When you combine the perfect recipe of location, marketing, and timing — you get one tasty cookie. You may have heard of or had the pleasure of tasting Crumbl Cookies — a Utah-originated establishment that has swept the nation off its tastebuds. And if you are a Crumbl Cookie fan living in Pierce County, it’s likely you’ve had the chance to stop into Crumbl’s Puyallup or Bonney Lake stores.
In December of 2020, Crumbl Cookie store owner Doug Clark made a giant leap of faith by leaving his career in home improvement reality TV to open a Crumbl store in Puyallup. Just like with any new endeavor during the pandemic, Clark expected his new business to be met with some obstacles, but what came his way was more than he could have dreamed.
Within a short 13 months, the Puyallup store was Crumbl Cookie’s #1 location in the nation. For six months straight, the location was the top-grossing store every day, broke several records, and later won an award for Best Business of 2021 in all categories.
“The store was on fire,” said Clark. “People would drive from all over, even hours away for our cookies. We had a parking lot full of people waiting to order and we needed 24-hour crews at the ready to keep up with the demand. We’ve [Crumbl Cookies] never seen curbside pick-up like that before.”
Clark attributes the unsurmountable success to the “delicious recipe” of a revolving weekly menu, a unique and enchanting store design, and Crumbl’s social media presence. Many customers come back daily to get their favorite treat while it’s still available and with a larger store interior, they get to watch the cookie-making process — something not every Crumbl location offers. The Crumbl Cookie brand also has a huge TikTok following, at a whopping 3.5 million fans. TikTok helps many brands go “viral” and Crumbl Cookies is no exception. And as Clark describes it, the Puyallup location’s beautiful build, tiles, and colors give it a social media-friendly element.
“It’s the perfect symphony of a brand,” said Clark. “In fact, the Puyallup store is now the standard and case study for all Crumbl stores.”
Following such an outstanding business year, Clark’s Crumbl enterprise has expanded into Tacoma. Tacoma Central now has the world’s largest Crumbl Cookie store that is double the size and with the first ever three-oven, three-mixer setup. Opening day was February 10, 2022, and although the layout differs from its Puyallup sibling, the Tacoma location provides the same incredibly sweet experience.
Crumbl Cookie
crumblcookie.com
BY NATALIE BENSON