Customer Spotlight: Minnesota Ice
In the world of business, Minnesota Ice stands out by transforming ice into a form of art that enhances every experience. The company leads in the Midwest with its specialty in artisan cocktail ice, ice sculptures, and elaborate ice events. We chatted with Robbie Harrel, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at Minnesota Ice, to discuss the journey, highlighting inspiration, challenges, achievements like a Guinness World Record, and how Coulee Bank supports their growth.
Coulee Bank (CB): Tell us the story behind Minnesota Ice. How did the business begin, and what inspired you to specialize in artisan cocktail ice, ice sculptures, and ice events?
Robbie Harrel (RH): Minnesota Ice started with a simple idea: ice could be more than a commodity. It could be part of the experience.
I founded Minnesota Ice in 2013 with a small amount of startup capital, a lot of curiosity, and a willingness to figure things out the hard way. What began as a small, hands-on operation has grown into one of the leading artisan and sculpture-grade ice manufacturers in the Midwest.
Our business has evolved across several connected areas: premium cocktail ice, sculpture-grade ice blocks, custom ice sculptures, packaged ice, and large-scale ice events. At the center of all of it is the same belief: great ice is the foundation for a great experience.
We were drawn to artisan cocktail ice and ice sculptures because they sit at the intersection of manufacturing, craftsmanship, hospitality, and creativity. Ice is incredibly technical, but it is also emotional. It can elevate a cocktail, brand an event, create a memory, or transform a winter space into something people talk about for years.
CB: Minnesota Ice serves a wide range of customers — from weddings to restaurants to major events. What has been the most exciting or memorable project you’ve worked on so far?
RH: One of our most memorable projects was creating the Minnesota Ice Festival and building what became the Guinness World Record–setting largest ice maze.
That project brought together everything Minnesota Ice does: large-scale manufacturing, logistics, design, craftsmanship, event production, and community experience. It required months of planning, millions of pounds of ice, and a tremendous amount of coordination from our team and partners.
What made it special was not just the scale. It was seeing families, friends, and visitors experience winter in a completely different way. Minnesota is known for winter, and we wanted to create something that embraced that identity in a bold and memorable way.
We have also been fortunate to create custom ice pieces for weddings, restaurants, corporate events, professional sports teams, and national brands. Every project is different, but the most rewarding ones are the projects where the ice becomes a centerpiece of the experience.
CB: Your business blends creativity with logistics and production. What does a typical busy season look like for your team, and how do you prepare for it?
RH: Our busy season is a mix of controlled chaos, detailed planning, and a lot of teamwork.
In the warmer months, demand for packaged and cocktail ice increases significantly, especially among grocery, liquor, hospitality, golf, restaurant, and event customers. In the winter, our sculpture and event work ramps up, including holiday displays, corporate events, ice bars, and large outdoor installations.
Preparation starts months in advance. We focus on production forecasting, inventory planning, freezer capacity, route planning, staffing, equipment readiness, customer communication, and vendor coordination. Because ice is perishable, heavy, and temperature-sensitive, execution matters. A great idea only works if the logistics behind it are solid.
Our team has to balance creativity with discipline. The sculpture side requires design talent and craftsmanship, while the packaged and cocktail ice side requires manufacturing consistency, food safety, operational efficiency, and dependable delivery. The key is to build systems that allow creative work to scale without sacrificing quality.
CB: As a growing and innovative company, what have been some of the biggest lessons you’ve learned as a business owner?
RH: One of the biggest lessons is that growth requires clarity. As a founder, it is easy to hold a lot of the vision in your own head, but a company cannot scale that way. You have to build systems, document processes, develop leaders, and make sure the team understands where the company is going and how their work connects to that direction.
Another major lesson is that resilience matters. We have been through major shifts, including COVID-19, supply chain challenges, labor constraints, seasonal swings, and the realities of growing a capital-intensive business. Each challenge forced us to become more disciplined and more creative.
I have also learned that innovation is not just about having big ideas. It is about executing the small details consistently. In our business, innovation shows up in how we manufacture ice, how we package it, how we reduce waste, how we build events, how we support customers, and how we prepare for the next opportunity.
At the end of the day, growth comes down to people, process, and persistence.
CB: How has working with a community bank helped support the business side of Minnesota Ice and your growth plans?
RH: Working with a community bank has been valuable because Minnesota Ice is not a traditional, off-the-shelf business. We manufacture specialized products, operate in seasonal markets, and continue to invest in custom equipment, new processes, and long-term infrastructure that are specific to what we are building.
A regional banking partner understands that innovation often requires more than simply buying standard equipment and following a standard playbook. In our case, many of the systems and machines we need do not exist exactly the way we need them, so growth often includes design, testing, refinement, and continued investment.
That kind of relationship matters. Our banker has taken the time to understand the business, the seasonality, the opportunities, and the realities of building something new. There are always ups and downs when growing a company, but having a banking partner who understands the bigger picture helps us keep moving forward responsibly.
For us, banking is not just about financing. It is about trust, communication, and doing what we say we are going to do. As Minnesota Ice continues to grow, that relationship helps give us the foundation to invest, innovate, and build for the long term.
