I can’t be the only one who has a hard time saying no to a sweet treat, especially when it comes in a pink box and takes over my TikTok “For You” page every Sunday night with newly released flavors. Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing bad about indulging in a treat every now and then, but the problem starts when the treat adds up to over half of the recommended daily calorie intake.
Crumbl Cookies have grown in popularity over the past couple of years, and it isn’t just by luck. Crumbl has great marketing tactics and has convinced people there’s nothing wrong with eating half a pound of cookie dough topped with frosting as an act of “self-care.”
Then, you add in rotating flavors, which constantly blow up on social media; it’s easy to see why people are obsessed. Just think about their recent Moonbeam Ice Cream Cookie collaboration with Benson Boone. This cookie blew up on TikTok immediately, and the limited-edition flavor made it feel like you had to try it.
Honestly, whoever is on Crumbl’s marketing team is killing it, and they deserve a raise. Millions of people wait for the new flavor lineup to come out every Sunday, like it’s their job. Crumbl has created a fear of missing out (FOMO) by convincing customers skipping a week could mean not getting to try their best dessert yet. What if you miss the week they bring back your favorite flavor? Or the collab cookie with your favorite artist? Crumbl has mastered selling the hype.
They’ve taken “treat yourself” to the extreme and have managed to make a dessert with a nutrition label scarier than a horror movie. Most of Crumbl’s cookies contain 600 to 1,000 calories per cookie. The Moonbeam cookie mentioned previously has 920 calories, 46 grams of fat and 72 grams of sugar per cookie. For some perspective, the amount of sugar recommended for a person per day is 24 grams for women and 36 men.
Crumbl calls their cookies “shareable,” but let’s be real, who only eats a small portion and walks away satisfied after a 150-calorie bite? Crumbl has built and normalized a mindset which justifies purchasing a treat from them. Did you do well on a test? Buy a cookie. Feeling stressed? Buy a cookie. Did you have a bad day? Might as well get a box and try all the flavors to make yourself feel better.
Their tactics work too well; they have people talking about them all over the internet, especially on TikTok. People create mukbang videos where they try all of the mouthwatering cookies, dip them into ice-cold milk and rate them. Crumbl has gamified dessert, and we can’t seem to get enough of it.
They have managed to make overindulgence look trendy and harmless. It’s like the brand whispers “you deserve this” and we come running to the desserts packed with more calories than a Big Mac and fries combined. The sad part is, we all recognize it’s unhealthy, but the way it is marketed makes it seem unimportant.
We aren’t just buying the cookies, we are buying into an aesthetic. We start to overlook the sugar intake because Crumbl says we deserve a treat. There’s nothing wrong with a little indulgence, but let’s be honest with ourselves about what we are eating. Crumbl isn’t just a “sweet treat” it’s a marketed sugar bomb disguised as “self-care.” Crumbl isn’t just cookies in a pink box; they’re marketing geniuses who have turned sugar overload into a lifestyle.
