A Sweet Success: The Delicious World of Alaska Wild Berry

When Dawee Lor was six, her parents handed her a copy of the book “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”. In 1964, author Roald Dahl wrote this beloved children's classic that tells the tale of a young boy's visit to a magical chocolate factory. Just as in the story, Lor's parents were preparing her for a visit to the Hershey Chocolate Factory. This dog-eared book now sits on a shelf in her office and Lor owns her own chocolate company, and while she may not have a chocolate river or employ Oompa Loompas, she does have a 20ft chocolate waterfall and she and her staff have their own kind of magic in creating extraordinary sweet treats.

Hazel and Kenneth Health started Alaska Wild Berry in 1974. The Healths sold jams and jellies produced in home-style cooking facilities. The company changed hands several times until Peter Eden bought it and added the incredibly popular chocolate covered jellies enhanced with berries grown in Alaska. Lor began working at Alaska Wild Berry when she was 16. Wanting more knowledge of the business, she gained experience by working in every part of the factory, from taking phone orders to shipping to candy making.

When Peter passed away in 2020, he left the business to Lor. “I really feel like I was Charlie and Peter was Willy Wonka,” says Lor in reference to the book. “Candy making is the best business. I meet people from all over the world and I get to be creative.”

Lor encourages every employee to come up with flavors in their test kitchen. “We like it when everyone is a part of our candy making process. Whoever comes up with a great recipe, we name the candy after them. Then they become part of Alaska Wild Berry’s history. We have Victoria’s Caramels, which is a caramel with a peanut butter layer and chocolate, Brittney’s Bacon, which is chocolate covered bacon and Sylvia’s Sea Turtles, which is coconut, caramel, chocolate and sea salt,” says Lor. Each year Lor puts out a list of Alaskan berries for their signature jelly center chocolates. Locals scramble to the forest to pick the berries, wash and freeze them, and deliver the produce to the factory. Some berries gathered include wild raspberries, blueberries, salmonberry, rose hip, gooseberries and red currents. These sweet and tart jelly chocolates are a nod to the original jams sold by the Healths in 1974 and are reminiscent of childhood berry-picking hikes in the woods on long summer days. “When you buy jellies in the supermarket, they have been commercially processed from truckloads of berries that couldn’t be sold in the produce department. Our Alaskan berries are hand-picked and delivered directly to our kitchens, where you can watch them being sorted, cooked, and turned into chocolates,” states Lor.

Even children have given ideas for flavors such as pop rocks. “Sometimes the flavors don’t work and sometimes they are magical and we get awards for them,” says Lor. Last year Alaska Wild Berry won “Best New Piece” for their line of ganaches at the Retail Confectioners International Convention in Wisconsin.

Lor and her team meticulously packed 400 pieces of candy in their carry-on and flew to the competition. “It was incredibly nerve wracking with each bump of turbulence,” says Lor. Even after an inspection by TSA who wanted to know what all the little pieces were in the bag, the chocolates arrived unscathed to the competition, which was peer judged by candy-makers from all over the United States. Their flavors included mango champaign, blackberry cheesecake and a star flavor in the line-up, was a key lime pie, white chocolate ganache topped with a graham cracker crust. “It was the perfect flavor of tartness and sweetness and was like eating a bite of key lime pie but in a little chocolate,” says Lor.

Alaska Wild Berry has four kitchens, including the Jam and Jelly Kitchen, Hot Kitchen, Candy Kitchen, and the Molding Room. Visitors can watch all four kitchens in action through the viewing windows in the store. There is also a 4,000 square foot gift shop where one can purchase their award-winning chocolates, as well as jams, jellies, and items such as polar bear smooches which is a delightful blend of crunchy peppermint and creamy white chocolate drenched in velvety dark chocolate. While Lor says the by-product of having a chocolate factory is she doesn’t crave chocolate anymore, her go-to favorite is the almond caramel turtles.

“Chocolate brings people together. I love seeing the customers smile and their eyes light up when they bite into a piece of candy. It makes the long hours worth it. I can’t imagine doing anything else.”

For more Information visit: akwildberry.com. Address: 5225 Juneau St. Anchorage, AK 99518