After the success of Crumbl Cookies, with their weekly rotating flavors and unique take on a sweet treat, other cookie companies have jumped at the opportunity to copy their success.
Crumbl Cookies was founded by Jason McGowan and Sawyer Hemsley in 2017. They started as a single storefront in Logan, Utah. Their concept was simple but effective: large, gourmet cookies with constantly changing flavors, sleek pink packaging, and a strong social media presence.
Crumbl Cookies especially blew up during the pandemic, and many influencers started reviewing their cookies, posting flavor leaks, creating ASMR videos and more. Crumbl Cookies quickly became more than just a cookie shop, it amassed mass followings on social media and became one of the most well-known cookie brands.
While Crumbl continues to expand with hundreds of locations nationwide, some of its competitors have leaned into differentiation—offering stuffed cookies, smaller portions, or unique branding to stand out. Dirty Dough, for example, markets its cookies as “messier and more indulgent,” trying to set itself apart from Crumbl’s cleaner aesthetic. The similarities between Crumbl Cookies and Dirty Dough were so clear that Crumbl sued Dirty Dough and won.
Another copycat in NYC is Chip City, which follows the same weekly rotating menu structure with flavors similar to Crumbl’s. It was also founded in the same year as Crumbl Cookies.
Founded two years after Crumbl was Cookie Plug. Both stores have similar packaging, but I’ll give Cookie Plug the impression that their street-style graffiti aesthetic is way cooler than Crumbl’s soft pink one. Cookie Plug also stirs away from Crumbl with its set menu instead of a rotating one.
For now, it seems the cookie wars are far from over. As more companies try to replicate Crumbl’s winning formula, marketing strategies, and aesthetics, only time will tell which brands have the staying power to turn a trend into a lasting dessert empire.
