Fort Collins Ice Cream Maker Wins Three National Awards from Industry Association
Josh & John's Ice Cream, which operates a scoop shop in Fort Collins, earned three national awards from the North American Ice Cream Association in 2025, continuing the company's recognition for quality and innovation in the specialty ice cream industry.
The awards recognize excellence based on taste, texture, recipe formulation and ingredient integrity, according to industry standards. Judging is performed blind by a panel of ice cream industry experts and professionals.
The North American Ice Cream Association awards are widely considered the most prestigious peer-judged recognition for independently owned ice cream companies across the United States, as the association represents a majority of the specialty and craft sector.
Josh & John's, founded in 1986 in Colorado Springs, has built its reputation on small-batch production using what the company describes as clean, high-quality ingredients. The ice cream maker uses pure sugar as its exclusive sweetener and sources cream from a Northern Colorado dairy that produces a proprietary blend specifically for the company.
The Fort Collins location at 1981 Jessup Drive in the Bucking Horse area is one of six retail shops the company operates across Colorado. The business has expanded from its original downtown Colorado Springs location on Kiowa Street to multiple locations while maintaining its focus on locally sourced ingredients.
Josh & John's recently added a dairy-free product line featuring flavors including Cookie Butter Crumble and Chocolate Peanut Butter. The company's monthly featured flavors now include dairy-free options alongside traditional offerings.
The ice cream maker emphasizes its clean-label approach, which excludes added dyes, carrageenan, corn syrup and rBGH from its products. The company slow-churns its ice cream and avoids preservatives in its formulations.
Beyond its retail locations, Josh & John's operates mobile Scoop Buses that serve events throughout the region.
The company joins other Northern Colorado ice cream businesses that have recently highlighted specialty offerings. Edison's Ice Cream in Fort Collins produces hundreds of house-made gluten-free waffle cones weekly at its Old Town location, while Paciugo Gelato in Loveland launched a specialty hot chocolate menu as the winter season began.