ICEE

The Icee Company is an American frozen-beverage business whose flagship product is ICEE, a carbonated slush drink served through specialized freezing machines. The beverage is sold in fruit and soft-drink flavors and is commonly associated with convenience stores, cinemas, amusement venues, restaurants, supermarkets, and other high-traffic retail locations. Its distinctive product format combines partially frozen water, carbon dioxide, and flavored syrup, producing a semi-frozen drink that is consumed through a straw. The product originated in 1958 when Omar Knedlik, who operated a Dairy Queen in Coffeyville, Kansas, experienced a malfunctioning soda machine. To keep bottled soft drinks cold, he placed them in a freezer. Customers responded positively to the bottles, which became slushy when opened, encouraging Knedlik to develop a purpose-built dispensing system. He worked with the John E. Mitchell Company in Dallas to create a machine based initially on automotive air-conditioning technology. Knedlik received a patent for the system in 1960. The brand identity was developed during this early period. Ruth E. Taylor, a local artist and acquaintance of Knedlik, created the name “Icee” and proposed the icicle treatment associated with the logo. Later cup artwork incorporated the snow-covered ICEE lettering, while the polar-bear character became the brand’s enduring mascot. The bear is now commonly known as the ICEE Bear and serves as a recognizable representation of the product’s cold, playful positioning. The company’s equipment and beverage concept attracted the attention of 7-Eleven in the mid-1960s. After purchasing several machines, 7-Eleven renamed its version Slurpee, helping establish the broader convenience-store category for frozen carbonated beverages. The Icee Company therefore occupies an important place in the development of machine-dispensed frozen drinks, even though the ICEE and Slurpee brands became separate retail identities. The business later adopted a franchise-oriented distribution model involving developers and subdevelopers, with territorial rights, equipment rentals, and fees connected to machine placement and beverage promotion. In the United States, the company’s machines and products are distributed through a broad network of retailers and food-service operators. Reported placements include selected McDonald’s and Subway restaurants located in Walmart stores, Burger King restaurants, Sam’s Club cafés, Wawa, QuickChek, Valero locations with Corner Store marts, Rainforest Café venues, cinemas, and convenience stores. In Mexico, the brand is sold through department stores, movie theaters, and convenience stores. J & J Snack Foods acquired The Icee Company in 1987, and the business became a division of that publicly traded snack-food group. The company relocated its headquarters from Ontario, California, to La Vergne, Tennessee, in December 2019. International expansion has included distribution in numerous markets and a United Kingdom launch through a partnership with Vimto. Cinema supply agreements subsequently expanded the brand’s presence in Europe. Alongside the original ICEE frozen carbonated beverage, the company produces other frozen beverages and Italian ice pops under the ICEE and Slush Puppie brands. Its current identity remains centered on branded frozen refreshments, proprietary dispensing equipment, licensed retail distribution, and the ICEE Bear mascot.

ICEE's history began in the late 1950s with Omar Knedlik, a Kansas-based convenience-store operator who experimented with serving soft drinks at very low temperatures. Accounts of the brand's origin describe an early accident or equipment problem that caused bottled soda to become partially frozen. Customers responded positively to the unusual drink, encouraging Knedlik to develop a repeatable commercial process rather than relying on improvised refrigeration. Knedlik worked with equipment designers to create a machine capable of freezing a carbonated beverage while maintaining enough movement and pressure to prevent it from becoming a solid block. The result was a semi-frozen drink with a granular, spoonable or straw-drinkable consistency. This technical format became the foundation of the ICEE business: a machine, a proprietary beverage mix, branded serving materials, and a retail location where the drink could be purchased as an impulse refreshment. The ICEE name emerged during the early commercialization of the product in 1958. The brand's visual identity and dispensing format helped distinguish it from ordinary fountain soda and from non-carbonated frozen drinks. Flavors such as cherry and blue raspberry became especially associated with the brand, although the available assortment has changed over time and differs among retailers and licensed venues. As the frozen beverage category developed, ICEE expanded through placement in convenience stores, cinemas, supermarkets, quick-service restaurants, amusement parks, and other high-volume locations. The business was not limited to selling finished beverages directly to consumers. It also depended on relationships with operators that installed ICEE equipment and sold the drinks under the brand's name. This created a scalable route to market based on concentrate supply, equipment support, cups, signage, and promotional programs. In 1987, J&J Snack Foods Corp. acquired The ICEE Company. The transaction made ICEE part of a larger branded snack and foodservice company whose portfolio included soft pretzels, frozen beverages, churros, and other venue-oriented products. J&J's ownership gave the brand access to a broader foodservice infrastructure while preserving ICEE as a distinct consumer-facing identity. In subsequent decades, ICEE maintained its presence through the continued use of branded fountain machines and through flavor and licensing activity. The company has promoted products tied to films, entertainment properties, holidays, and other consumer events when such partnerships were available. The format has also benefited from its fit with movie theaters and convenience retail, where customers often buy frozen drinks alongside snacks and prepared food. ICEE's history is therefore a combination of product invention, equipment-based distribution, and brand licensing. It is not principally a packaged beverage label with a single national retail assortment. Instead, the brand is experienced through a point-of-sale system that connects beverage concentrates and machines with local venue operators. The ICEE Company remains associated with J&J Snack Foods, while the brand continues to operate as an active frozen carbonated beverage business.

• 1987

  Acquisition by J&J Snack Foods

  [3]J&J Snack Foods corporate informationjjsnack.com

  J&J Snack Foods Corp. acquired The ICEE Company, making ICEE part of its branded snack and foodservice portfolio.

• 1958

  ICEE commercialized

  [2]The ICEE Company official about pageicee.com

  Omar Knedlik's frozen carbonated beverage concept was developed into a commercial product and associated with the ICEE name.

An impulse-oriented, family-friendly frozen beverage brand positioned around colorful flavors, intense cold, recognizable branded equipment, and availability at convenience, cinema, restaurant, and entertainment venues.

• Frozen beverage · 1958

  ICEE frozen carbonated beverage

  The brand's core product is a carbonated soft drink frozen into a semi-solid slush. It is dispensed through specialized equipment and is typically served in a branded cup with a straw. The format is associated with strong fruit flavors, vivid colors, and impulse consumption at convenience stores, cinemas, restaurants, supermarkets, and entertainment venues.

• Flavor

  Cherry ICEE

  Cherry is one of the signature flavor profiles most closely associated with ICEE. It represents the brand's classic fruit-forward positioning and is commonly offered through ICEE fountain programs, although exact availability depends on the retailer or venue.

• Flavor

  Blue Raspberry ICEE

  Blue raspberry is a prominent ICEE flavor associated with the brand's bright colors and sweet-tart frozen beverage profile. It has become a recognizable part of the brand's youth-oriented and entertainment-venue identity, subject to local availability.

• 1987

  J&J Snack Foods purchased The ICEE CompanyM&A

  Background

  The acquisition placed the ICEE brand within J&J Snack Foods, a company focused on branded snack and foodservice products.

  Action taken

  J&J Snack Foods acquired The ICEE Company and continued operating ICEE as a distinct brand within its portfolio.

  Aftermath

  ICEE became part of a broader public-company portfolio and continued expanding through foodservice, convenience, cinema, and entertainment distribution.

  Source

1. 1ICEE official brand websiteicee.com
2. 2The ICEE Company official about pageicee.com
3. 3J&J Snack Foods corporate informationjjsnack.com
4. 4J&J Snack Foods annual reports and filingsjjsnack.com