SYDNEY, Australia — For 7 years following Crumbl Cookies launching in Logan, Utah the brand has blown up to more than 862 locations worldwide, and according to the company they sell over one million cookies a day. But some in Australia, apparently couldn't wait for the brand to come to the land down under.
Yahoo Finance Australia reports, that organizers of a pop-up shop held over the weekend in Sydney are coming under fire for what some are labeling as a scam. They were coming to America to buy the famous cookies and then flying with them back to Australia for sale. However, the pop-up had no affiliation with the brand.
On September 29, the organizers who advertised the event through TikTok sold the cookies for $17.50 apiece. This is despite only having to spend around $8 per cookie in the U.S.
Those prices caused much of the ire that the organizers are now facing. They explained in astatement posted to their TikTok's bio the decision to charge more than double the original costs. The explanation states that organizers spent $4K on flights to the U.S. and back, $6K on the original cookies, $2K on duties, taxes, and import costs, and over $1K in staffing for the event.
Organizers state in the explanation, "This event was never about profit. We aimed to bring the cookies to Crumbl fans. We did not aim to make money..."
The controversy following the event has gone so far as to incite the organizers to completely wipe their original TikTok page of their content promoting the pop-up. Even one of the company's co-founders, Sawyer Hemsley, has responded to videos reviewing the cookies from the event saying they had no affiliation.
In the explanation posted by organizers, they claim to have never stated they were an official Crumbl store. This is although their TikTok is named "crumblsydney." In the explanation, organizers say, "Our goal was to bring the authentic Crumbl cookies to Australia by importing the cookies directly from the USA."
As far as trademark concerns, the organizers say that Crumbl's trademarks have never been registered in Australia and they never used their trademarks in their videos.
Another issue for many online was the actual taste of the cookies. Despite being bought in the U.S. and flown over many reported the cookies not hitting the marks they expected.
The organizers say that Crumbl says the cookies can be kept for 3 days at room temperature in an airtight container or 7 days if the cookies are refrigerated. While the organizers say they kept to those requirements, earlier in the explanation they stated the cookies were kept in their original packages which aren't airtight.
But all hope might not be lost for the great southern land. In a response video to one of the videos about the pop-up, Sawyer Hemsley stated that they may need to expedite their visit to Australia.
