Why Dippin' Dots Were Not The Ice Cream Of The Future
Redeem now Dippin' Dots just filed for bankruptcy, seeking protection against debt collectors from Regions Bank. The company intends to stay in business while arranging repayment of $11.1 million, according to the WSJ.
The ice cream novelty debuted in 1988 claiming to be the "ice cream of the future."
The company website claims that inventor Curt Jones "re-invented one of the world's best-known treats" and "changed the way the world enjoys ice cream."
But Dippin' Dots are not the ice cream of the future. There are a few simple reasons why.
Dippin' Dots are too expensive. A 5 oz cup sells for around $2.29 at your local mall or fair ground. That adds up to around $7.32 for a pint compared to $5 for a pint of Ben & Jerries or far less for a non-premium ice cream. It costs a lot of money to cryogenically freeze tiny beads of ice cream in small batches. Innovation is supposed to make things cheaper.
Dippin' Dots rely on novelty and it's hard to do that after 23 years. We learned from going to the company website that name brand products include ice cream cakes, milk shakes and other kinds of diversification. Unfortunately these products have no gimmick whatsoever to compete against bigger and better ice cream companies.
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