“Mama, may I have a cookie?”
Selling around one million cookies every day, Crumbl has been a mega-hit in the sweet treat industry. With 6 million followers on Instagram, 9.3 million followers on TikTok, and 1.4 million followers on Twitter, this bakery has been soaring in sales and popularity. Today, there are more than 980 stores across the U.S. and more are to appear in the future. In fact, their popularity has grown so much that clean girls of TikTok and mukbangers alike will post videos of themselves eating these cookies as if it is their last meal on Earth. Crumbl has been notoriously famous for coming out with six new flavors every week, while making fans wait in line for hours on end just to try them. However, recent controversies have sparked up a hidden feature of this brand. Spoiler: overconsumption is the main ingredient.
Overconsumption is excessive depletion or use of something. As the internet shows, our society has been in a cycle of overconsumption. From thrifting fast fashion clothes and fridge restocks that could last a family months on end, to cookies that could probably take you to heaven after two bites, the short attention span of influencers have found a new dopamine hit. For example, during the Kylie Jenner x Crumbl collab, many platforms like @stephaniereyex expressed their utter joy for the new cookie set. Stephanie posted a video of going to Crumbl, showing a line of customers waiting eagerly for their cookies. The part that shocked most audiences was when Stephanie did not wait in line like the rest, but instead bought a box off of someone for $200. Many viewers took this as a sign to go and buy the cookie set as they thought it to be “worth it.” This pattern is not something out of the blue; in fact, this is called influencer marketing. Famous influencers endorse brands, and viewers experience a chain of FOMO. Suddenly, companies rack up FOMO buyers, earning a huge amount of profit.
The problem with Crumbl is that they have learned how to manipulate this system. One box of Crumbl is around $30.00 — you can get a box of 16 cookies for one-sixth of that price at Vons. Not to mention how one cookie is around 1000 calories; that is enough to put a Victorian child into cardiac arrest. As mentioned before, many mukbangers will post videos of themselves downing six cookies in one sitting. The cherry on top is the allegations towards the cookies themselves. Many videos circulated the internet, in which buyers were upset at how their cookie was made. Some complained that the cookies they received were undercooked in the middle and tasted bland. Others complained that their cookies were overcooked and way too sweet. Sophomore Ginger Mungary shares her experience with the brand.
“I can see the company growing bigger in the future, but I think some things would need to be changed,” Mungary said. “Maybe prices, because almost thirty bucks for six cookies is kind of expensive. Sometimes it can be too sweet, but they have some good flavors. I think there are better options out there, and I think it depends on the week’s lineup.”
Having a sweet treat is not something to be ashamed of, and Crumbl may be an amazing dessert for some. But taking influence and mindlessly consuming items for the sake of following a trend is not worth it. So, no Diabeto, roll back to the kitchen.
