown’s strong community connections proved even more important this year after the pandemic upended plans for an uneventful season. “Every year before, we’d gone through some huge new change. In 2019 I had a baby. We had built out a new scoop shop and kitchen. We thought that in 2020, we’d keep things the same. We were wrong.” But they adapted, making changes to keep employees and customers safe, and through it all, folks still want ice cream.
“I mean, ice cream obviously is just delicious and fun on its own. But it definitely feels like something more to us to be this venue for telling stories and spreading joy and being able to be a place in the community where everyone feels welcome.”
Wild Scoops has a scoop shop in downtown Anchorage, and a shop and test kitchen on Benson Boulevard in midtown. Visit wildscoops.com curbside ordering, hours, and store information.
This profile is part of our web series sponsored by the Alaska Small Business Development Center. Read the rest of the series.
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