Dippin’ Dots Files Chapter 11

It wasn’t a big story, but I saw a story in last week’s San Francisco Chronicle that Dippin' Dots, the unique way to eat ice cream, has filed for Chapter 11 to help stave off bankruptcy. What was once referred to as the “Ice Cream of the Future" was never really was a hit with me. The sugar content must be astronomical. Did you ever see a little kid eat Dippin’ Dots at a major league baseball game and then go bonkers? Seems like those kids were always the ones that sat near me at San Francisco Giants game. Sugar does that to a kid. Even adults.

 Dippin' Dots was invented by a Southern Illinois University graduate, Curt Jones, in 1987. The confection is created by flash freezing ice cream mix in liquid nitrogen. Containing less air than conventional ice cream, the resulting small spheres of ice cream are stored at temperatures ranging from -70°F to -20°F. The company’s PR machine has always done an admirable job. They made it on Oprah, and that surely must have helped sell a lot of those Dots.

But don’t worry all you Dippin’ Dots lovers. They aren’t going away just yet. There’s too many millions at stake.