Crumbl Cookies: Reigning Supreme In the Gourmet Cookie Franchise Market

The market of cookie franchises has become increasingly saturated over the past couple of years. However, Cumbl Cookies remains a fierce, top competitor.

The brand was founded by cousins Sawyer Hemsely and Jason McGowan in 2017 in Logan, Utah, while Hemsley was still attending college. Since then, in the span of just six years, the brand has grown to over 800 locations and gained a loyal, international customer base.

The brand started with a single store and only sold chocolate chip cookies. The number of locations, as well as cookie flavors, quickly exploded. In 2022, the brand nearly doubled its unit count from 326 locations to 689. The sales also increased rapidly from $390 million to nearly $985 million in the same year.

Rapid expansion

This year, the brand has expanded to include international locations in Canada and more than 800 locations in total.

But why has the brand been so successful? Let’s take a look at some of the clever marketing strategies it has put in place.

Their light pink boxes have become an iconic image for the brand, along with their signature pink-frosted sugar cookies.

Whether you order one cookie or several, you are sent away with a pale pink box containing your treats. The brand’s YouTube channel, which has 1.7 million subscribers, would then feature weekly “unboxing” videos from some of these recipients, garnering 100,000-plus weekly views. Consumers even posted their own unboxing videos on social media.

The brand also has an impressive following on other social media accounts: 4.2 million followers on Instagram, and 7.2 million followers and 74.6 million likes on TikTok.

As the world’s biggest franchise that has been around since 1940, McDonald’s had a cumulative 2.5 million social media followers as of 2022. Crumbl, although established over six decades later, is not far behind.

Marketing strategies

Crumbl has fed into young people’s fear of missing out (FOMO) with rotating flavors and limited-edition offers. While the classic chocolate chip and sugar cookie options are always on the table, the brand rotates other flavors, contributing to a feel of urgency and scarcity, so consumers feel that if they want a given flavor, they’d better get to a Crumbl now.

This is also a clever marketing strategy as it increases consumer engagement. Crumbl lovers must follow the brand closely if they want to know what flavors are currently in rotation. If they happen to have a favorite, they need to keep an eye out for its return.

Technology integration

Given its social media intelligence, it’s no surprise that the brand has a modern approach to technology usage. With one of the brand’s first corporate hires being Bryce Redd, a prior senior tech leader at Facebook, technology was integrated into the brand’s methods from the word “go.”

For customers, this looks like a modern app that allows them to order delivery, pickup, catering and digital gift cards while earning loyalty points. Rewards, or “Crumbs,” can also be earned by following the brand on social media. Users can input their date of birth to receive a free cookie on their birthday.

For franchisees, the brand’s technology usage allows them to track key performance indicators (KPIs) in terms of cook times, delivery times and product availability.

Given the huge amount of brand recognition and customer loyalty, along with the continued growth of the brand, franchising with Crumbl Cookies could be a very successful investment. The initial investment required to start a Crumbl Cookies franchise ranges from $347,666 to $691,783. This includes a franchise fee of 250K. A minimum liquid capital of $150K is required.

In terms of how much a franchisee can expect to make with the franchise, according to Crumbl Cookies’ 2022 Franchise Disclosure Document, the average gross profit for a Crumbl Cookie franchise is $749,555.

The brand’s modern marketing strategy, growing social media presence and continued use of technology puts franchisees in a great position to grow their business. While many competitors exist in the gourmet cookie industry, Crumbl shows no signs of being beat anytime soon.