Crumbl Cookies is a popular bakery company, with a business model that offers unique, fresh-baked cookies and rotating flavors each week.
The first Crumbl Cookies location opened in Logan, Utah in 2017. As of August 2024, the company has 1,040 stores across the United States, with each franchise earning between $367,666 and $1,404,333 in 2022. Its sudden rise in popularity has caused social media to spiral, especially on the video platform Tiktok.
The concept of coming out with new flavors every week is enticing and continues to reel people in. Each cookie contains approximately 720 calories–some even have over 1,000. Their sweet and delicious flavors, such as the Tres Leches Cake, draw people in through social media, which is full of people dying to try the latest flavors.
With flavors being constantly replaced, it leaves people yearning for past cookie varieties. Many people, especially younger teens, have been influenced by others on Tiktok to normalize buying Crumbl Cookies every week.
“Honestly, when I eat crumble, I try not to think of the calories,” said Philomena Rodriguez, avid Crumbl Cookies enjoyer. “I know in my mind they are probably a lot. But, I watch people eat them all the time, and it never has an effect on them. Crumbl is super filling, though.”
A lot of influencers film themselves eating all of the week’s cookies in one sitting. This caters to the typical American sweet tooth and encourages people to eat all of their daily calories in just two cookies. Usually, Crumbl Cookies comes out with four new flavors every week to keep the cycle going, so this is a potential of nearly 3,000 calories.
Another obvious downside is the cost. With cookies normally sold in packs of six, eventually people’s wallets will start seeing an impact, if they pay Crumbl Cookies a visit each week just to try the newest lineup. With the cost of living increasing, and families always trying to save a buck or two, some believe this money might be best spent elsewhere.
“When Crumbl first opened, I was hearing about it everywhere,” said Suri Romero, a former Crumbl Cookies hater. “I thought it was just a new trend, but I was surprised with it for my birthday. It was my new favorite thing, and it was paired with a good memory, so I’ve been hooked ever since. The price is a bit startling, so we don’t get it all of the time.”
Speciality sweet shops focusing on specific desserts come and go. While there may be an initial boom of locations, over time, there is a decline. Stores empty, and another popular trend takes its place.
One benefit for Crumbl Cookies is that it has the advantage of changing and modifying its product so customers don’t end up bored with the same old thing. It is hard to measure how much social media impacts businesses of this type, but it surely does not appear marginal and could decide the future of the business.
Crumbl Cookies has shown that it will not give up without a fight. In just the past three months, they have expanded into doing collaborations with popular movies and celebrities, such as Olivia Rodrigo and the new movie “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.”
They have also partnered with the popular cereal brand Kellogg’s to produce Kellogg’s Crumbl Chocolatey Chip Cookie Cereal. These partnerships may be a good strategy to keep customers interested, even as social media interest begins to dwindle.
Despite the potential downfall of Crumbl, their current locations are still thriving and their partnerships are strong.
Regardless of how long Crumbl is able to hold on to their fanbase, Americans will never have to worry about the lack of popular bakeries and other sweet shops to satisfy their needs. Businesses will always find a way to jump in and out of the trending page, and there will always be a shop that will bear the crown of popularity. As for how long Crumbl will wear that crown, only time will tell.
