Dippin Dots

Founded in 1988, for over 20 years Dippin’ Dots has commonly been referred to as â€Å"the ice cream of the future. † As a result of soaring operating costs and plummeting sales, Dippin’ Dots has endured substantial losses in their number of operating franchises. Dippin’ Dots flourished for many years as a unique segment of the ice cream market, targeting the out of home demographic, mainly focusing operations in busy areas like amusement parks, theatres and stadiums. Now facing increasingly dangerous competition, Dippin’ Dots must first identify their problems, and then execute the necessary resolutions if they want to regain their footing in the ice cream business. One problem facing Dippin’ Dots is that the unique product they offer severely limits the target markets that can be reached. Since retail locations can only offer the product at 10 to 20 ° below zero, special storage freezers are required, as well as specially manufactured cryogenic transport chambers in order to dispatch the product. These among other concerns have limited the distribution of Dippin’ Dots to only serve the away from home segment of the ice cream market. It is therefore advisable for Dippin’ Dots to construct an ice cream product which can be offered at temperatures that a supermarket could handle in efforts to reach the majority in house consumers of the ice cream market. Dippin’ Dots must also tackle the problem of pricing. At $5 for 5 ounces, Dippin’ Dots is unquestionably at the high end of the spectrum as far as ice cream goes; they have therefore aimed for areas where people are more willing to spend money, such as amusement parks like six flags and shopping malls. Another major deterrent to Dippin’ Dots is the threat of new entrants. According to the article it was due to the negligence in part of Dippin’ Dots founder Curt Jones , their patent was declared worthless, based on the fact that they had sold their ice cream product to over 800 customers before ever proposing the patent request. This allowed competitors the opportunity to create exact replicas of their once distinctive product. What’s even more eye gouging is these competitors were all disenfranchised former dealers of Dippin’ Dots, some of whom are now targeting much more of the global market, an area that should have been maximized by Dippin’ Dots several years ago. In light of their current and ongoing adversity, Dippin’ Dots should rapidly seek either a merger with an existing ice cream producer or create their own line of take home ice cream in order to decrease some of the losses that will inevitably be associated with this new competition. It is also recommended that Dippin’ Dots hire a new, experienced sales manager who can deal with supermarket chains, packaging companies, and distribution channels globally. After 20 years of operations, the time has come for Dippin’ Dots to expand their horizons. Everyone knows the name and children love the product so at least there’s no problem with brand awareness. Because of this legacy and reputation the introduction of Dippin’ Dots to the supermarket will be sure to turn heads and be a hit. If Dippin’ Dots can make the transition into this new market while somehow finding a way to keep their prices competitive, their chances of survival will improve considerably.