‘Authentic pop-up’: Crumbl co-founder reveals new details on Aussie store plans
Australians could have a taste of the real famed cookies in a matter of months following a ‘scam’ pop-up.
Aussies could have a taste of the real Crumbl in a matter of months, according to the company’s co-founder, following the uproar over an unofficial pop-up of the popular cookie brand last month.
A group of people allegedly flew to the US and purchased a small fortune in Crumbl cookies, with the group earlier claiming they spent more than $13,000 importing and reselling the famous cookies, according to a TikTok posted to the crumblsydney channel.
Sydneysiders queued up for famous desserts at a pop-up store, where the cookies were sold for $17.50 each.
Crumbl co-founder and chief executive officer Jason McGowan said he decided to fly out to Sydney after seeing all the “fun drama” online, having visited the site of the pop-up.
“We checked it out and paid our respects to the site so to speak,” Mr McGowan told NewsWire.
He said he’s “really excited” to be in Sydney to “learn more about where to put a Crumbl”, with Bondi being one of a few areas the company is scouting out.
Mr McGowan hopes to bring “the real deal” to Australia over the next six months to a year, however he revealed other plans might make their way Down Under even sooner.
“We’re going to try hard to see if we can bring an authentic pop-up between now and when we open (a store) so the Aussies can have a taste of the real Crumbl,” he said.
The store will feature the company’s rotating weekly menu, with the plan to bring in the same flavours as US and Canadian stores.
“You’ll be able to share that with everyone around the world,” he said.
The scam pop-up organisers earlier said they “never claimed” to be an official Crumbl store, hoping to “bring the authentic Crumbl cookies to Australia by importing the cookies directly from the USA”.
Mr McGowan said he responded with a “mixture of concern for food quality and excitement” following the ordeal in Sydney last month.
“My first reaction was concern for quality and the brand, I wanted to make sure Australia had a really good experience – my concern was they were trying Crumbl not in the way it was meant to be ... not fresh, not made on-site,” he said.
“The second feeling was kind of amazing... (the) response and excitement.”
Mr McGowan’s comments follow an earlier statement from the company that revealed it’s “thrilled to expand its mission of gathering friends and family over the best desserts in the world to Aussie fans!”
Further details are set to be shared on the company’s brand new Australian Instagram page, which has already delivered a cheeky dig at last month’s pop-up.
The account posted a video to Instagram outside where the unofficial pop-up had operated.
“First, we had to pay our respects. If you know, you know,” the caption read.
US company Crumb didn’t endorse the Sydney pop-up, but said it wouldn’t be seeking legal action against the pop-up organisers, who have since deleted all videos of the event off TikTok.
“While the pop-up in Australia was not sponsored by Crumbl, we love seeing excitement for Crumbl around the world,” Crumbl Cookies said in a statement.
The importation also isn’t considered to be illegal, with a NSW Fair Trading spokesman confirming businesses can “generally, set, raise and lower the prices they charge for goods”.
“A business can decide the price of goods and services and the price charged may be influenced by the costs they incur, profit margins or market conditions such as supply and demand,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
“The Australian Consumer Law prohibits any business from actions that may be false or misleading.
“If a consumer believes a business has not met its obligations under the ACL, they are encouraged in the first instance to contact the business.
“If the issue remains unresolved, consumers can make a complaint with NSW Fair Trading.”