The Ice Cream Choice Is Endless, but We All Get the Same Cone

HERMITAGE, Pa. — The ice cream cone is never the star of the show.

Its role is clear: Keep the scoop upright, don’t leak and don’t upstage the main player.

But being that supportive takes work. Which is why David George believes that the cone deserves more respect.

“When you have a car, you know a whole lot of engineering is going into it,” he said, standing beside bright-red boxes of cones. “A simple cone sounds like a simple thing, but it is not so simple.”

Mr. George is the third-generation president of Joy Baking Group, the largest manufacturer of ice cream cones in North America. You may not know Joy by name, but you’ve probably tasted its cones. Mister Softee? A Joy customer. Dairy Queen? Also Joy. Your local ice cream shop? Probably.

As the realm of ice cream has expanded — with more flavors, toppings and