Dippin' Dots looks for next flash-frozen hit: Coffee dots

The guy who reinvented ice cream is desperately trying to reinvent his company — before it melts.

More than two decades ago, microbiologist Curt Jones devised a way to flash-freeze ice cream into colorful pellets about the size of BB's. Now in a tough economy, the outside-the-box company he founded, Dippin' Dots, is searching for a new concoction to take it beyond the quirky-but-costly ice cream's seasonal popularity in amusement parks and stadiums.