Dippin’ Dots and Doc Popcorn opened its 30th national co-brand franchise location this week in Charlotte, North Carolina. The companies joined forces to co-brand the popular concepts in late 2014, and since then, the dual-branded model has grown every year, hitting double-digit locations in 2016 and increasing its total units by 70 percent in 2019.
In the Charlotte area, local franchisees Jared Downs and Rudy Cook opened the 30th co-brand location in Carolina Place Mall. The entrepreneurial duo own a second location in Mebane, North Carolina. As the largest distributors and service providers of Dippin’ Dots, Cook and Downs say they’ve seen benefits in tacking on Doc Popcorn to their ice cream business.
“Our newly-combined North Carolina store was only a Dippin’ Dots for a decade, and we jumped at the chance to expand our offering without adding a new storefront. This offers us a whole new revenue stream without starting from scratch,” says Downs. “We’re honored to mark the 30th spot for our company, and as we’ve seen at our other co-brand location, the more you build, the more sustainable you become.”
The company expects more than 10 co-branded locations to open throughout 2020, including debuts in Menlo Park Mall in Edison, New Jersey, and POWERplex Sports Resort in St. Louis.
“Since launching the co-brand concept that mixes ice cream and popcorn, we’ve been pleased with the demand for a one-stop snack spot that satisfies both a sweet or salty craving,” said Steve Rothenstein, Senior Director of Franchising for Dippin’ Dots and Doc Popcorn. “Putting the two brands in one spot can serve more customers in a minimal amount of space, which has provided significant growth potential for our franchisees.”
Dippin’ Dots has produced and distributed its flash-frozen tiny beads of ice cream, yogurt, sherbet and flavored ice products since 1988. Doc Popcorn began as a better-for-you snack option in 2009 – popping their own proprietary flavors using high-quality ingredients free of trans fat, MSG, artificial colors and preservatives. When joined together, the brands have continued to innovate with new flavor launches, international expansions, patented technology licensing, video game partnerships and even a combined popcorn and ice cream sundae lineup.
The total initial investment to open a single-unit Dippin’ Dots/Doc Popcorn co-brand franchise is between $119,704 and $366,950.
