Arctic ice creams born out of local flavors

The taste of Arctic natural ingredients have come together to offer an exotic experience of ice cream from the Arctic circle in Rovaniemi.

Anna-Riikka Lavia, owner of the Arctic Ice Cream Factory Oy, took the initiative to set up the ice cream production business hoping that the ice cream, with high-quality Arctic ingredients and a story of the northern way of life combined in it, would make it interesting.

“There are not too many ice cream makers in the Arctic and I thought it would be interesting to create a business where high-quality Arctic ingredients and a story of the northern way of life can be combined,” Anna-Riikka Lavia, who studied food production, told Daily Finland, adding that she started making product development resulting a world of ice cream flavors inspired by Arctic nature and the best childhood memories.

She said that the company has about 40 ice-cream flavors. The ice creams are sold at supermarkets in 0,5 liters carton packages and for cafes and restaurants in bigger containers.

“Our most popular flavor in is cloudberry, but bilberry, vanilla and Northern Finncattle cow milk ice cream are also popular. We make sorbets that are a tasty option for vegans — for example, sea-buckthorn and green apple with cardamom are delicious,” she added.

Pointing out the specialty and exclusiveness of the ice cream, she said that her company uses local milk that comes from a farm situated next to their small factory.

“We also use other local ingredients such as berries and wild herbs that are collected from around Lapland. We make our ice cream from scratch. It is truly an artisan product. And still you can find it in supermarkets. Our scale is small but efficient,” Anna-Riikka Lavia, said.

The owner says that the business has been growing gradually. “Using the local ingredients is not the cheapest way to do business but we have got great feedback from our customers. It is also important that we are familiar with the whole chain from the farm to the customer. That gives us the possibility to also tell the unique story about Arctic ice creams,” she added.

The company owner said that they know where the berries come from and even know the cows producing the milk by name.

“Our summer kiosk is opening soon by the river close to the Pohjanhovi hotel and we have new resellers in Rovaniemi. For example, vegetarian cafe Woods is selling our vegan treats the summer,” said Anna-Riikka Lavia.

Arctic Ice Cream Factory began its journey out of passion to unify the best ice cream ingredients with the northern natural products.

It has its own factory in the countryside and the ice creams are also sold in Choco Deli, an outlet of a local chocolate and cake manufacturer in Rovaniemi city.

Anna-Riikka Lavia worked before as a project manager in different projects of regional development authority of Lapland.