Dippin' Dots
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dippin' Dots is an ice cream snack, invented by Southern Illinois University graduate Curt Jones in 1987. The confection is created by flash freezing ice cream mix in liquid nitrogen. The resulting small spheres of ice cream are stored at temperatures ranging from 20 to 70 degrees below zero Fahrenheit (from -29°C to -57°C). The marketing slogan is "Ice Cream of the Future".
The company, headquartered in Paducah, Kentucky, does not sell its product in "take-home" outlets such as supermarkets. On its official website, the company notes that its product requires storage at temperatures below zero Fahrenheit (about -18°C), which is considerably colder than standard home freezers. Dippin' Dots are sold in individual servings at franchised outlets, many in shopping malls, and in vending machines. Many theme parks such as Six Flags and SeaWorld, stadiums and arenas also sell Dippin' Dots. The ice cream is also sold over the Internet for delivery to homes and businesses.
The company has a line of novelties called Dot Delicacies made by combining the Dippin' Dots ice cream with other snack foods. A dotwich is an ice cream sandwich made by combining Dippin' Dots and fudge and placing between two cookies. Dippin' Stix come in a package containing vanilla cookie sticks and chocolate fudge. Dippin' Dots are added onsite so the customer can dunk the cookie into fudge, then into the Dippin' Dots. The company also has a line of ice cream cakes sold only at its franchised retail stores.
Dippin' Dots has sold its beads of ice cream since 1988, but recently entered the take-home, grocery store line of ice creams. The company combined its Dippin' Dots ice cream into conventional ice cream mix to produce Dots 'n Cream. The products website says the ice cream is "frozen from the inside out", meaning that the dots of ice cream actually work as a freezing agent so the base freezes quicker. The company says that because the ice cream is frozen quickly, its molecular structure is denser which results in creamier ice cream with less butterfat.
Dippin' Dots can be found at some McDonald's locations in southern California, Seattle, Tempe, along the Kansas Turnpike and at BJ's Wholesale Club along the east coast and in some places in Washington state along the west coast.
Dippin' Dots Franchising, Inc. is the franchise arm of the company. The company sells franchise rights to sell Dippin' Dots ice cream at retail stores in the U.S.
Dippin' Dots Global, Inc. represents the company in markets outside the U.S. and its territories. Dippin' Dots are produced in Seoul, South Korea for distribution throughout the Pacific Rim. The company maintains a distribution center in Sydney, Australia as well.
