Crumbl’s Sales Are Crumbling and the CEO Says ‘It’s My Fault’
Stores are closing, franchise support staff members are being laid off and the cookie chain’s dirty soda push fizzled.
Crumbl was hot out of the oven in the post-pandemic era, but a series of missteps has the cookie chain going stale. CEO Jason McGowan is owning it. “The buck stops with me,” he told franchisees last week, Restaurant Business reports. “It’s my fault where we are today.”
An internal document obtained by the outlet shows August sales were 70% lower than two years earlier. Placer.ai data shows foot traffic at Crumbl’s more than 1,000 locations fell 32% year over year. At least 57 stores have closed this year, and the company recently laid off much of its franchise support staff.
Dirty sodas were supposed to turn things around. McGowan pitched them to franchisees in 2025, predicting a 20% sales boost. Instead, a 32-ounce version packing 186 grams of sugar sparked online backlash. McGowan says August’s Soda Week was the worst week in company history.
McGowan and co-founder Sawyer Hemsley announced in May they will step down from day-to-day roles. McGowan says a new CEO is coming soon, along with a new CFO and head of marketing.