A swirl of delicious-looking electric blue matter sat inside a waffle cone, adorned with rainbow sprinkles and a bright red cherry. Any other time at Anchorage’s well-loved ice cream shop, Wild Scoops, this would have been a picture-perfect cone, quickly devoured. But, this Sunday morning was different.
Mia Billman, 11, and 13-year-old sisters Ayah and Meriam Alsoltani eagerly shaped and meticulously decorated their realistic slime ice cream scoops as they worked with Sophia Detweiler, Wild Scoops’ media specialist and community liaison.
The young girls own Blueberry Bear Slime Company, a growing slime business in the greater Anchorage area. This tactile toy can be shaped, squished, popped and stretched and is often used as a fidget toy or stress reliever by people of all ages. The viscous goo comes in a variety of colors, textures and scents and gained popularity online in 2017, leading to a bout of nationwide craft store glue shortages.
Wild Scoops made Blueberry Bear Slime Co. a wholesale partner in 2025 and placed their first order for 200 slimes, selling them at their Midtown brick and mortar. They continue to partner with the slime company for themed collections, including their latest order of 220 ice cream-themed slimes, commissioned for Wild Scoops’ 10th anniversary.
The girls were hard at work fulfilling the order last week ahead of the April 1 launch, which features a waffle cone scented cloud slime, tart rhubarb icee slime and a vanilla scented ube mochi butter slime.
“We thought it would be like one order and then that was like it,” Meriam Alsoltani said of the Wild Scoops partnership. “I had no idea this was going to happen,” Ayah Alsoltani added.
Meneka Thiru, who held Detweiler’s job previously, first encountered the girls’ slime company in 2024 at Girdwood Forest Fair. She was eager to collaborate and support their business.
“When I found them at the fair I was super excited to see a youth-run, local slime company,” she said. “I was also really impressed by how professional their set up was.”
The girls design and print their own packaging labels and menus, and develop scents, themes and textures, ensuring slimes are modified and adjusted based on customer feedback and stock availability.
Some of their best selling slimes have included Cosmic Ice Cream, a vanilla-scented, multi-colored cloud slime with galaxy charms, and Bubble Bath, an unscented clear slime with foam “bubble” beads and a duck charm.
Working with the young entrepreneurs was an inspiration for Thiru.
“When I was a kid, the business ideas were like selling popcorn out of your garage or making lemonade,” she said. “It’s cool to see young people, especially young girls, putting together this business in a really professional way and being able to grow it.”
Blueberry Bear Slime Co. has come a long way since its inception four years ago.
“When we first tried making slime, it was a complete, utter disaster,” Ayah Alsoltani said. “It started melting everywhere, so we just kind of forgot about it and put it in the back of our closet.”
They returned to the Christmas present slime kit a year later and began watching tutorials on Youtube, gaining inspiration from online slime creators and businesses.
Shortly after, they met Billman and introduced her to the world of slime. Together, they sold their first creations at a neighborhood garage sale.
“We really thought that lemonade would do better,” Meriam Alsoltani said, adding that she hopes Blueberry Bear Slime Co. will be her high school job.
These days, the trio frequents markets and fairs and will be selling slime on April 4 during the Homestead Spring Bazaar at Homestead Elementary School in Eagle River.
The girls encourage anyone interested in starting a business to go for it.
“You shouldn’t stop because you didn’t sell good at a market,” Meriam Alsoltani said. “Keep persisting and experimenting with things,” Billman added.
Running their business requires a lot of work and although their busy school, music and sport schedules are challenging, they are excited for the future and hope their business continues to grow.
“I see them dreaming so much bigger than I was able to dream at that age,” said Thiru. “And it makes me feel really excited for Anchorage and the future kiddos who are going to become the adults.”
