Dippin' Dots facts for kids
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| Founded | 1988 |
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Dippin' Dots is a super cool ice cream snack! It was invented by a scientist named Curt Jones in 1988. This special treat is made by quickly freezing ice cream mix using something called liquid nitrogen. Imagine tiny, colorful beads of ice cream!
Dippin' Dots are made by a company based in Paducah, Kentucky. You can find these fun ice cream dots in 14 different countries around the world.
Because Dippin' Dots need to be kept super cold (colder than -40 degrees Fahrenheit!), you usually won't find them in regular grocery stores. Most stores don't have freezers that can get that chilly!
Instead, you can buy Dippin' Dots at special stands or shops. They are often found in fun places like stadiums, shopping malls, theme parks, zoos, and museums. You might even spot them in vending machines!
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The Story of Dippin' Dots
Dippin' Dots started in Paducah, Kentucky, back in 1988. Curt Jones, the inventor, actually began making them in his parents' garage! He was a scientist who studied how things behave at very cold temperatures, a field called cryogenics. Believe it or not, he first thought about using this freezing method to make food for farm animals!
The company's main office and production are still in Paducah today.
In 1992, Dippin' Dots got a special legal protection called a patent for their unique way of making ice cream. This meant others couldn't easily copy their process. Later, in 1996, they tried to stop another company, Mini Melts, from using a similar method, but they didn't win that case.
Japan was the first country outside the U.S. to sell Dippin' Dots, starting in 1995.
In 2007, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office decided that the way Dippin' Dots were made was not as unique as first thought.
In 2011, the company faced some financial challenges and had to work with their bank to sort things out.
In 2012, a father and son, Scott and Mark Fischer, bought the company. They decided to keep Curt Jones as the CEO. They planned to open even more Dippin' Dots locations and keep the production and headquarters in Paducah, where many people worked.
Around 2014, Dippin' Dots bought another company called Doc Popcorn, which sells gourmet popcorn. Soon after, in 2015, they started opening stores that sold both Dippin' Dots and Doc Popcorn together! This meant you could get a sweet frozen treat and a salty snack in one place.
In May 2022, a company called J & J Snack Foods Corp. bought Dippin' Dots. The deal was completed in June 2022.
Helping Others: Charity Work
Dippin' Dots loves to help people! They have supported a fun celebrity table tennis tournament in Hollywood. The money raised from this event goes to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, which helps children with serious illnesses.
The company also helps a charity called Give Kids the World Village in Kissimmee, Florida. This special place provides free vacations for children with critical illnesses and their families.
DD Cryogenics: Beyond Ice Cream
Dippin' Dots needs very cold temperatures to store and transport their ice cream. Because of this, they became experts at making and using ultra low temperature freezers. Since 1988, they've also sold their special freezing equipment for other uses, like keeping tiny living things (microbes) safe for science.
After the company was sold in 2012, they decided to grow this part of their business. In 2019, they created a new company called Dippin' Dot (DD) Cryogenics LLC. This company uses its special freezing technology to help other businesses. For example, they can freeze tiny products into small pellets. In 2020, they even opened a brand new, large factory in Paducah just for this work!
Today, DD Cryogenics offers services like designing and building special freezing machines and making ultra-cold freezers for many different needs.
Freezers for Vaccines
Dippin' Dots' experience with ultra-cold freezers became very important when new vaccines were developed for COVID-19. These vaccines needed to be stored at extremely cold temperatures, sometimes as low as -94 degrees Fahrenheit (-70 degrees Celsius)! Because DD Cryogenics already had freezers that could go even colder (down to -122 degrees Fahrenheit), pharmacists and vaccine distributors reached out to them for help. Their technology played a role in keeping those important vaccines safe.
