Sydneysiders duped by $17.50 cookie pop-up ‘impersonating’ cult US brand

Dozens of people have taken to social media to declare they’d been duped by an unofficial “pop-up” selling cookies from a cult US bakery.

Dozens of Sydneysiders have taken to social media to declare they’d been duped by an unofficial “pop-up” selling cookies from a cult US bakery for a whopping $17.50 each.

On Sunday, droves of people flocked to North Bondi to get their hands on a sweet treat from Crumbl, which is the fast-growing chain of dessert shops in America, according to a 2022 report by food and beverage analytics company, Datassential.

Founded by Jason McGowan and Sawyer Hemsley in 2017, the company has become an internet sensation thanks to what The New York Times described as its “plump, doughy (and) intensely sweet” cookies.

Given that the bakery frequently goes viral on social media, many Aussies have long expressed a desire to try a Crumbl cookie of their own – and this weekend, finally, seemed like their chance.

News of a stall in Sydney was met with excitement – though it quickly emerged the pop-up had not been endorsed by the official Crumbl brand – which commented on one TikTok video that “we are only in the US and Canada as of now!”.

Rather, Sunday’s organisers explained that they’d travelled to the US and “imported Crumbl cookies from their store in Hawaii” – which they then sold upon their return to Sydney.

“We aren’t endorsed by Crumbl, just fans importing them,” the organisers wrote on TikTok.

An Instagram account made by the organisers, with the handle @crumblaus, was banned from the platform (a TikTok profile with the same handle remains active).

The possibility of receiving a days-old, likely stale biscuit wasn’t enough to stop people from lining up for at least 45 minutes (nor was it enough to stop the pop-up from selling out).

An actual Crumbl cookie, described as ‘plump, doughy (and) intensely sweet’ by The New York Times. Picture: Instagram

The ‘imported’ Crumbl cookies at this weekend’s pop-up were being hawked for $17.50. Picture: TikTok

“I was actually really sketched out because I found this through TikTok and Instagram and it wasn’t endorsed by Crumbl, but I went there anyways,” TikTok user @sofiaqistinee said in a two-part video recapping her experience.

“It was next to this gas (petrol) station and oh my god, look at the line. There were so, so many people. We arrived 30 minutes before the pop-up but there were still so many people in front of us.”

Yet wait it out she did, only to receive a “jumpscare” when she and her friend finally made it to the front of the queue.

“The girl who was taking our orders like, showed us the menu and it was $17.50 per cookie,” Sofia said.

Sydneysiders waited in line for at least 45 minutes to get their hands on a biscuit. Picture: TikTok

‘I think the cookies are so hyped about because there was like, a little fight in the front of the line.’ Picture: TikTok

“We were gonna get three until we saw the prices, so we’re like, let’s just get two. I think the cookies are so hyped about because there was like, a little fight in the front of the line. I don’t even know what was happening.”

In a second video recapping the actual quality of the cookies, Sofia concluded they didn’t live up to her expectations, and were stale and “falling apart”.

“The moral of the story here – Crumbl cookie isn’t all that,” she said.

“Spend your $17 somewhere else.”

‘Spend your $17 somewhere else.’ Picture: TikTok

Commenters on Sofia’s videos, and on the clips posted by the @crumblaus TikTok account, pointed out that over in the States, a four-pack of Crumbl cookies sets consumers back $US15 (approximately $21).

“The fact that people are paying $17.50 for one cookie is insane,” one user wrote.

“$17.50 for one cookie this is deffo (sic) some rando (sic) profiting off the Crumbl brand,” a second said, while the third accused the pop-up’s organisers of “impersonating” Crumbl and “price gouging”.

Another suggested the reason why the cost of each biscuit was so high is “because they literally flew to Hawaii, bought 700 cookies at retail price and flew them back to Australia to sell”.

“They must have profited like $100 from the entire ordeal … that’s actually nuts,” they added.

“+1 sorry to tell you this but the cookies were purchased over a week ago and then flown over so they’re just really stale and old Crumbl cookies that probably shouldn’t be eaten,” someone else wrote, describing it as a “1000% cookie scam”.