How Crumbl Hacked The TikTok Algorithm (And Our Brains)

Forbes

Crumbl, a dessert company that began in Logan, Utah, in 2017, has rapidly grown into a viral sensation. Known for its oversized treats, Crumbl's success is fundamentally tied to its digital strategy. Social media was their "entire strategy" from the very beginning, focusing on visually appealing products and branding. This digital-first model fueled their explosive growth to over 1,000 across the U.S. and Canada, netting $158 million in revenue by leveraging the power of social media virality.   Read the full story on Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/simonemelvin/2025/03/02/how-crumbl-cookies-devoured-america/   0:00 What Is Crumbl?  1:04 Crumbl's Use Of Branding And Social Media  4:02 Crumbl's Celebrity And Influencer Crossovers  7:23 The Downside Of Being So Visible   Subscribe to FORBES: https://www.youtube.com/user/Forbes?sub_confirmation=1   Fuel your success with Forbes. Gain unlimited access to premium journalism, including breaking news, groundbreaking in-depth reported stories, daily digests and more. Plus, members get a front-row seat at members-only events with leading thinkers and doers, access to premium video that can help you get ahead, an ad-light experience, early access to select products including NFT drops and more:   https://account.forbes.com/membership/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=growth_non-sub_paid_subscribe_ytdescript   Stay Connected  Forbes newsletters: https://newsletters.editorial.forbes.com  Forbes on Facebook: http://fb.com/forbes  Forbes Video on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/forbes  Forbes Video on Instagram: http://instagram.com/forbes  More From Forbes:  http://forbes.com   Forbes covers the intersection of entrepreneurship, wealth, technology, business and lifestyle with a focus on people and success.

Transcript

00:00Crumble is a dessert company that began in Logan, Utah in 2017 and it's rapidly

00:08grown into a viral sensation. Known for its oversized treats, Crumble's success is

00:14fundamentally tied to its digital strategy. Social media was their entire

00:19strategy from the very beginning, focusing on visually appealing products

00:22and branding. This digital first model fueled their explosive growth to more

00:27than 1,000 stores across the U.S. and Canada, netting $158 million in revenue

00:33from franchise royalties by leveraging the power of social media virality.

00:37What we know about Gen Z and generations around them is that they're a snacking

00:42generation and so there's a very something very relevant about Crumble with

00:47the way that this generation eats. This is a very much you know the the treat

00:50yourself time right and so there is this sense of like what is the new thing I'm

00:55going to try. And so they have tapped into that very very well and built into

01:00their business model continuous ways to surprise people and delight people.

01:07So what we're seeing is a huge rise in snacking culture and so people are eating

01:12a lot more in between meals but Crumble cookies obviously a lot more than just a

01:15snack they're kind of almost like a mini meal it's the sort of event eating and

01:19consumers are seeking pleasure they're seeking escapism and really that's what the

01:24Crumble cookie delivers is an excess of all of those things.

01:29Crumble has an impressive 10.4 million followers on TikTok. That's more than

01:33Starbucks, Dunkin and Krispy Kreme combined. In total more than 107 million

01:39TikTok videos mention Crumble, several of which have clocked up hundreds of

01:42thousands of views.

01:43Crumble's marketing success story starts with their product. These cookies are large,

01:51visually striking and unapologetically decadent setting them apart from more

01:56subtle offerings. But their success goes beyond just the taste. The entire

02:01experience of discovering and enjoying a Crumble cookie is a crucial ingredient in

02:06their winning formula.

02:15They have also done a really good job of leveraging their brand assets and tangible things like

02:20the pink box. The cookie is very recognizable. Cookies in general are very replicable but the

02:28Crumble cookie is very obvious online. It's a very distinctive look and very distinctive color and size.

02:33And so it's, it's very, you know, part of the experience is, is seeing that very recognizable food item.

02:41Also the fact that they're really photogenic. So I could probably even take a good photo of them.

02:46So they take their photos, you know, sort of shot from above. It looks really Moorish. But actually

02:50consumers can also take their photos and, and almost feel like they're the content creators. And what is

02:57particularly interesting, I think about this kind of food is that it's, they are creating food,

03:01but they're all, but Crumble are also content creators. You know, they're creating these videos,

03:05they're creating the flavor ideas, they're creating the drop. There's very much a sense that you're

03:10consuming the content as much as you're consuming the cookie.

03:17Co-founder and CEO Jason McGowan even told us much of Crumble's focus on branding and storytelling

03:23was intentional from the beginning.

03:28Our very first marketing channel was social media. You know, right when we got off the gate,

03:33even when we were opening our very first store in the, in Logan, Utah, we invested in telling people

03:40the story and have them walking behind the scenes of our store getting built out. And, you know, the

03:45struggles that we faced as entrepreneurs and, and how we could grow up that store. And so it hasn't

03:51been something that's been tacked on or a side strategy or something that we put a little dollars

03:55behind. It's been really our entire strategy, which is to invest in social media and have our

04:01customers come along for the journey. Crumble has benefited from collaborations with high profile brands,

04:10such as the Kardashians, Dove and Olivia Rodrigo. According to McGowan, this cross promotion has proven

04:18highly effective with many individuals discovering crumble through these collaborations.

04:26Crumble gets to leverage, you know, their knowledge of, and their access to a very desirable audience.

04:32And then at the same time, I think for, for a snack brand to partner with brands outside of the food

04:39space really gives additional cultural relevance and allows the, allows the brand to, you know, go beyond

04:45just that snack occasion in their marketing and really thinking about, you know, what those other brands

04:51bring to the table. But it goes back to that cultural relevance. And that's what's so important for,

04:55you know, for Crumble to maintain is, is, you know, how popular they continue to be.

05:04Crumble has also found great success using the power of user generated content, or UGC.

05:10The extensive mukbang and ASMR content dedicated to their brand exemplifies a rare form of social

05:16media engagement, relinquishing brand control to foster organic conversation.

05:24Consumers love to express their preferences. And so they've created this ecosystem that is through their app,

05:34but also through their social media, where people share what they think every week. And there's new,

05:42new things to comment on. And that helps influencers have content. And so there's this really kind of

05:47self reinforcing ecosystem.

05:53I think it definitely has a success in the sense that you're getting those two different kind of markets and two different

05:59audiences coming together. The fact that soap and cookies worked really well, I think, just goes to

06:04show that anything is possible in the internet. It's a strange place. And sometimes the weirder, the better.

06:19Crumble's success stems from selling more than just cookies. They offer an experience rooted in

06:24anticipation and scarcity. Each Sunday, the one day Crumble is closed. They announce a limited flavor

06:30for that week that will be available Monday. That keeps people glued to Crumble's social media and

06:36creates a new reason for even the biggest cookie fan to keep going back for more.

06:43The fact that they are really good at introducing new flavors and variety, everybody wants to try new

06:49things. And that's a really big part of what keeps people coming back for more. But even more than

06:55that, there's kind of core psychological concepts involved here in terms of scarcity and creating

07:03urgency. There's the sense that if I don't go this week, I'm going to miss out on something. That FOMO,

07:11that's really key to what keeps consumers coming back. And of course, we know from business fundamentals

07:17that you need loyalty and customer lifetime value in order to succeed.

07:24While positive customer engagement is generally desirable,

07:27rapid growth also brings negative feedback and the risk of public criticism.

07:33As the business expands, it's faced increased scrutiny. Over the past two years, Crumble has faced

07:39criticism about the nutritional content of their snacks and the company faced an investigation by the

07:44U.S. Department of Labor over child violations. Crumble CEO Jason McGowan acknowledged news of the

07:52child labor violations within some franchise locations, stating the issue arose from franchise

07:58owners wanting to involve their children in the business, which is against regulations.

08:05Anytime you're this big, you're going to get critiques, not just for your product, but for your

08:10practices. And I think as long as they can address them with respect and from what I saw in the

08:19legal battles that we just mentioned, whether it's child labor laws or trademark infringement,

08:27you know, they've come out with messaging that is on brand. It's consistent with their sort of,

08:35you know, we're in the end like a big company that feels local.

08:43I would definitely say they need to be careful. They're already operating kind of at the ceiling in

08:51some respects, having to figure out new approaches. They can't just open up new stores anymore. There's

08:57some contraction. So, you know, they're going to have to make sure that they get ahead of this and

09:04hopefully, you know, keep their audience still thinking that they're genuine.

09:13They've definitely set themselves apart, I guess, in terms of success and in this particular moment.

09:18But, you know, who knows how long it's going to last? I mean, ask the guys who are making unicorn

09:22lattes or cake pops a few years ago. You know, that was their moment then. And this is Crumble's

09:27moment now. And probably in about three weeks time, it's going to be somebody else's moment.

09:31And that's just the nature of how this particular category of food works. It moves really fast. It

09:38blows really high. And then something else will kind of come along afterwards to kind of

09:42fill in that space because you just can't, you can't stay that high on that much sugar

09:46for that long. It's just not sustainable.

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