When comparing Insomnia Cookies vs Crumbl Cookies we have to look at many factors including taste, locations, business model, employees, service and more. This will be a comprehensive comparison of the two most popular cookie chains in the United States.
Taste, Size and Texture
Insomnia Cookies – Insomnia Cookies has a number of classic cookie options including Sugar, Snickerdoodle, Peanut Butter Cup, Oatmeal Raisin and Chocolate Chunk. The size of the cookie is very close to what you would get when you buy a package of cookies at the grocery store. If you buy the cookie directly from the store you are going to find that it is warmed up in the oven so it will be hot and moist. If the cookies are delivered you will likely find it to be less hot and moist and a little harder in texture. Overall, Insomnia is a great option after midnight for college kids. This is what the business model was based on, but more on that later.
Crumbl Cookies – Crumbl Cookies has classic chocolate chip and five (5) rotating flavors each week. The size of the cookie is the size of an NHL hockey puck which is much larger than your standard cookie you would get at a grocery store. It is much larger than Insomnia Cookies as well. Crumbl Cookies prides itself on having warm, moist and the perfect texture cookie for their customers. If you get the cookies directly from the store you will find they come right out of the oven and are the perfect temperature. Crumbl Cookies are best right at the time of purchase.
Locations
- Insomnia Cookies – Approximately 225 locations
- Crumbl Cookies – 548 locations (as of August 6th, 2022)
Business Model
Insomnia Cookies – Insomnia Cookies is branded towards college students that stay up past midnight and are craving a late night or early morning snack. Almost every single Insomnia location is directly on or beside a college campus. The goal is to get all the business that other companies miss by being open until 3 am every single night. Crumbl Cookies closes at 10 pm on Monday-Thursday and midnight on Friday and Saturday.
Crumbl Cookies – Crumbl Cookies has a rotating menu that keeps the buzz going. The business model is to utilize social media, especially TikTok, to spread the word on the fun and tasty new flavors every week. Every Sunday at 6:oo pm mountain time, Crumbl releases the new flavors. This causes great excitement and high school and college kids love the cookies. Some TikTok Crumbl Cookie Review videos have received over 5 million views.
Employees
Insomnia Cookies – The large majority of employees at Insomnia are college students. With every location being right next to a college campus and the stores being open until 3:00 am makes it obvious for the type of employee Insomnia would hire. Managers are often a little older than college students, but still on the younger side.
Crumbl Cookies – Front end Crumbl employees such as bakers are often high school and college students. The employee model at Crumbl is very similar to Chick-Fil-A. The goal is to get the best employees with the most energy while they are still excited about their job. You are likely not going to see a 32 year old disgruntled employee at Crumbl.
Service
Insomnia Cookies – Service is not at the forefront of the business model for Insomnia. Due to the fact that many customers are coming in after midnight, service isn’t exactly the most important part of the experience. In fact, if you go into an Insomnia after midnight you will likely have very little conversation with any of the employees other than a quick order. They want you in and out as quickly as possible.
Crumbl Cookies – Crumbl employees make sure to greet you as soon as you walk in the door. While most popular will order through the iPad and not have to talk to employees, many employees will engage. The main reason this is the case is the part time employees all split the tips. Some Crumbl Cookies stores have reported paying up to $7/hr more to hourly employees because the tips were so good.
Size of Locations
Insomnia Cookies – Most Insomnia Cookies locations are very small. The square footage is usually less than 750 square feet and can be as low as 400 square feet. Customers will find the front end of the stores will only hold three or four people. The reason for this is the high rent that must be paid for commercial real estate near college campuses. Almost all Insomnia Cookies locations are on the street with the bars and clubs that college students attend.
Crumbl Cookies – Crumbl Cookies locations are between 1500-2400 square feet. Most Crumbl locations are on the lower end of that range. The majority of the Crumbl store is for baking the cookies with about 25% of the store for customers to order and wait to pick up their cookies.