Dippin' Dots

Dippin' Dots, Inc.
Private
Industry Retail
Founded May 1988 (1988-05)
New Grand Chain, Illinois, U.S.
Headquarters Paducah, Kentucky, U.S.
Products Ice cream
Website dippindots.com

Dippin' Dots is an ice cream snack invented by Southern Illinois University Carbondale alumnus, Curt Jones, in 1988.[1] The confection is created by flash freezing ice cream mix in liquid nitrogen.[2] The marketing slogan is "Ice Cream of the Future". The snack is made by Dippin' Dots, Inc., headquartered in Paducah, Kentucky.[3]

Operations

Because the product requires storage at temperatures below −40 °F (−40 °C), it is not sold in grocery stores, which cannot provide such extreme cooling requirements. Dippin' Dots are sold in individual servings at franchised outlets, many in stadiums, arenas, shopping malls, and in vending machines, as well as at theme parks such as Busch Gardens, Knott’s Berry Farm, Schlitterbahn, Kings Island, Dollywood, Six Flags, Cedar Fair, PARC Management, Kennywood, SeaWorld, and Big Surf.

History

Dippin' Dots Flavored Ice Cream

The company of Dippin' Dots was officially founded in the town of New Grand Chain, Illinois, in 1988. Jones began the company in his parents' garage.[1] The company is now headquartered in Paducah, Kentucky.[4]

In 1992, Dippin' Dots acquired a patent on its ice cream and, in 1996, sued its main competitor, Mini Melts, for infringement. In 2007, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office ruled against Dippin' Dots because the process of creating the ice cream was "obvious" rather than proprietary, and ruled the patent unenforceable because Dippin Dots had sold the product commercially for over a year before applying for the patent.[5][6]

On November 4, 2011, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.[7] Dippin' Dots states that it was due to a failure to reach an agreement with their lender, Regions Bank after attempts to do so. However, Regions Bank, according to the New York Times, had been trying to foreclose on Dippin' Dots for over a year.[4]

On May 18, 2012, U.S. Bankruptcy Court approved the purchase of the company by Scott Fischer and his father Mark Fischer. The Fischers co-founded Chaparral Energy in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. They said that company founder Curt Jones would remain as CEO, that they would attempt to expand from 1,600 sales locations to 2,000 locations, and that they would keep the production and headquarters in Paducah, where it employed 165 people.[8]

In mid-2014, the company purchased gourmet popcorn franchisor Doc Popcorn, which had about 100 stores.[9] On February 10, 2015, the company announced the creation of co-branded stores with snack manufacturer. The 1,000-square-foot stores will sell both Dippin' Dots and Doc Popcorn products, and the two brands will share the same selling counter, register, and employees.

Flavors

Original Dots

  • Banana Splits
  • Birthday Cake
  • Bubble Gum
  • Candy Bar Crunch
  • Cookies 'n Cream
  • Caramel Brownie Sundae
  • Cuddle Bug Pie
  • Chocolate
  • Chocolate Chip Cookies Dough
  • Cotton Candy
  • Kettle Corn
  • Mint Chocolate
  • Moose Tracks
  • Spookies 'n Cream
  • Strawberry
  • Vanilla
  • Liberty Ice
  • Rainbow Ice
  • Rockin' Cherry Ice with Popping Candy
  • Sour Blue Razz
  • Vanilla (no sugar)
  • Redberry Sherbet
  • Strawberry Cheesecake
  • Blueberry Sorbet
  • Mango-Pineapple Sorbet
  • Strawberry Sorbet

Dot Treats

  • Dot Goat
  • LOL – Lots of Layers
  • Dot Sundae
  • Dot Shake
  • Solar Freeze
  • Dot Quakes

Dot Monster Munch

  • Baby Bea's Booger Batter
  • Chewy Chompers' T-Rex Rocks
  • Furry Ferguson's Polar Bear Poop
  • Miss Muddle's Monster Muck
  • Pigtail Penelope's Tickle-Me-Pink
  • Smelly Nelly's Monkey Mess
  • Sour Susie's Speckled Slime
  • Uncle Gus' Snot Rocket Chocolate
  • Annie's Delight (popcorn flavored)

Popping Candies

  • Rockin' Cherry Ice[10]
  • Frozeti Confetti[10]

Recognition

Dippin' Dots stand at Carowinds amusement park.

Dippin' Dots had been a frequent subject of Sean Spicer's tweets. When briefly serving in the role of White House Press Secretary, these tweets resurfaced and received news coverage.[11]

Charity work

Dippin' Dots has sponsored the "Celebrity Grand Slam Paddle Jam" celebrity table tennis tournament in Hollywood, whose proceeds benefit St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee.[12]

The company is a contributor to the charity Give Kids the World Village in Kissimmee, Florida.[13]

References

  1. 1 2 "Curt Jones", Dippin Dots Website, accessed 14 Dec 2010
  2. ↑ "Q & A: Dippin' Dots". Department of Physics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Retrieved December 16, 2011.
  3. ↑ "Dippin' Dots Contact Information." Dippin' Dots. Retrieved on March 5, 2010.
  4. 1 2 Mark Memmott (2011). "Dippin' Dots, 'Ice Cream Of The Future,' Files For Bankruptcy Protection". The Two-Way. National Public Radio. Retrieved 16 August 2012.
  5. ↑ Kingson, Jennifer A. "In the Lab With the Ice Cream Makers". The New York Times. July 19, 2011
  6. ↑ "What Went Wrong? Dippin' Dots: Why the USPTO Invalidated Its Patent and It Now Has Two New Competitors. www.dippindots.com. Part 4: Managing and Growing an Entrepreneurial Firm. Page 392
  7. ↑ "Dippin' Dots Melts: Deals to Watch".
  8. ↑ "Dippin' Dots deal is done". newsok.com. 18 May 2012.
  9. ↑ "Doc Popcorn Scooped Up by Dippin' Dots". Franchise Times News. July 3, 2014. Retrieved 2018-02-25.
  10. 1 2 Flager, Madison (February 6, 2018). "Dippin' Dots New Flavor Is Infused With Popping Candies". Delish. Retrieved February 25, 2018.
  11. ↑ Sanders, Sam (2017-01-24). "Dippin' Dots Beef Puts White House Press Secretary On The Spot". NPR.org. Retrieved 2018-08-04.
  12. ↑ "Dippin' Dots Presents Celebrity Grand Slam Paddle Jam to Benefit St Jude Children's Research Hospital – Red Carpet". Life magazine. May 10, 2007
  13. ↑ Aubruner, Kathy. "Connecting the Dots" Archived 2012-08-01 at Archive.is. Village News. July 2003
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