Denali Ingredients’ manufacturing facility in New Berlin is a confections wonderland that could rival Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory.
The company is a supplier of baked inclusions (think brownie and cheesecake pieces used in ice cream), edible cookie dough, chocolate flakes and barks as well as flavor bases, fruit packs and purees.
Denali Ingredients introduces about 70 new products a year to its existing line of more than 1,000 unique items. The company annually makes about 15 million pounds of product for dairy processors and other food brands and retailers.
“If you see an ice cream (brand) behind a freezer door, there is a high probability we work with them,” said Dawn Manthei, chief commercial officer.
Denali doesn’t simply make classic chocolate chip cookie dough; the manufacturer also offers specialty flavors like red velvet cake and lemon shortbread.
One of its plants houses several large, continuous baking lines. Super-sized batches of batter are mixed daily. That batter is eventually baked in a continuous oven that’s several feet long, and then cooled. Once frozen, the baked additions are diced into smaller pieces and packaged.
Denali’s headquarters also houses a research and development lab where employees work to perfect recipes, and a small test kitchen.
Creating new inclusion flavors has been key to Denali’s success. Twice a year, there are boxes of unique ice cream flavors and inclusions sent out to the company’s customers for consideration. A team of Denali employees helps brainstorm ideas for the flavors that are included in each box.
A nine-person research and development team works to bring each flavor concept to life within a matter of months.