‘It was pretty crazy’: Crumbl cookie boss has a message for Bondi’s bickie fanciers

The founder of a cult American cookie brand says the Australians who caused social media outrage by selling week-old biscuits to Bondi influencers for $17.50 a pop were just fans who made a mistake, as he shoots down possible legal consequences.

Hundreds of fans of Crumbl Cookies – a viral bakery with 1000 locations in the US and Canada – lined up for what they thought was an official pop-up in North Bondi last month, only to find the cookies were a week old, stale, and imported from a bakery in Hawaii by two Australians with no connection to the brand.

Crumbl CEO Jason McGowan.Credit: Dominic Lorrimer

Social media was flooded with negative reviews from angry customers, who had no idea they were being duped. The “Crumbl fans” used the TikTok account @CrumblSydney and pinched promotional videos from real accounts, making it appear they were the real brand.

The debacle inspired co-founder and co-CEO of Crumbl Cookies, Jason McGowan, to fly to Sydney – but he says it’s not to take legal action against the Australian importers.

“These were some of our customers who love Crumbl, and I think maybe their intentions were potentially good but their actions and what they did wasn’t necessarily right,” he told this masthead.

“We have no current plans to pursue any legal action as of right now, but we hope they learn from this experience.”

Despite the negative reviews after the unofficial pop-up, McGowan said he was actually excited to see how many people were willing to wait in line to try the cookies, and is investigating potential sites for an official pop-up, and permanent stores down the track.

On his trip to Sydney McGowan has been scouting locations such as Bondi Junction and Circular Quay – and even took a visit to the North Bondi location of the unofficial pop-up.

“We were shocked at the location, the price, the experience, everything. It was pretty crazy,” he said.

“It was shocking that, one, they charged that much for the cookie but, two, that people were actually lined up and willing to pay for it. Really, what it is is a testament to the brand that we’ve created and the ability that we have to really try to make sure that customers are getting a quality product.”

In the US, Crumbl regularly changes the flavours on offer and bakes the cookies fresh in store, which are often served warm. McGowan hopes the Sydneysiders who were disappointed by the stale offerings at the unofficial pop-up will give the biscuits another go when the local bakeries officially open.

The pop-up organisers, who refused to provide their ABN, denied using the Crumbl trademarks in their videos, despite using video content directly from the company’s official account and the Crumbl logo in posters at the event.

They also denied the cookies were stale.

The New York Times labelled Crumbl the “fastest growing dessert chain in the United States” thanks to their highly Instagrammable look and “plump, doughy, intensely sweet” flavour.

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