Crumbl’s cookie business is booming, but how much do franchisees make?
Crumbl Cookies, one of America’s fastest-growing dessert chains, has turned oversized cookies into a billion-dollar empire in just six years since its founding in 2017, per The Wall Street Journal. Owing much of its meteoric rise to social media — Crumbl’s weekly flavor reveals of Instagrammable $5 cookies have given it cult status among tweens and teens — the company has grown astonishingly quickly in the last few years.
After its first Utah-based store took off, Crumbl leaned heavily into franchising, and the results speak for themselves: the company’s store count ballooned, from 15 locations in 2018 to 968 nationwide in 2023. Together, these franchises generate more than $1 billion in annual sales, per food-research firm Technomic.
However, not all franchise owners are making a fortune. According to the chain’s franchise disclosure document (FDD), the average Crumbl store grossed $1.16 million in revenue and $122,955 in net profit last year — yet outcomes vary wildly. The best-performing store pocketed around $601,000 in net profit, while the lowest posted a net loss of around $242,000. Sales at the best-performing store were nearly $3 million.
And the startup costs aren’t cheap. Opening a Crumbl location requires between ~$460,000 and ~$1.3 million, per the FDD, with real estate and equipment swallowing a third of that total. Then there’s Crumbl’s cut: an 8% royalty fee and a 2% marketing fee on sales, which further nibble at margins. Moreover, the numbers aren’t trending in a sweet direction. In 2023, net profit per store fell 59% from the previous year, marking the first decline and raising questions about Crumbl’s rapid expansion.
After its first Utah-based store took off, Crumbl leaned heavily into franchising, and the results speak for themselves: the company’s store count ballooned, from 15 locations in 2018 to 968 nationwide in 2023. Together, these franchises generate more than $1 billion in annual sales, per food-research firm Technomic.
However, not all franchise owners are making a fortune. According to the chain’s franchise disclosure document (FDD), the average Crumbl store grossed $1.16 million in revenue and $122,955 in net profit last year — yet outcomes vary wildly. The best-performing store pocketed around $601,000 in net profit, while the lowest posted a net loss of around $242,000. Sales at the best-performing store were nearly $3 million.
And the startup costs aren’t cheap. Opening a Crumbl location requires between ~$460,000 and ~$1.3 million, per the FDD, with real estate and equipment swallowing a third of that total. Then there’s Crumbl’s cut: an 8% royalty fee and a 2% marketing fee on sales, which further nibble at margins. Moreover, the numbers aren’t trending in a sweet direction. In 2023, net profit per store fell 59% from the previous year, marking the first decline and raising questions about Crumbl’s rapid expansion.
