You’ve seen the pink boxes. They’re everywhere. Whether it’s a TikTok creator doing a weekly taste test or a line of cars wrapping around a suburban strip mall on a Friday night, the brand has become a cultural juggernaut. But if you’re standing there holding a warm Milk Chocolate Chip or a chilled Sugar cookie, you might wonder how this all started. Specifically, when was Crumbl Cookies made? It feels like they appeared out of thin air, but the reality is a mix of tech-industry hustle and a literal obsession with finding the "perfect" recipe.
The company was founded in 2017.
Actually, to be precise, the first store opened its doors in Logan, Utah, in September 2017. It wasn't some massive corporate rollout. It was two cousins, Jason McGowan and Sawyer Hemsley, who decided that the world needed a better chocolate chip cookie. At the time, Jason was coming from a tech background, and Sawyer was finishing up his degree at Utah State University. They didn't have a giant menu. They didn't have the rotating flavors that drive everyone crazy today. They had one cookie.
The Logan Origins and the Quest for the Perfect Dough
When Crumbl Cookies was made back in 2017, the founders were surprisingly methodical. They didn't just guess. They went through a process they called "A/B testing," which is common in software development but pretty rare in the world of baking. They would bake two different versions of a cookie, take them to gas stations or grocery stores, and ask random strangers which one they liked better.
"Which one is more moist?"
"Is this too sweet?"
They kept iterating. They changed the flour. They swapped the chocolate chips. They adjusted the salt. This wasn't just hobby baking; it was data-driven dessert creation. This initial phase in Logan is what set the DNA for the entire company. If you look at the business today, that tech-first mentality is why their app works so well and why their marketing feels so modern.
The first store was a bit of a gamble. Logan is a college town, which ended up being the perfect petri dish. You have a high density of young people who are willing to try new things and, more importantly, people who are awake late at night looking for sugar. Originally, the shop was only focused on takeout and delivery. The "open kitchen" concept was there from day one, though. They wanted people to see the eggs being cracked and the flour being scooped. It builds trust. It makes it feel like a local bakery even if it’s destined to become a multi-billion dollar empire.
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Why 2017 Changed the Cookie Game Forever
It's easy to forget what the dessert landscape looked like before Crumbl. You had Mrs. Fields in malls, which felt a bit dated. You had high-end boutique bakeries in New York or LA. But there wasn't really a "tech-forward" cookie brand that utilized social media as its primary engine.
When Crumbl was made, it filled a vacuum.
The iconic pink box didn't actually show up right at the very start. It came shortly after. Sawyer Hemsley and his classmates at USU actually helped design it. The shape is weirdly long because the cookies are huge. They’re roughly 4.5 inches in diameter. You can’t fit four of those in a standard square box without them overlapping and getting messy. The oblong pink box was a functional solution that accidentally became one of the most recognizable pieces of packaging in the world. It’s "Instagrammable" by design.
The Rotating Menu Innovation
By 2018, the brand realized that even the best chocolate chip cookie in the world gets boring if that's all you sell. This is when the business shifted from a cookie shop to a "content platform." They introduced the rotating weekly menu.
This was the genius move.
By limiting the availability of certain flavors, they created "FOMO"—fear of missing out. If the Cornbread cookie or the Kentucky Butter Cake cookie is only available for six days, you’re going to go get it. You don't wait. You can't wait. This scarcity model is exactly how streetwear brands like Supreme or Nike work with "drops." Crumbl applied it to flour and sugar.
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Scaling at Breakneck Speed
Since that first shop in 2017, the growth has been objectively insane. We aren't just talking about a few dozen stores. By 2022, they had hundreds of locations. By 2024, they were crossing the 1,000-store mark across the United States and Canada.
How does a company go from one store in a Utah college town to 1,000+ locations in less than seven years?
- Franchising Model: They made it relatively easy (though expensive and competitive) for people to open their own Crumbl.
- Social Media Dominance: They leaned into TikTok early. The "Crumbl Review" hashtag has billions of views. They don't even have to pay for most of that marketing; fans do it for them.
- The Tech Stack: Because the founders came from tech, their internal systems for inventory and ordering are way ahead of the average mom-and-pop bakery.
Honestly, the speed of growth has caused some friction. You've probably seen the "Cookie Wars" lawsuits where Crumbl sued other emerging brands like Dirty Dough and Crave for allegedly copying their "trade dress"—basically their look and feel. It got a little messy. It showed that the "friendly" pink-box brand has a very sharp business edge. Most people don't realize that the legal battles were part of protecting what they built back when Crumbl was made in that small Logan kitchen.
What Most People Get Wrong About the Brand
A common misconception is that Crumbl is an old company that just recently got famous. Nope. It's younger than the iPhone X. Another one is that the cookies are "raw." They aren't raw; they are intentionally underbaked in the center to achieve a specific texture. It’s a polarizing style. Some people love the "gooey" center; others think it’s a crime against baking.
But the data doesn't lie. People buy them by the millions.
The sheer calorie count is another thing that shocks people. One cookie is technically four servings. If you eat a whole "Waffle" cookie with the syrup and the buttercream, you're looking at nearly 800 to 1,000 calories. It’s an indulgence, not a snack. The brand knows this. They sell a specialized cookie cutter in their shops because they know the only "reasonable" way to eat them is to share.
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The Future of the Pink Box
As we move further away from that 2017 start date, Crumbl is trying to figure out what's next. They’ve recently rebranded, dropping the "Cookies" from their social media handles in some places to just "Crumbl." This hints at an expansion into other desserts. We've already seen them test cakes, cinnamon rolls, and even savory items in some markets.
They are trying to avoid being a fad.
Every food trend has a shelf life—remember the frozen yogurt craze of 2010? Crumbl is fighting to stay relevant by constantly changing. They are no longer just that shop that opened in Logan. They are a massive logistical operation that manages thousands of employees and a supply chain that moves tons of gourmet chocolate and butter every single week.
Practical Insights for Fans and Business Observers
If you’re looking to get the most out of your Crumbl experience or you're studying their business model, keep these points in mind:
- Check the App on Sundays: The new menu drops every Sunday night (usually around 6:00 PM MST). This is the "big reveal" that drives their weekly traffic.
- The Mystery Cookie: Most weeks, individual stores have a "Mystery Cookie" that isn't on the national menu. You can check the map in the app to find specific flavors near you.
- Free Cookies: They have a very generous birthday program. If you have the app and enter your birthdate, you get a free cookie voucher every year. It’s one of the few "rewards" programs that is actually worth the data trade-off.
- Storage Matters: Because of the high moisture content (that "underbaked" feel), these cookies don't last forever on the counter. If you aren't eating them within 24 hours, freeze them. They actually thaw out remarkably well.
Crumbl’s journey from a single storefront in 2017 to a national obsession is a masterclass in modern branding. It wasn't just about the sugar; it was about the timing, the tech, and that specific shade of pink.
To see what the current lineup looks like or to find the nearest location to you, the best move is to download the Crumbl app or visit their official website to see this week's rotating flavors. If you’re interested in the business side, tracking their expansion into non-cookie desserts over the next 12 months will be the real test of their staying power.