Crumbl Cookies
An American franchised bakery chain built around large specialty cookies and a frequently changing menu.
Last updated October 14, 2026
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Overview
Crumbl Cookies, now commonly styled as Crumbl, is an American multinational franchise bakery chain headquartered in Lindon, Utah. The company was founded in 2017 by cousins Sawyer Hemsley and Jason McGowan while Hemsley was studying at Utah State University. Its initial concept combined a digitally marketed retail bakery with a weekly changing selection of oversized cookies. The founders used iterative recipe testing, including A/B-style comparisons, to refine the milk chocolate chip cookie that became the chain's signature product. Crumbl's operating model relies heavily on franchising, standardized store design, mobile ordering, social-media promotion, and scarcity-driven menu changes. In its original format, stores generally offered six cookie flavors selected from a much larger recipe library, with customers encouraged to return frequently to try the next week's assortment. The brand's pink-and-white visual identity, open-kitchen presentation, large-format packaging, and highly photographed products helped it build a substantial following on platforms such as TikTok and Instagram. By 2020, the chain had reached approximately 90 locations, and it subsequently expanded rapidly across the United States. The assortment later broadened beyond cookies. Beginning in the 2024 period, Crumbl introduced additional desserts and changed the structure of its menu. Its contemporary format has been described as combining a group of recurring or classic flavors with a smaller number of rotating selections, rather than relying exclusively on six weekly rotations. Products have included cookies, cakes, brownies, puddings, pies, and other dessert items, although cookies remain the central identity of the business. The company also sells beverages and other supporting items in selected markets. Crumbl is known for not operating on Sundays and for avoiding coffee as an ingredient, practices associated with the founders' Mormon background. The company's rapid expansion created operational and financial pressure. After reported sales declined substantially from 2022 to 2023, Crumbl reduced its corporate workforce, dismissed chief operating officer Graciela Chadwick, and moderated its store-opening plans. Several locations closed in 2023 and 2024, even as the company reported more than 1,000 stores by the end of 2024. Bloomberg estimated 2024 sales at approximately $1.2 billion and profit at roughly $91 million; these figures are third-party estimates rather than publicly filed results because Crumbl is privately held. Crumbl has also faced legal, regulatory, and reputational issues. It pursued trade-practice and intellectual-property claims against competing cookie chains Crave Cookies and Dirty Dough. The Crave dispute was dismissed after the parties agreed to drop their claims, while the Dirty Dough matter ended in a confidential settlement involving the return of allegedly misappropriated information. The U.S. Department of Labor separately fined franchises for assigning minors to hours and work involving ovens or machinery in violation of youth-labor rules. Animal-welfare groups have criticized the company's egg sourcing, and Warner Music Group sued in 2025 over alleged unlicensed use of music in social-media content. In 2025, Crumbl was reported to be considering a transaction involving outside investors. TSG Consumer Partners acquired a stake, while Blackstone and Golub Capital provided loans, according to reported deal coverage. Crumbl remains privately owned and active, with its brand strategy centered on frequent product novelty, franchised distribution, visual social-media marketing, and expansion into a broader dessert platform. Crumbl has also faced legal, regulatory, and reputational issues. It filed business-practice and intellectual-property lawsuits against competitors Crave Cookies and Dirty Dough. The Crave dispute was resolved when both sides agreed to drop their claims, while the Dirty Dough case ended in a confidential settlement involving the return of allegedly misappropriated information. The U.S. Department of Labor also fined franchise locations for youth-labor violations involving minors working excessive hours or operating ovens or machinery. Animal-welfare organizations criticized the company's egg sourcing, and Warner Music Group sued in 2025 over the alleged unauthorized use of music in social-media content.
History
Crumbl began in 2017 when cousins Sawyer Hemsley and Jason McGowan developed a cookie business while Hemsley was attending Utah State University. Rather than treating the first recipe as fixed, the founders tested variations of their milk chocolate chip cookie and used customer feedback and comparative testing to refine the product. This experimentation became part of the brand's broader identity: new recipes, limited availability, and frequent customer participation were used to create repeat visits and online conversation. The early store concept focused on large cookies prepared in an open bakery environment and presented in distinctive pink packaging. A weekly rotating menu gave the chain a built-in product-news cycle. Customers could return each week to see a new group of flavors, while the company could draw on a broad internal recipe catalog without permanently carrying every item. The approach was particularly compatible with short-form social video, where the size, texture, frosting, and weekly reveal of a cookie could be demonstrated visually. Crumbl expanded primarily through franchising. By 2020 it had approximately 90 locations, and its footprint continued to grow rapidly across the United States. The company became one of the most recognizable digitally marketed specialty-cookie chains, competing for attention with other premium bakery concepts and with delivery-oriented dessert brands. Its operating conventions included closing on Sundays and excluding coffee from recipes, practices linked to the religious background of its founders. The brand's product strategy changed during the 2024 period. Crumbl began offering desserts other than cookies and adjusted its menu architecture. Instead of relying solely on six weekly flavors, the company moved toward a combination of classic flavors that remain available more consistently and a smaller group of rotating items. This broadened the possible occasions for purchase but also made Crumbl less narrowly defined as a cookie-only concept. Rapid growth was followed by a period of retrenchment. Reported sales fell 37 percent from 2022 to 2023, and the company reduced its corporate workforce by approximately 10 percent. Graciela Chadwick, who had joined as chief operating officer in 2022 after working at Chick-fil-A and KPMG, was among those affected. Store closures also increased: seven locations closed in 2023 and fourteen more in 2024, according to the cited reference material. Nevertheless, the chain reported 1,071 stores in December 2024. Crumbl's private-company status makes its financial performance less transparent than that of a public restaurant chain. Bloomberg estimated 2024 sales at about $1.2 billion and profit at approximately $91 million, while also reporting a wide gap between average and median franchise-store profitability. In early 2025, the company was reportedly exploring a sale at a valuation near $2 billion. Later reporting described TSG Consumer Partners acquiring a stake and Blackstone and Golub Capital providing $500 million in loans. These transactions left Crumbl active but introduced additional institutional capital into its ownership and financing structure. The chain has faced several disputes as it grew. In 2022 it sued Crave Cookies and Dirty Dough over alleged business and intellectual-property infringements. The Crave matter ended in a mutual dismissal in 2023. The Dirty Dough dispute included allegations concerning trade secrets and ended in a confidential settlement requiring the return of information, although broader restrictions sought by Crumbl were not granted. The company also responded to unofficial pop-up stores using its concept in Australia, the United Kingdom, and Mexico by indicating that it would accelerate legitimate international expansion rather than immediately pursue those operators through litigation. Regulatory and reputational controversies have accompanied the expansion. The Department of Labor fined eleven franchise locations for youth-labor violations involving hours and hazardous equipment. Animal-welfare organizations criticized the company's use of battery-cage eggs, leading to protests that continued into 2025; some locations later moved from shelled eggs to bagged eggs, without evidence in the cited material of a complete company-wide sourcing transition. In 2025 Warner Music Group sued over alleged unauthorized use of music in Crumbl's social-media material. These matters illustrate the compliance, supply-chain, franchising, and content-licensing challenges of operating a highly visible national retail brand.
- 2025
Outside investment and financing reported
[1]TSG Consumer Partners takes a stake, while Blackstone and Golub Capital provide reported debt financing.
- 2024
Brand redesign and menu expansion
[1]Crumbl introduces a new visual identity, reduces corporate staffing, moderates expansion, and adds desserts beyond cookies.
- 2024
Reported store count reaches 1,071
[1]The company reports having 1,071 stores in December.
- 2023
Sales decline and first reported wave of closures
[1]Reported sales declined sharply from the prior year, and seven locations closed during the year.
- 2022
New chief operating officer joins
[1]Graciela Chadwick, formerly associated with Chick-fil-A and KPMG, becomes chief operating officer.
- 2020
Early network reaches approximately 90 stores
[1]Crumbl's franchised expansion brings the chain to roughly 90 locations.
- 2017
Crumbl is founded
[1]Sawyer Hemsley and Jason McGowan establish the company and begin developing its signature chocolate chip cookie through iterative testing.
Products and positioning
Accessible premium, social-media-driven dessert retail
Cookie · 2017
Milk chocolate chip cookie
Crumbl's foundational product and one of its most recognizable recurring offerings. The recipe was developed through comparative testing by the founders and helped establish the brand's focus on large, visually distinctive cookies served fresh from the bakery.
Cookie · 2017
Rotating specialty cookies
A changing selection of limited-time cookies drawn from Crumbl's large recipe library. The rotation creates a regular reason to revisit stores and functions as the brand's principal product-marketing mechanism across social media.
Cookie · 2024
Classic cookie flavors
Recurring flavors introduced as part of the newer menu structure. Unlike the limited-time selections, these products provide more continuity for customers who want familiar items while the rest of the menu changes.
Dessert · 2024
Non-cookie desserts
Cakes, brownies, puddings, pies, ice cream, and related desserts added as Crumbl broadened beyond its original cookie-only proposition. Availability and exact assortment can vary by menu period and location.
Controversies
2025
Warner Music copyright lawsuit
Warner Music Group sued Crumbl and sought $24 million, alleging that the company used music from its catalog in social-media posts without appropriate permission.
2024
Battery-cage egg sourcing criticism
Animal-welfare groups called on Crumbl to eliminate eggs from battery-cage systems. Company representatives initially indicated that they did not intend to make the requested change, and protests continued into 2025.
2022
Youth-labor violations at franchise locations
The U.S. Department of Labor fined eleven Crumbl franchise operations for violations involving minors' working hours and assignments involving potentially dangerous ovens or machinery. The parent company apologized and said corrective measures would be taken.
Marketing campaigns
- 2024Unofficial international pop-up response
Australia · United Kingdom · Mexico
After unofficial Crumbl-themed pop-up stores appeared in several countries, the company indicated that it would accelerate plans for legitimate stores in those markets rather than primarily relying on immediate legal action. The episode increased attention around Crumbl's international expansion plans.
Outcome. The episode increased attention around Crumbl's international expansion plans.
- 2017Weekly rotating menu
United States
Crumbl built its customer-acquisition and retention model around regularly changing cookie flavors, encouraging repeat visits and creating a predictable stream of social-media content. The format became a defining feature of the brand and supported rapid franchised expansion.
Outcome. The format became a defining feature of the brand and supported rapid franchised expansion.
Brand decisions
2025
Accept outside equity and debt financingM&ABackground
Crumbl was reportedly exploring a sale at a valuation near $2 billion as it sought capital and potential liquidity.
Action taken
TSG Consumer Partners acquired a stake, while Blackstone and Golub Capital reportedly provided $500 million in loans.
Aftermath
Crumbl remained privately held and active with additional institutional equity and debt capital.
Reported loan financing. $500 million (2025)
2024
Broaden the business beyond cookiesStrategyBackground
Crumbl faced slowing sales and increasing pressure to support a large store network with more occasions for purchase.
Action taken
The company introduced additional dessert categories and adjusted its menu from a purely rotating-cookie model to a combination of classic and rotating offerings.
Aftermath
The change expanded the addressable dessert assortment while making the brand less exclusively focused on cookies.
2024
Moderate expansion and reduce corporate staffingStrategyBackground
Reported sales fell 37 percent from 2022 to 2023, and the company also recorded store closures.
Action taken
Crumbl laid off approximately 10 percent of corporate employees, including COO Graciela Chadwick, and scaled back expansion plans.
Aftermath
The company continued operating and reported 1,071 stores in December 2024, despite a more cautious growth posture.
Recent events
Crumbl Cookies closes locations across the US[3]
Reported:
Crumbl Cookies reportedly closed at least 60 locations in the US in 2026; the article also reports that its Steele Creek location in Charlotte closed permanently.
Sources3 sources
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