Tough bikkies: Business lessons from Sydney’s bootleg Crumbl cookie stall
Here’s what you need to know about the Crumbl ordeal dominating your social media feeds, and what enterprises can learn from the situation.
What do you get when you cross a cult American product, a healthy dash of FOMO, and an ambitious Sydney pop-up? In the case of one Bondi enterprise and its Crumbl cookie stand, the answer is a social media firestorm — and some important lessons for local businesses.
Here’s what you need to know about the Crumbl ordeal dominating your social media feeds, and what enterprises can learn from the situation.
What is Crumbl?
Crumbl is an American bakery franchise specialising in gourmet cookies.
Founded in 2017 by cousins and business partners Jason McGowan and Sawyer Hemsley, Crumbl built a reputation for its large serving sizes and a rotating roster of flavours.
Its decadent and social media-friendly products gained significant cachet on Instagram and TikTok, expanding awareness of the brand.
@crumbl Excuse us while we put on our sundae shoes 😉 A gooey brownie cradled by crisp chocolatey edges—have you tried Brownie Sundae yet? 🍫 #Crumbl
Crumbl currently counts 862 locations across the US, Canada, and Puerto Rico.
At the time of writing, Crumbl does not officially operate in Australia.
What happened in Sydney?
Over the past weekend, a business venture billing itself as “Crumbl Sydney” held a pop-up event in Bondi, Sydney, purportedly selling real Crumbl cookies.
The pop-up sold those cookies for $17.50 each, complete with Crumbl-branded boxes and signs bearing the business’ logo.
Despite the high prices, the event proved somewhat successful: footage posted to social media shows long queues and influencers tucking in to their gourmet cookies.
@sofiaqistinee come with me to crumbl cookie sydneys pop up in bondi🩷🍪 #crumbl #crumblcookies #crumblecookiereview #crumble #australia #sydney #sydneyfood #sydneyaustralia #foodie #foodreview #cookies #tastetest
But social media intrigue snowballed as some buyers shared less-than-stellar reviews.
In response to the viral sensation — and apparent confusion over the event’s authenticity — the organisers have since deleted all TikTok videos promoting the pop-up event.
The organisers also shared a document, clarifying they are not affiliated with the Crumbl business.
“No, we never claimed to be an official Crumbl store,” the organisers said.
“This was clearly stated in bio and our comments.
“Our goal was to bring the authentic Crumbl cookies to Australia by importing the cookies directly from the USA.”
The organisers also explained how Crumbl-branded cookies found their way to Bondi.
“We traveled to the US to purchase the cookies and imported them with their original packaging,” they said, claiming to have spent in excess of $10,000 on the cookies, flights, and duties.
SmartCompany has contacted organisers for comment.
@elle_easternsuburbsmum Crumbl cookie review incoming from the Sydney pop up😍😍😍 @crumblsydney
How should importers handle trademark issues?
SmartCompany makes no suggestion the organisers acted unlawfully.
However, the way the pop-up used Crumbl branding, its decision to import and sell Crumbl cookies, and the consumer response to those cookies, all raise some interesting legal questions.
Although Crumbl does not operate in Australia, two trademarks related to Crumbl branding, held by Crumbl IP LLC, are registered in Australia.
And Crumbl does appear to reserve its rights regarding its intellectual property.
Terms and conditions listed on its American website state prohibit the use of content from its site, stores, and products “for any commercial purposes”.
But that does not necessarily mean the organisers actually infringed upon the brand’s trademarks.
The pop-up organisers say they clearly advised attendees they were fans of the brand, not official Crumbl representatives.
They also claim they were merely participating in parallel importing — the fully legal practice of buying goods from retailers overseas and selling them here.
In its own briefing about the pop-up, commercial law firm Macpherson Kelly states the event is unlikely to have violated Crumbl’s intellectual property.
Principal lawyer Belinda Sigismundi and special counsel Nils Versemann point to section 122A of the Trade Marks Act 1995, which is designed to facilitate parallel, or ‘grey market’ importing.
“Given that the biscuits were apparently purchased from a genuine US Crumbl store, and then sold with genuine Crumbl packaging, it is likely that this falls within the section 122A exemption,” they say.
Nevertheless, that understanding relies on the pop-up clearly labelling itself as a fan-run event, not an officially sanctioned Crumbl operation.
What about importation rules, quality standards, and food safety?
Businesses importing food for commercial use must declare those goods, and become legally responsible for the safety and labelling of those products.
The organisers claim to have followed Australian importation requirements when transporting the cookies.
“We followed all legal procedures, declaring the cookies as commercial goods and obtaining the necessary approvals from Australian customs,” they said.
They also shared a document purporting to show the cookies were released from biosecurity control once entering the country.
Of course, getting the cookies into Australia is only half the story.
The pop-up serves as a reminder for Australian food businesses to ensure they know exactly what their products are made from.
Here’s what the NSW Food Authority has to say:
As a food importer, you must make sure the food you import contains ingredients/additives that are permitted in Australia/New Zealand before the food is available for sale to the public.
You can do this by getting in touch with your supplier, who may be overseas, and obtaining ingredient information documents, product specification sheets and sample labels.
Then come labelling rules, set out by Food Standards Australia and New Zealand, which cover things like ingredients lists and allergen alerts, ensuring consumers know what they’re getting into.
In addition, parallel importers must also adhere to customer guarantees around their product, act truthfully in advertising, and ensure their product is safe.
The organisers concede the cookies were not freshly baked by the time of their sale, but claim they were refrigerated or sealed in air-tight containers during transport, in keeping with Crumbl’s own guidelines.
“Section 54 of the Australian Consumer Law imposes a statutory guarantee that the goods are of acceptable quality,” say Sigismundi and Versemann.
“One of the factors determining acceptable quality is price. The biscuits sold for $17.50 each, so you would probably expect something pretty fresh for that price.”
On top of those broad food safety rules, Australian businesses must first gain local government approval before selling food products on home soil.
Waverly Council, which includes Bondi, states businesses including retail bakeries and “food stalls at periodic or one-off events” must notify the Council if they intend to operate within the local government area.
Similar council-level rules exist nationwide.
What does Crumbl say?
Crumbl’s terms and conditions do set boundaries around who, and where, its cookies can be sold.
“We reserve the right, but are not obligated to limit the sales of our Products to any person, geographic region or jurisdiction,” according to the fine print.
“We may exercise this right on a case-by-case basis.”
But the brand has not publicly slammed the pop-up organisers, instead embracing the event as a sign of the brand’s burgeoning global popularity.
In his own TikTok video, co-founder Sawyer Hemsley said:
“It appears we need to expedite out visit to Australia. Please note, this pop-up is in no way affiliated with Crumbl Cookies.”
@sawyerhemsley Replying to @Sawyer Hemsley 🍪🇦🇺
Responding to a fan, Sawyer said it “looks like we absolutely have to” come to Australia after the pop-up.
SmartCompany asked the brand if it has contacted the pop-up organisers, the context of that communication, and what lessons it has learned from the Sydney-side social media mania.
A Crumbl spokesperson said:
While the pop-up in Australia was not sponsored by Crumbl, we love seeing excitement for Crumbl around the world.
Currently, there are Crumbl locations in all 50 states in the US, Canada, and Puerto Rico.
We look forward to expanding to other countries in the future.
Information about new international locations will be shared through our official Crumbl communication channels.
Crumbl’s website says the business is open to master franchising opportunities abroad, for enterprises with at least US$5 million to devote to the project.
Whether the pop-up is enough to convince an enterprising Australian business to champion the Crumbl name on home soil is yet to be seen.
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