NEW ORLEANS—Ronald Sciortino is gearing up for a snowball fight.

The owner of Jefferson, La.-based SnoWizard Inc. calls his company the originator of the "snowball"—a Louisiana summer snack made of super-finely shaved ice and flavored syrup, similar to the snow cone. The snowball-machine manufacturer and flavor supplier offers 144 flavors—90% of which Mr. Sciortino says he makes from scratch in his lab, where tall metal cylinders bubble and dozens of glass bottles of chemicals line the shelves.

"In...