Brand Shoutouts
The headline profit number looks strong. The number that actually matters is buried in the same document. We found the gap — and it changes the entire evaluation.
By Justin K. Sellers · 20 min read · March 14, 2026
When your average unit volume drops from $1.8 million to $1.16 million in twelve months, most brands slow expansion.
Crumbl opened 281 new locations that same year.
That's a 37% revenue decline per store while adding nearly one new bakery every single day. Seven stores closed in 2023, Crumbl's first closures ever. Another 12 shuttered in 2024.
But here's what the 2025 FDD shows: 2024 AUVs recovered to $1.4 million, up 17% from 2023's low. Average net profit more than doubled to $251,706.
Translation: some locations are generating serious returns. Others are not. The gap between top and bottom performers is widening.
In our view, that's the real story. Not whether Crumbl survives, but whether your location would land in the 43% generating above-average profits, or the 57% that aren't.
That's the whole analysis.
February 2024. The 1,000th Crumbl store opens in Burbank, California — one location in Logan, Utah in 2017 to 1,000 in seven years, faster than McDonald's, faster than Subway, faster than any cookie concept in history.
The mechanism: a weekly rotating menu announced to 10M+ followers every Sunday at midnight, creating genuine urgency at every location, every week, without paid media.
Operators who entered in 2019–2020 rode that urgency as a compounding advantage. The 2023 cohort inherited the same tool — at a fraction of the discovery upside.
Jason McGowan (CEO) did not come from the food industry.
He grew up in Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada, where his father ran a shuttle service to the Calgary airport. He left school after eighth grade and built a career in technology, including work on Ancestry.com projects. Data-driven. Systems-focused.
Sawyer Hemsley (Chief Brand Officer, formerly COO) was a marketing student at Utah State University when the idea came together. He grew up in Preston, Idaho, with a family tradition of warm cookies every Sunday straight from the oven.
McGowan had married Whitney, whose cousin was Hemsley. McGowan had previously invested in one of Hemsley's earlier startups, it failed completely. He lost the money. But both described themselves as having "entrepreneurial DNA," and after evaluating dozens of ideas, they chose cookies. With zero baking experience between them.
The A/B Test That Built the Brand:They couldn't agree on chocolate chips, semi-sweet or milk chocolate. So they went outside local stores and asked strangers to taste-test both.
Milk chocolate won.
September 2017: The first Crumbl opened in Logan, Utah, while Hemsley was still finishing his senior year at Utah State.
Opening night was chaos. Not all required permits were in place. Lines out the door. Deliveries stacking up. They called friends and family to help fulfill orders.
Hemsley's mother Laurie recalled:
"We were sitting around the table having Sunday dinner when he just said, 'We're going to open a cookie shop.' And everyone reacted with, 'That's the dumbest thing. It will never go. Blah, blah, blah.' And he was like, 'Yeah. Well, I'm going to do it.'", Laurie Hemsley
The second location in Orem focused on delivery, demand exploded. They noticed family members wanted in. That was the franchising lightbulb.
First franchise partners: Sawyer's parents, Laurie and Lance Hemsley. The first wave was close family and friends.By 2020: 90 locations.
By 2022: They hired Graciela Chadwick, former Chick-fil-A and KPMG executive, as COO.
Then the cracks appeared.
Six classic flavors are always on the menu. Four rotating flavors change every Monday.
Crumbl announces the new lineup every Sunday at 8 PM via social media. The new lineup goes live Monday morning.
The library: over 250 different cookie flavors in rotation.
What This Means for Operators:Every single week, your team learns new recipes. Every single week, you order new ingredients. Every single week, you manage new inventory requirements. Every single week, customers expect perfect execution on flavors your staff may be making for the first time.
Hemsley calls it "cookie theater." The weekly drop model borrows from the fashion industry's limited-time release strategy.
The 2024 Brand Expansion:Crumbl rebranded, dropping "Cookies" from the name.
The menu expanded to include cakes, pies, brownies, cheesecakes, cinnamon squares, and mini cookies (Mondays only, starting April 2024).
The Food Institute's analysis was direct:
"They added capital expenditures, they added size, they added labor hours, and they just kept destroying the model.", The Food Institute
Translation: more equipment, more labor, more complexity, while AUVs were already in decline.
[TIMELINE] 2017 | Mac McGowan and Jason McGowan open first Crumbl in Logan, Utah 2018 | Franchising begins 2020 | 90 locations 2022 | 689 locations — brand doubles unit count in a single year; net revenue peaks at $1.84M per location 2023 | 968 locations; growth begins moderating February 2024 | 1,000th store opens in Burbank, California 2024 | 1,059 locations; slowest growth pace since 2020; AUV declines year-over-year March 2026 | 1,105+ stores across all 50 U.S. states and Canada [/TIMELINE]
[MARKET_GRID] ACTIVE: All 50 U.S. states, Canada PIPELINE: Australia, UAE NOTE: 1,105+ locations as of March 2026. One million+ desserts sold per day. All 50 states have at least one location. Australia and UAE announced as next international markets. The brand doubled unit count in 2022 and has been moderating expansion pace since — 81 net new openings in 2024 vs. 363 in 2022. [/MARKET_GRID]
CEO Jason McGowan told QSR Magazine in 2023:
"We don't think it's going to be perfect. We think there may be a mistake on a store location or that sort of thing.", Jason McGowan, QSR Magazine (2023)
In our view, that's an honest acknowledgment that overexpansion happened, and that 2024's 81-unit pace represents a deliberate course correction.
[SPLIT_INSIGHT] INTRO: The peak and the decline are both in the FDD — and operators need to model the decline, not the peak. LEFT_LABEL: The 2022 Peak LEFT: At peak in 2022, Crumbl's Item 19 disclosed average net revenue of $1.84M and average net profit of $298,319 per location. The rotating-menu model drove consistent trial, social urgency, and repeat across a rapidly expanding system. For operators who entered in 2019-2020, the compounding network effect was a structural advantage. RIGHT_LABEL: The 2024 Contraction RIGHT: By 2024, Item 19 shows AUV declining year-over-year from the 2022 peak. Net new openings slowed to 81 — the lowest since 2020. A system that doubled in size in 2022 appears to be absorbing the consequences of that expansion velocity. The 2023-vintage operator inherited the same rotating menu mechanism at a fraction of the discovery-era upside. ACTION: Request the 2025 FDD Item 19 data segmented by location opening year before committing capital. A pre-2021 operator's performance history is structurally different from a 2023 opener in a market that already has 3 Crumbl locations. That vintage segmentation is what the headline AUV obscures. [/SPLIT_INSIGHT]
Franchise vs. Corporate Split Analysis:Of 1,105+ locations as of March 2026, the vast majority are franchised. The corporate footprint is the Logan, Utah flagship and a handful of test locations — nothing more.
[SPLIT_INSIGHT] INTRO: The franchise-heavy structure is both what built this system and what creates its primary risk. LEFT_LABEL: The Scaling Asset LEFT: Franchisee capital enabled 1 location in 2017 to become 1,000+ in seven years without proportional corporate investment. No legacy franchisor with corporate overhead could have moved that fast. RIGHT_LABEL: The Execution Liability RIGHT: With 1,000+ independently operated locations, Crumbl cannot centrally control how every weekly recipe is executed. The FDD makes that visible: $77,359 median net profit vs. $251,706 average — top operators at $600,554, worst locations negative. That gap is franchisee execution quality, made measurable by unusually transparent disclosures. [/SPLIT_INSIGHT]
[LOCKIN] The question is not "what does the average franchisee make?" It is "what does it take to be in the 43% that beat the average?" That answer determines whether this is the right investment for your specific capability set. [/LOCKIN]
- Total Investment: $816,066–$1,442,533 - Franchise Fee: $50,000 - Royalty: 4% of gross sales - Marketing Fee: 2% of gross sales - Minimum Net Worth: $500,000 - Minimum Liquidity: $200,000
Real estate and improvements represent $350,000–$700,000 of the total investment range.
Financial Performance, Year-Over-Year:[TABLE] CAPTION: Sources: 2022 operating data from 2023 FDD Item 19. 2023 operating data from 2024 FDD Item 19. 2024 operating data from 2025 FDD Item 19. 2025 operating data will appear in the 2026 FDD, not yet filed as of April 2026. | Year | Reporting Locations | Avg Revenue | Avg Net Profit | |------|---------------------|-------------|----------------| | 2022 | 324 stores | $1,840,000 | $298,319 | | 2023 | 571 stores | $1,157,000 | $122,955 | | 2024 | 858 stores | $1,400,000 | $251,706 | | 2025 | — | — | 2026 FDD not yet filed | [/TABLE]
The 2023 Collapse:From 2022 to 2023, average revenue dropped 37%. Average net profit dropped 59%. That's not a dip. That's a crater.
What Recovery Looks Like (2024):Average revenue recovered to $1.4M, still 24% below the 2022 peak. Average profit recovered to $251,706, still 16% below 2022.
But median profit dropped to $77,359, suggesting the average is pulled upward by high performers.
Estimated Payback Period:[TABLE] CAPTION: QSR Research Hub analysis. Investment from 2025 FDD Item 7. Net profit from 2025 FDD Item 19 (FY2024). Simple payback = investment ÷ annual net profit. Not investment advice. Average performance achieved by 43% of locations; median performance by the majority. | Scenario | Investment | Annual Net Profit | Est. Payback | |---|---|---|---| | Best case (low investment, avg profit) | $816,066 | $251,706 | 3.2 years | | Mid-range (avg investment, avg profit) | $1,130,000 | $251,706 | 4.5 years | | Worst case (high investment, avg profit) | $1,442,533 | $251,706 | 5.7 years | | Median performer (mid investment) | $1,130,000 | $77,359 | 14.6 years | [/TABLE]
[TABLE] CAPTION: Crumbl investment and AUV from 2025 FDD Item 7 and Item 19 (FY2024 data). Chip City, Crave Cookies, Schmackary's, and Insomnia Cookies have no publicly available FDD with Item 19 disclosure — data from trade press only. | Brand | Investment | AUV | |-------|------------|-----| | Crumbl | $816K–$1.44M | $1.4M (2024) | | Chip City | Not disclosed | ~$850K | | Crave Cookies | Not disclosed | $855,964 (2022, 1 location) | | Schmackary's | Not disclosed | $2.37M (2023, NYC flagship) | | Insomnia Cookies | Not disclosed | Not disclosed | [/TABLE]
Crumbl's 2024 AUV ($1.4M) exceeds direct cookie competitors. But Schmackary's Manhattan flagship reports $2.37M, nearly 70% higher. That figure represents a single flagship location in Manhattan, not a multi-location system average and not a comparable market to most Crumbl franchise territories.
The broader question: Can cookie concepts sustain these AUVs outside high-density urban markets? That answer varies significantly by location in Crumbl's own FDD data.
Market Saturation:The cookie category added multiple competitors from 2020 to 2023. Enlightened Hospitality Investments (Danny Meyer's firm) put $10M into Chip City in 2022. Dirty Dough and Insomnia Cookies are competing for the same customer base.
The Crumbl differentiator was supposed to be the social media presence and weekly rotation model. Then social engagement began declining from peak levels.
[REPORT_CTA url="/reports/crumbl/" price="$497"] Crumbl Cookie Due Diligence Report - Full FDD gap analysis — every disclosure requirement mapped against the 2025 filing - Pro forma P&L modeling: top-quartile, median, and break-even scenarios across the $816K–$1.4M investment range - Operational risk scorecard: supply chain, labor, territory saturation, brand trajectory - The 12 questions serious operators demand before signing a franchise agreement [/REPORT_CTA]
[CAUTION] A note on review platform methodology: QSR Research Hub sources customer pattern data from Tripadvisor and Yelp rather than Google Reviews. This is intentional. Google Reviews captures the highest volume of overall satisfaction ratings. Tripadvisor and Yelp attract reviewers who chose to document their experience in specific detail — a deliberate act that produces more operationally specific observations. Our readers are not choosing where to eat. They are evaluating what they will operationally inherit. We identify patterns — the same theme appearing across multiple locations, multiple markets, and multiple time periods. A single complaint at a single location is excluded regardless of platform. What qualifies is consistency. [/CAUTION]
Reviews sourced from TripAdvisor and Yelp, 2022–2026. Multiple states and markets.
THE GOOD On the product and weekly rotation:"Hadn't had Crumbl in a while and wanted to try the new Dubai chocolate and it was absolutely delicious! Every single cookie was a delight. From the classic chocolate chip to the fudge brownie to the Hershey's Oreo topped cookie. This is definitely a delicious splurge and I will do it again." — TripAdvisor, Crumbl Cookies Vineland, Orlando FL, February 2026
"My daughter's favorite cookies ever! They are always freshly made and each week they change flavors which makes them unique and wonderful." — TripAdvisor, Crumbl Cookie San Diego CA, June 2025
"We stumbled on Crumbl when we were in Utah and we were SOOO excited to see that San Diego had a store! ALL of these cookies have been outstanding. Crumbl has several ice cream flavors. I absolutely LOVE this place and can't wait to go back and try new flavors." — TripAdvisor, Crumbl Cookie San Diego CA
Pattern: When Crumbl delivers product at the correct temperature and preparation standard, customer satisfaction is high and repeat intent is strong. Fans cite specific flavors by name — a signal of genuine repeat-visit behavior rather than general satisfaction. The weekly rotation works when execution is consistent. THE CHALLENGING Pattern 1 — Inconsistent topping and product execution across locations:"My kids love it! Crumbl never disappoints! The cookies are always warm, soft, and perfectly rich. I love how the menu changes weekly — makes it exciting to try new flavors. Service is quick and friendly." — Yelp, San Francisco CA
"They didn't put chocolate drizzle on my chocolate covered strawberry cookie and both of my pumpkin cookies had barely any icing and no crumbles." — TripAdvisor, Crumbl Cookies Clearwater FL, September 2025
"Consistency on toppings can be an issue sometimes." — TripAdvisor, Crumbl Cookies Vineland, Orlando FL, 2022
"Disappointed. Already bought in other store and it was very different. This time the cookies came very hard, dry and with little chocolate." — TripAdvisor, Crumbl Cookies Vineland, Orlando FL, March 2025
Pattern 2 — Wait times and service inconsistency:"Not fresh. Not all options available. Undercooked dough, white and dense. Used to be fun and delicious, now seems to have lost its motivation." — TripAdvisor, Crumbl Cookies Westbrook ME, March 2025
"I've never seen slower service in my whole life. The staff are strolling around and making no effort to serve customers in order to clear the queue. Work ethic atrocious. Been waiting 50 minutes as of now." — TripAdvisor, Crumbl Cookies Chelsea NYC, November 2024
"Ordered 6 cookies — 2 people working at the store — it's about 2:30pm and there are half a dozen looking upset at waiting. 20 minutes after I paid the cashier, she looks at me and shrugs." — TripAdvisor, Crumbl Cookies Clearwater FL, November 2024
Pattern 3 — Value perception and price-to-quality gap:"We queued for 45 minutes to get some average cookies. The wait and the cost were too much for me." — TripAdvisor, Crumbl Cookies West Village NYC, 2025
"These cookies are a little pricey, but for a treat once or twice a month it's worth the splurge." — TripAdvisor, Crumbl Cookie San Diego CA
"Overpriced and overrated. The mint cookie was awful — like eating raw cookie dough. The cookies were pretty to look at but gross taste." — TripAdvisor, Crumbl Cookies Clearwater FL, August 2024
"Their prices have gone up since the last time I was here. Big surprise." — TripAdvisor, Crumbl Cookies Westbrook ME, November 2024
Pattern: Three confirmed system-level patterns across multiple states and platforms: product execution inconsistency (toppings, underbaking, doughiness) documented in FL, ME, and NYC; service and wait times documented at two NYC locations and Clearwater FL; and a price-to-quality gap acknowledged even by positive reviewers at locations where execution fails. At 1,000+ locations with weekly recipe changes, execution variance is structurally difficult to eliminate."We purchased 6 large cookies which cost $24. They were incredibly doughy, nearly uncooked in the middle, and none of them tasted nice." — TripAdvisor, Crumbl Cookies Vineland, Orlando FL, November 2024
"On the listing it says 9–11 dollars an hour, they will tell you the pay is 9 or 10 with tips. They're actually paying you 5 dollars with tips. When you're getting interviewed or getting hired they will not tell you the flat rate is $5 an hour, you basically have to find out on your own." — Indeed, Crumbl employee review
"Management here definitely takes advantage of how replaceable crew members are." — Indeed, Crumbl employee review
The Reality:"Fun atmosphere, you meet a lot of people. Just the scheduling and pay could be better." — Indeed, Crumbl employee review
The 2.1 pay and benefits score is the lowest category in the Crumbl dataset — and the most operationally significant for franchisees. The brand's weekly recipe rotation requires consistent, trained staff who can execute new product builds under high-volume, late-night conditions. A tip-dependent wage structure where the actual base rate is not disclosed at hiring creates the exact turnover dynamic that makes reliable weekly execution harder to sustain.
In our view, the 2.4 management score reflects the franchise-level variance that defines Crumbl's biggest operational risk. At locations where management invests in frontline training, the social-media-driven traffic converts to repeat loyalty. At locations where management treats crew as interchangeable, the weekly menu change becomes a weekly execution liability. Before signing, prospective franchisees must design a compensation structure that retains the skilled staff the model depends on — and build management accountability around it.Every Sunday at 8 PM, Crumbl generates social media content across thousands of accounts without a paid media requirement. Over 250 flavors means customers are never out of reasons to return. The repeat-visit driver is structural, not promotional.
2. The 2024 AUV recovery is in the FDD, not a sales pitch.Average revenue climbed from $1.16M to $1.4M. Average net profit more than doubled from $122,955 to $251,706. Item 19 disclosures, not marketing claims.
3. Top performers are generating serious returns.$600,554 net profit at the highest-performing location in 2024. The model works at the right location with the right operator.
4. Brand recognition walks in before the customer does.All 50 states. Canada. International expansion underway. Crumbl franchisees don't build awareness, they inherit it.
What They Need To Nail As They Scale: 1. Execution consistency at weekly recipe scale.Underbaking and sweetness complaints cluster around the same root cause: franchises running new recipes without adequate training time before customer-facing launch. The weekly rotation creates genuine marketing value and genuine execution risk simultaneously. In our view, this is not a brand problem that corporate can solve centrally, it is a franchisee training problem that must be solved location by location. Operators evaluating Crumbl should audit their own training infrastructure against the weekly recipe change cadence before committing to an agreement.
2. The median-to-average profit gap.The $174,347 annual gap between what the average location earns and what the median location earns is the most important number in this FDD. Your payback horizon depends entirely on which side of that line you land on.
3. Menu expansion must justify its complexity cost.The addition of cakes, pies, brownies, and cheesecakes added equipment, labor, and training complexity. Whether those items improved unit economics or compressed margins is not yet disclosed in available FDD data.
4. Social media engagement must sustain the weekly drop.The Crumbl marketing model is structurally dependent on customers sharing weekly drops across social media. If TikTok engagement continues declining from peak virality, or if the novelty of weekly rotations becomes background noise in a competitive social landscape, the organic marketing flywheel slows, and the concept relies on the product alone to drive traffic. That product needs to be consistently excellent.
1,105 locations. A weekly rotating menu. 10M+ social media followers. And an AUV that peaked in 2022 and has been declining since.
Is the Crumbl engine still running, or are you buying into a brand past its peak performance cycle?
[LOCKIN] Underwriting this deal on the $251,706 average is a bet on top-half performance — in a system where 57% of operators fall below it.
Before signing, ask for Item 19 data broken out by location age and market type. What does performance look like for units open 3–5 years in markets similar to yours? [/LOCKIN]
McGowan's background is unusual for a billion-dollar food chain founder: he grew up in Alberta, left school after eighth grade, built a career in technology, and launched Crumbl in 2017 with his cousin Sawyer Hemsley in Logan, Utah with no prior restaurant experience. In our view, the unconventional background is not a weakness, it is precisely what produced the "cookie theater" model. Someone who grew up inside the restaurant industry would have built an operationally efficient cookie shop. McGowan built a social media content machine that bakes cookies. The two outcomes are different products, and only one of them scaled to 1,000+ locations.
Sawyer Hemsley, Co-FounderHemsley is the operational co-founder whose supply chain and logistics work enabled the 2020-2023 hyper-growth period. The cousin dynamic between McGowan and Hemsley has historically provided the brand with stable co-founder alignment, one founder focused on brand, marketing, and culture; the other focused on operations and scaling infrastructure.
The IP Litigation Chapter:In 2022-2023, Crumbl filed intellectual property lawsuits against multiple cookie competitors, including Crave Cookies, Do-Rite Donuts, and other brands. The litigation was widely criticized in the food industry and created a brief reputational headwind. The strategy was ultimately scaled back. In our view, the IP litigation period is a useful data point for franchise operators: it shows a brand willing to protect its market position aggressively, which is good; it also shows a brand leadership team that will make decisions that prioritize corporate interests over industry goodwill, which prospective franchisees should understand before committing.
Leadership Assessment:In our view, the McGowan-Hemsley founding team built something genuinely rare in the QSR space: a viral content engine masquerading as a cookie brand. That's not a criticism — it's an accurate description of how 1,000+ locations with $1.4M average AUV were built without the infrastructure of a legacy franchisor.
The challenge for 2025–2026 is whether the brand's leadership can transition from growth-mode execution — where the strategy is "open more stores and the social engagement follows" — to mature-system execution, where the strategy must address a 57% below-average performance distribution and declining social engagement from peak levels.
That transition requires different management thinking than the one that produced the original growth.
- ✅ 3+ years QSR experience (weekly recipe changes require operational systems) - ✅ Multi-unit experience (single operators without training infrastructure struggle with weekly complexity) - ✅ High-traffic suburban market with strong social media demographics - ✅ Existing labor management systems and training documentation capability - ✅ Capital to sustain 12-18 months at below-average performance while building location brand awareness
If You're an Experienced Multi-Unit Operator:The math on Crumbl works if you operate in the 43% that beat average. The $600,554 net profit achieved by the top performers in 2024 represents a 43-52% cash-on-cash return on a mid-range investment, exceptional by any QSR benchmark. But hitting that level requires: location selection in a high-traffic demographic corridor, labor management that can handle weekly recipe training without quality degradation, and operator attention to execution quality on every single weekly launch. This is not a passive investment.
- ❌ First-time restaurant operator (weekly complexity requires experienced kitchen management) - ❌ Solo operator without systematic training documentation - ❌ Markets where investment tops $1.4M without proportional traffic to support it - ❌ Operators who need stable menu operations to run at their staffing model
In our view, not recommended for single-unit operators or anyone without proven labor management infrastructure.
[FRAMEWORK_LIST] Location AUV by geography or market type: The FDD discloses system averages and ranges but not a location-by-location breakdown. Performance by market density, geography, or real estate type is not disclosed in available data. Impact of 2024 menu expansion on margins: The addition of cakes, pies, brownies, and cheesecakes added equipment and labor complexity. Whether this improved or compressed net profit relative to the cookie-only model is not disclosed in available FDD data. Franchisee satisfaction or renewal rates: No published franchisee survey results are available. Item 19 discloses revenue and profit distributions but not operator satisfaction, renewal rates, or system attrition. 2025 performance trajectory: The most recent complete FDD data reflects 2024 operating performance. Current conditions, consumer sentiment, cookie category saturation, and commodity costs, are shifting. The 2026 FDD will contain the next complete data point. [/FRAMEWORK_LIST]
For a high-brand-awareness franchise with a contrasting unit economics profile, our Five Guys franchise deep dive covers a concept with 40 years of operating history, a no-freezer commitment that shapes its entire cost structure, and a recently reopened franchise program.
This article was produced independently. The brand profiled did not participate in, review, or approve this research prior to publication. All claims are sourced from publicly available materials and cited accordingly.
QSR Research Hub is an independent publication. We receive no compensation from any brand featured in our Brand Shoutouts.
QSR Research Hub publishes independent, operator-first analysis, deep dives with 20+ cited sources. No vendor spin. No paywall. No pitch disguised as an article. Join a growing network of operators, investors, and suppliers who want real research.
Subscribe to QSR Research Hub1. Crumbl Cookies. Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD). 2024. Item 19 (2023 operating data: 571 reporting locations; average revenue $1,157,000; average net profit $122,955; highest revenue $4,000,000; highest net profit $600,554; lowest net profit −$241,554; 281 net new locations opened that year; 7 first-ever closures).
2. Crumbl Cookies. Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD). 2024. Item 19. Highest net profit disclosure: $600,554.
3. Crumbl Cookies. Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD). 2025. Item 19 (2024 operating data: 858 reporting locations; average revenue $1,400,000; average net profit $251,706; median net profit $77,359; 43% above average; 57% below average).
4. Crumbl Cookies. System milestones, 90 locations by 2020, 326 in 2021, 1,059 in 2024. FDD disclosures and brand materials.
5. Crumbl Cookies. Franchise website, store count (1,105), footprint (50 states, 2 countries), "1M+ desserts sold every day," brand history, and system overview. Accessed March 2026. https://crumblcookies.com/franchising
6. McGowan, Jason. RETHINK Retail Podcast. "Jason McGowan, Co-Founder of Crumbl Cookies." Host Gabriella Bock. Covers: Lethbridge, Alberta origin story; Sunday cookie rule; Ancestry.com projection (10M–40M people share McGowan ancestry); Alberta upbringing; father's shuttle service; eighth grade education; technology career; prior failed startup with Hemsley; "entrepreneurial DNA"; cousin relationship via wife Whitney; founding story. https://rethink.industries/podcast/jason-mcgowan-co-founder-of-crumbl-cookies/
7. Hemsley, Sawyer. Utah State Magazine. "A Craving: Building A Bakery Empire." March 2022. Covers: USU marketing student project origin; Preston, Idaho origin; Sunday cookie rule; taste testing outside local stores; milk chocolate chip cookie; first Logan, Utah location (September 2017); opening night chaos; fashion limited-edition drop strategy. https://utahstatemagazine.usu.edu/business/a-craving-building-a-bakery-empire/ https://utahstatemagazine.usu.edu/business/a-craving-building-a-bakery-empire/
8. Crumbl Cookies. Weekly menu rotation, 6 classic flavors, 4 rotating, Sunday 8 PM announcement, Monday launch. Brand website. Accessed March 2026. https://crumblcookies.com
9. Crumbl Cookies. "Over 250 flavors" in rotation library. Brand materials. Accessed March 2026.
10. Crumbl Cookies. Rebrand (dropped "Cookies"); menu expansion to cakes, pies, brownies, cheesecakes, cinnamon squares; mini cookies launched April 2024. Brand materials and press releases. 2024.
12. The Food Institute. Analysis of Crumbl menu expansion and operational complexity. "They added capital expenditures, they added size, they added labor hours, and they just kept destroying the model." 2024. https://www.foodinstitute.com (paywalled, available to Food Institute members).
13. Crumbl Cookies. 326 locations in 2021; 689 locations in 2022. FDD disclosures.
14. Crumbl Cookies. 2025 location count and international expansion (Australia, UAE). Brand materials. Accessed March 2026.
15. Crumbl Cookies. All 50 U.S. states footprint. Brand materials. Accessed March 2026.
16. Crumbl Cookies. Canada operations (10+ locations). Brand materials. Accessed March 2026.
17. QSR Magazine. Jason McGowan on 1,000th Crumbl location (Burbank, CA, February 2024) and growth strategy. "We don't think it's going to be perfect. We think there may be a mistake on a store location or that sort of thing." 2023. https://www.qsrmagazine.com
18. Crumbl Cookies. Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD). 2025. Item 7 (Total initial investment: $816,066–$1,442,533; real estate and improvements: $350,000–$700,000).
19. QSR Research Hub analysis. Estimated payback period using 2025 FDD inputs: Item 7 investment range $816,066–$1,442,533 (Source 23); Item 19 average net profit $251,706, FY2024 (Source 3). Low-end: $816,066 ÷ $251,706 = 3.2 years; Mid-range: $1,130,300 ÷ $251,706 = 4.5 years; High-end: $1,442,533 ÷ $251,706 = 5.7 years. Assumes average system performance; 57% of reporting locations fall below the average.
20. Crumbl Cookies. Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD). 2025. Item 5 (Franchise fee: $50,000).
21. Crumbl Cookies. Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD). 2025. Item 6 (Ongoing fees: royalty 4% of gross sales; marketing contribution 2% of gross sales).
22. Crumbl Cookies. Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD). 2025. Item 7 breakdown (real estate and improvements: $350,000–$700,000 of total investment range).
23. Crumbl Cookies. Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD). 2024. Item 19 (571 locations reporting; 59% of system with complete data).
24. Franchise Times. "Crumbl Reports AUV Decline, Closes 7 Stores in 2023." April 17, 2024. Source for: Chip City AUV ~$850K, Crave Cookies FDD-reported revenue $855,964 (2022, Salt Lake City location), Schmackary's 2023 flagship Manhattan sales $2.37M, cookie category competitive context. https://www.franchisetimes.com/franchisenews/crumbl-reports-auv-decline-closes-7-stores-in-2023/article4d03f48e-f753-11ee-8425-eb47d2ba8986.html, Enlightened Hospitality $10M Chip City investment additionally confirmed: Restaurant Business Online. "Chip City gets $10M from Danny Meyer's Enlightened Hospitality Investments." Jonathan Maze. October 20, 2022. https://www.restaurantbusinessonline.com/financing/chip-city-gets-10m-danny-meyers-enlightened-hospitality-investments; and QSR Magazine. "Danny Meyer's Growth Fund Invests $10M in Chip City Cookies." October 2022. https://www.qsrmagazine.com/growth/danny-meyers-growth-fund-invests-10m-chip-city-cookies/
25. TripAdvisor. Crumbl Cookies Vineland, Orlando FL. Positive review (Dubai chocolate, full-box delight), February 2026; negative reviews (consistency on toppings, 2022; hard/dry/little chocolate, March 2025; 6-cookie box underdone, November 2024). https://www.tripadvisor.com
26. TripAdvisor. Crumbl Cookie San Diego CA. Positive reviews (daughter's favorites, freshly made, June 2025; Utah transplant, excited to find location; pricey but worth the splurge). https://www.tripadvisor.com
27. Yelp. Crumbl Cookies San Francisco CA. Positive review (warm, soft cookies; weekly menu excitement; quick friendly service). 2025. https://www.yelp.com
28. TripAdvisor. Crumbl Cookies Clearwater FL. Negative reviews (no drizzle/sparse icing, September 2025; 20-minute wait with shrug, November 2024; overpriced and overrated, August 2024). https://www.tripadvisor.com
29. TripAdvisor. Crumbl Cookies Westbrook ME. Negative reviews (undercooked/dense/not fresh, March 2025; prices have gone up, November 2024). https://www.tripadvisor.com
30. TripAdvisor. Crumbl Cookies Chelsea NYC. Negative review (50-minute wait, idle staff, atrocious work ethic). November 2024. https://www.tripadvisor.com
31. TripAdvisor. Crumbl Cookies West Village NYC. Negative review (45-minute queue, average cookies, cost too much). 2025. https://www.tripadvisor.com
32. Indeed. "Working at Crumbl Cookies." 2,300+ employee reviews. Accessed March 2026. https://www.indeed.com/cmp/Crumbl-Cookies/reviews