Dippin' Dots
{{short description|Ice cream brand}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2019}}
{{Infobox company
| name = Dippin' Dots
| logo = Dippin' Dots logo.png
| founded = {{Start date|1988}}
| website = https://www.dippindots.com/
}}
Dippin' Dots is an ice cream snack invented by Curt Jones in 1988.[http://www.dippindots.com/company/curt-jones/ "Curt Jones"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100328185826/http://www.dippindots.com/company/curt-jones/ |date=March 28, 2010 }}, Dippin Dots Website, accessed 14 Dec 2010 The confection is created by flash freezing ice cream mix in liquid nitrogen.[http://van.physics.illinois.edu/qa/listing.php?id=1687 "Q & A: Dippin' Dots"]. Department of Physics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Retrieved December 16, 2011. The snack is made by Dippin' Dots, Inc., headquartered in Paducah, Kentucky."[http://www.dippindots.com/contact/ Dippin' Dots Contact Information]." Dippin' Dots. Retrieved on March 5, 2010. Dippin' Dots are sold in 14 countries, including Honduras and Luxembourg.{{Cite web|url=https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/67650/11-cool-facts-about-dippin-dots|title=11 Cool Facts About Dippin' Dots|date=2016-04-07|website=www.mentalfloss.com|language=en|access-date=2020-04-16}}
Because the product requires storage at temperatures below {{convert|−40|C|F}}, it is not sold in most grocery stores, as most cannot meet such extreme cooling requirements.{{cite web |title=International Opportunities |url=https://www.dippindots.com/international/opportunities/ |website=dippindots.com |publisher=Dippin’ Dots LLC. |access-date=2020-07-09}}
Dippin' Dots are sold in individual servings at franchised outlets. Many are in stadiums, arenas, shopping malls, and in vending machines, though there are also locations at aquariums, zoos, museums, and theme parks.{{cite web |title=Food Service |url=https://www.dippindots.com/business/food-service |website=dippindots.com |publisher=Dippin’ Dots LLC. |access-date=16 May 2022 |archive-date=May 13, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220513183716/https://www.dippindots.com/business/food-service |url-status=dead }}
History
File:Dippin' Dots Rainbow Flavored Ice.jpg
Dippin' Dots was founded in Paducah, Kentucky, in 1988. Jones began the company in his parents' garage. It was originally invented as cow feed when Jones, who specialized in cryogenics, was trying to make efficient fodder for farm animals.{{Cite news |date=May 4, 2020 |title=The surprising origin of Dippin' Dots |url=https://www.cnn.com/videos/us/2020/05/04/great-big-story-dippin-dots-gbs.great-big-stor |publisher=CNN |access-date=May 18, 2020}}
The company is now headquartered in Paducah, Kentucky.
In 1992, Dippin' Dots received {{US Patent|5126156}} for its ice cream making process, and in 1996 unsuccessfully sued its main competitor, Mini Melts, for patent infringement, losing the suit in February 2007.
Japan became the first international licensee of Dippin' Dots in 1995.
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.{{cite news |last=Kingson |first=Jennifer A. |date=July 19, 2011 |title=In the Lab With the Ice Cream Makers |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/20/dining/in-the-lab-with-the-ice-cream-makers.html |url-access=subscription |newspaper=The New York Times}}{{cite web |title=What Went Wrong? Dippin' Dots: Why the USPTO Invalidated Its Patent and It Now Has Two New Competitors - www.dippindots.com |series=Part 4: Managing and Growing an Entrepreneurial Firm |url=http://www.zuberlaw.com/attorneys/articles/DippinDots-What_Went_Wrong.pdf |page=392 |website=ZuberLaw.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120317004225/http://www.zuberlaw.com/attorneys/articles/DippinDots-What_Went_Wrong.pdf |archive-date=March 17, 2012}}
On November 4, 2011, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection,{{Cite news |last=Gara |first=Antoine |date=November 4, 2011 |title=Dippin' Dots Melts: Deals to Watch |url=https://www.thestreet.com/story/11300602/1/dippin-dots-melts-deals-to-watch.html |website=TheStreet}} after failing to reach an agreement with their lender, Regions Bank. According to The New York Times, the bank had been trying to foreclose on Dippin' Dots for over a year.{{cite web |last=Memmott |first=Mark |year=2011 |title=Dippin' Dots, 'Ice Cream of the Future', Files For Bankruptcy Protection |work=The Two-Way |url=https://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2011/11/04/142025201/dippin-dots-ice-cream-of-the-future-files-for-bankruptcy-protection |publisher=National Public Radio |access-date=16 August 2012}}
On May 18, 2012, U.S. Bankruptcy Court approved the purchase of the company by Scott Fischer and his father Mark Fischer. The Fischers had co-founded Chaparral Energy in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. They retained company founder Curt Jones as CEO, and planned to expand from 1,600 sales locations to 2,000 locations, keeping the production and headquarters in Paducah, where it employed 165 people.{{cite news |date=18 May 2012 |title=Dippin' Dots deal is done |url=https://oklahoman.com/article/3676556/dippin-dots-deal-is-done |newspaper=The Oklahoman}}
In mid-2014, the company purchased gourmet popcorn franchisor Doc Popcorn, which had about 100 stores.{{Cite web |last=Ewen |first=Beth |date=July 3, 2014 |title=Doc Popcorn Scooped Up by Dippin' Dots |url=http://www.franchisetimes.com/news/July-2014/Doc-Popcorn-Scooped-Up-by-Dippin-Dots/ |website=Franchise Times |access-date=February 25, 2018}} On February 10, 2015, the company announced they would co-brand stores with both products. The 1,000-square-foot stores would sell Dippin' Dots and Doc Popcorn, with a common selling counter, register and employees.
In May 2022, J & J Snack Foods Corp. announced that it was going to acquire Dippin’ Dots for $222 million,{{Cite web |title=J&J Snack Foods to acquire Dippin' Dots |url=https://www.foodbusinessnews.net/articles/21392-j-and-j-snack-foods-to-acquire-dippin-dots |website=FoodBusinessNews.net |access-date=May 23, 2022}} and the acquisition was closed on June 21, 2022.{{Cite press release |date=June 21, 2022 |title=J&J Snack Foods Corp. Announces Closing of Dippin' Dots Acquisition |url=https://www.globenewswire.com/en/news-release/2022/06/21/2466291/18519/en/J-J-Snack-Foods-Corp-Announces-Closing-of-Dippin-Dots-Acquisition.html |website=GlobeNewswire |access-date=July 30, 2022}}
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.[http://www.life.com/celebrity-pictures/76450296/dippin-dots-presents-celebrity-grand-slam-paddle-jam-to-benefit-st-jude-childrens-research-hospital-red-carpet "Dippin' Dots Presents Celebrity Grand Slam Paddle Jam to Benefit St Jude Children's Research Hospital – Red Carpet"]{{Dead link|date=February 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}. Life. May 10, 2007
The company is a contributor to the charity Give Kids the World Village in Kissimmee, Florida.{{cite web |last=Aubruner |first=Kathy |url=https://www.iaapa.org/industry/funworld/2003/jul03/Departments/Jul03VillageNews.html |title=Connecting the Dots |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120801145201/http://www.iaapa.org/industry/funworld/2003/jul03/Departments/Jul03VillageNews.html |archive-date=2012-08-01 |website=Funworld Magazine |department=Village News |date=July 2003}}
DD Cryogenics
Dippin' Dots are stored and transported at –40 degree Fahrenheit (–40 °C), which is colder than most frozen foods require. The company's development of ultra low temperature freezers, proper storage and transportation got the company involved from about 1988 with selling their equipment for other uses, such as preserving microbiological cultures for fermentation.{{cite web |date=August 17, 2020 |title=DD Cryogenics - About Us |url=https://ddcryogenics.com/about-us |department=ddcryogenics.com |publisher=DD Cryogenics |access-date=10 January 2021 |archive-date=January 12, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210112014716/https://ddcryogenics.com/about-us |url-status=dead }}
To expand this side business after the 2011 bankruptcy and sale, a subsidiary company, Dippin' Dot (DD) Cryogenics LLC, was established in May 2019. DD Cryogenics did contract freezing and pelletizing of microbiological products out of their Paducah plant. In August 2020 a new dedicated 6,000 square foot, {{USD}}3.2 million manufacturing plant came online in Paducah.{{cite web |last=Demetrakakes |first=Pan |date=August 19, 2020 |title=Freezing the Pandemic Blues |url=https://www.foodprocessing.com/blogs/thescoop/freezing-the-pandemic-blues/ |publisher=FoodProcessing.com |access-date=January 10, 2021}}{{cite press release |date=August 6, 2020 |title=Dippin' Dots Debuts New Manufacturing Facility, Spurred by Growth of Cryogenic Division |url=https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/dippin-dots-debuts-new-manufacturing-facility-spurred-by-growth-of-cryogenic-division-301107732.html |publisher=PRNewswire |access-date=January 10, 2021}}
Their services now include contract design and manufacturing, cryogenic processors, and ultra low temperature freezers.{{cite web |title=Services |date=2021 |url=https://ddcryogenics.com/services-%26-equipment |publisher=DD Cryogenics |access-date=January 10, 2021 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210113091015/https://ddcryogenics.com/services-%26-equipment |archive-date=January 13, 2021}}
=Vaccine storage=
DD's creation of ultra low temperature freezing for their own food products, and commercial freezers going as low as {{cvt|-122|F}}, sparked interest when vaccines were developed for COVID-19 that required storage at -94 °F (-70 °C). Pharmacists and distributors of those vaccines reached out for those freezers.{{Cite web |date=2021-01-14 |title=The Unexpected Companies Involved in COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution |url=https://globaledge.msu.edu/blog/post/56953/the-unexpected-companies-involved-in-cov |access-date=2024-02-02 |website=globaledge.msu.edu |language=en-us}}{{cite news |last=Rosenthal |first=Abigail |date=December 22, 2020 |title=Dippin' Dots is the new unlikely hero of the coronavirus pandemic |url=https://www.chron.com/coronavirus/article/Dippin-Dots-covid-coronavirus-vaccine-pfizer-15822066.php |access-date=December 23, 2020 |newspaper=Houston Chronicle}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{Commons category}}
- {{Official website|http://www.dippindots.com}}
{{Paducah, Kentucky}}
{{Fast-food chains of the United States}}
{{Food chains in Japan}}
Category:Companies based in Kentucky
Category:Food and drink companies established in 1988
Category:Restaurants established in 1988
Category:Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2011
Category:History of Lexington, Kentucky
Category:Restaurant chains in the United States
Category:1988 establishments in Illinois