• by Teresa Buyikian , March 5, 2024

Utah-based cookie chain Crumbl recently announced it has opened its 1,000^th store, an accomplishment for any QSR, but especially in the dessert-only category. Its next largest competitor is Insomnia Cookies, with approximately 250 stores.

After opening its first store six years ago in the town of Logan, Utah, Crumbl’s newest location is in Burbank, California, a suburb of metropolitan Los Angeles.

The chain had an unassuming beginning. The two co-founders, CEO Jason McGowan and CBO Sawyer Hemsley, were given the nickname of the “crazy cousins” by loved ones when the duo decided to open a cookie QSR with zero baking experience. Yet there was some method behind the cookie madness. McGowan’s entire previous career had been spent in technology, building apps, serving as director of product, mobile, for Ancestry.com, helping design the Nintendo TVii and working as chief product officer at i.TV, among other positions.

In keeping with McGowan’s background, the company took an “equipment first, recipe second” approach to its locations, basing the menus on customer sentiment and feedback. As typical in tech development, Crumbl employed A/B testing for its cookies, originally through friends and family and now through the use of social media, the backbone of the company’s marketing.

“By developing all the necessary technology in-house, including the in-store POS system, the Crumbl website, internal databases, and the Crumbl App, Crumbl has been able to streamline operations and provide a seamless customer experience,” Crumbl’s in-house PR Strategist Beth Baty told QSR Insider.

“From Crumbl’s early adoption and success on TikTok to our in-house development of various digital platforms, technology has been at the core of our operations. This tech expertise not only sets the brand apart from traditional bakeries but also enables us to innovate continually and stay ahead in a competitive market.”

The company has since amassed over 7.3 million Tik Tok followers, along with 4.3 million Instagram followers. The company uses its social channels to build anticipation for each new store opening, as well as announcing new flavors in an event labeled cookie drops, modeled after designer limited-edition clothing drops. The brand hypes the following week’s lineup of six cookie flavors on Sunday, when the stores themselves are closed. The company chooses from a menu of 300 different cookie flavors each week.

“Our research and development teams are constantly taking customer feedback from social media, the Cookie Journal (found on the Crumbl App), and A/B tests to improve cookie flavors that are already on the menu,” Baty told QSR Insider. “This strategy, coupled with our strong social media presence, creates a cycle of excitement and loyalty among customers.”

The chain has plans for further expansion in Canada this year, as well as eventually launching in Europe, added Baty.