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INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana Chamber’s third annual Coolest Thing Made in Indiana tournament is down to the final eight contestants.
The contest started with 47 competitors, and interest remained high with thousands of votes cast in the third round as the field of 16 was trimmed in half, according to a news release from the Indiana Chamber.
The eight remaining competitors – which includes tournament veterans and one newcomer – are from eight cities.
The victors and their locations are: Aqua Blast Corp., Decatur; Birthday Chocolates, Greens Fork; Blue Fox Farms LLC, Wawaka; Guardian Bikes, Seymour; Hard Truth Distillery, Nashville; Hiker Trailers, Columbus; Hoosier Racing Tire, Plymouth; and POLYWOOD, Syracuse.
There are some powerhouses left in this year’s tournament, including POLYWOOD, last year’s runner up; and Hiker Trailers, which made it to last year’s semifinal round. Hard Truth Distillery made the quarterfinals a year ago. Guardian Bikes, meanwhile, is making a strong showing in its first year in the tournament, the release states.
The quarterfinal round of voting tipped off Tuesday morning and will conclude Friday at 9 p.m.
Round three winners can be seen and votes for the quarterfinal round can be cast at the Coolest Thing Made in Indiana website.
As with the first three rounds, round four winners will be chosen through public fan voting, with the products receiving the highest votes in each matchup moving to the next round. A voter may vote once per matchup per round. Voters must vote for all matchups in each round to have their votes count.
With the beginning of each new round, the votes from the previous votes cleared, and every remaining competitor starts the new round with no votes.
Voting for the remaining rounds is as follows:
Quarterfinals: Nov. 14-17
Semis: Nov. 20-24
Finals: Nov. 27-30
The winner of the contest will be announced Dec. 13 at the Indiana Chamber’s 2023 Best IN Manufacturing Awards Luncheon.
Companies entered in this one-of-a-kind contest face off in a single-elimination bracket format with winners chosen through public fan voting. Each winner goes to the next round until the Coolest Thing Made in Indiana champion is crowned. For fairness, the initial matchups were generated via an online randomizer, notes the Indiana Chamber.
To participate, a company did not need to be headquartered in Indiana, but the product entered must be manufactured in the state. Companies are limited to having one product nominated for entry.
Janus Motorcycles of Goshen took top honors in the inaugural competition and the Indiana Chamber honored Leesburg-based Maple Leaf Farms for its roast half duck in the second annual Coolest Thing Made in Indiana tournament.
