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| Mat Maid's History - page 2 Fresh, Local Milk Bottled in Anchorage  In its first year of milk production, 1936, the creamery reported sales of 6,458 pounds of butter and 26,928 eggs. By 1940, there was enough surplus milk to begin bottling it and selling in nearby Anchorage stores, and sales crept towards $500,000. That year ice cream production began, and from the start, Alaskans showed great enthusiasm for it. Three years later, Matanuska Maid’s sales topped $1 million. And despite very difficult political and legal squabbles between dairy producers and produce growers, the Cooperative earned modest profits in the ensuing years. To meet increased demand for fresh bottled milk, the Cooperative purchased a facility in Anchorage that enabled Mat Maid to bottle and distribute milk from the former Eastside Dairy. This move also improved the payment to farmers and the overall production of milk. With the coming of another World War and construction of military bases, demand for dairy and fresh produce increased with the growth of armed forces in Alaska. Milk was bottled at the Anchorage plant from 1945 through 1950. In 1951, the Palmer plant was remodeled to handle all dairy products, including reconstituted milk, recently contracted by the military. The Anchorage plant continued to be used as a distribution center.  Ice cream production in 1950 reached 7,000 gallons a month and sales topped $2 million. Four years later, Mat Maid moved to a new distribution facility on Northern Lights Boulevard, then the outskirts of Anchorage. Another processing plant, built in Fairbanks in 1954 to provide reconstituted milk for the military, operated until closing in 1961. The military, traditionally one of Mat Maid’s best customers, sent shipments of dairy products to support US troops in Korea during that war in the late 1940s and early ‘50s. They switched from reconstituted to fresh milk in 1960. That move helped trigger a decision to enlarge the Northern Lights location by adding a 43,000 square foot modern dairy processing plant to its distribution warehouse. The project was delayed by the 1964 earthquake but completed in 1965, when the new creamery opened to fill the growing demand for Mat Maid’s products. By 1962, Mat Maid had survived its 25thth year as a cooperative, and some of the Co-op’s earlier businesses had changed or been suspended. What remained were a strong core dairy business and other farm infrastructure, like a grain elevator and feed mill in Palmer.  Dairy operations struggled, faced with the challenges of climate, compounded by Alaska’s size – 2800 miles wide and 1000 miles long. More expensive than farming in the lower 48, dairy production can still be successful in Alaska, but it relies on five important factors being constant: efficient farm operations, high quality products, reliable distribution, cooperative retailers and a steady consumer base. Not often have all these elements been in sync. Mat Maid has direct control over two of them – high quality products and marketing to a loyal consumer base. To the degree that we win fans with our freshness and taste, we continue to find customers willing to make room for us on their shelves. Back to top < page 1 page 3 > |
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