UPDATE: In November 2023 sales are at all time lows (supposedly) for many Crumbl stores. In fact, this is an ad for a Crumbl location in Chicago for sale:
Please read: This location has faced competition from additional Crumbl locations in the Chicago area in 2023 and as a result has seen a decline in sales and profits. There is still opportunity but for the right ownership structure but we are priced to get out of our loan and would ask that any interested buyers only reach out if they are serious about buying and aware of our current financial state. We had a net operating income of $145k in 2022. In 2023 we have net operating loss of $43k.
In May 2023 Crumbl Cookies has seen quite a drop in overall searches on Google. When looking at the Google Trends charts from previous years, Crumbl saw an increase in searches (and likely sales) from Valentine’s Day through the summer months and into August and September. Like ice cream shoppes, Crumbl was deemed a “summer treat”. That is not proving to be true in 2023. Not only have searches not increased, they have decreased since Valentine’s Day. Sales at many stores are way down in April and May compared to last year. Mother’s Day was very slow for Crumbl. What does this mean? It means franchise owners are making less money. The quickest way to make more money, cut hours and/or pay people less.
It comes as no surprise that many questions are starting to arise on Reddit about store owners and franchise partners telling managers and shift leads that no more than four (4) people can work per shift. That is complete BS. Having spoken to several franchise partners, there is no corporate policy that tells franchise partners how much or how little labor they must have. Franchise partners own the stores so they can determine how many labor hours are used each day. If a franchise partner wants 25 people in the store at one time, they can do that. If they want to be the only employee in the store, they can run the entire thing by themselves alone.
If your boss is telling you Crumbl Corporate is forcing them they have to have a limited staff, they are telling a white lie. Many, many franchise partners use corporate as an excuse as they are they only direct connection to corporate. In late May 2023 there was a viral Reddit thread here about Crumbl being the worst job ever. Everything in the thread is something that has been happening at Crumbl locations throughout the country, according to employees. Franchise partners are making minors work too many hours and possibly breaking labor laws by using the mixers and ovens. Staff having to play the cat and mouse game of when should I come into work based on that particular day’s sales. Some employees being promised hours only to find they aren’t needed. The list goes on and on.
From what we have heard through our sources, many Crumbl locations are owned by franchise partners that have zero (0) business experience before Crumbl. They worked at a Crumbl in Provo during their college years and now run three (3) Crumbl stores in Indiana. Many of these franchise partners have no business background at all. This is a recipe for disaster and it all may be coming to a head in the summer of 2023. While we all love Crumbl Cookies and their amazing flavors, it takes more than a recipe to create and sustain a great business.