Crumbl Became A Cookie Giant By Mastering Social Media, Not Just Baking

If you haven't heard of Crumbl cookies, you're probably living under a rock. It's one of the fastest-growing dessert chains in America, and for good reason. These cookies have taken over social media.

Crumbl's social media strategy has proven to be very successful, from its weekly cookie reveal to its fan interaction and everything in between. The cookie brand knows how to keep customers coming back by building excitement. Didn't get your favorite cookie in the lineup this week? Well, you'll have to check again next week. Despite the fact that there are several Crumbl cookie flavors that we'd like to see added to the menu year-round, the fact that they aren't adds to the chain's genius marketing.

The way the brand encourages user-generated content (UGC) from customers who purchase boxes of cookies and then share their reviews on social media has been crucial to its success. Crumbl often shares those videos on its own social media, with local stores also interacting and sharing UGC to promote the cookies each week.

It's literally free advertisement, and in many cases, the cookies being reviewed were paid for by the reviewer, too. Becoming a viral sensation has been one of the biggest factors to Crumbl's success; and without the help of influencers everywhere, we likely wouldn't know the difference between Crumbl, Dirty Dough, Milk Bar, or any of the other cookie chains that Crumbl fans need to try.

It's probably a good thing Crumbl has managed to master social media, because the cookie reviews aren't always amazing. In fact, the reviews are often unflattering, with some deeming the brand overrated and others pointing out that, in many cases, just one cookie has nearly 800 calories in it.

But even the bad press or Crumbl cookie flops can't stop this social media monster, as the brand continues to grow each year. A great example of bad press working out just fine for Crumbl was the viral cookie collab with the Kardashians, where each cookie was picked by one of the Kardashian-Jenner women and then ranked to see who had the best cookie. It definitely wasn't Kourtney Kardashian's flourless chocolate cake, which many cookie critics literally spat out.

With new cookies coming out and old favorites returning each week with the one-of-a-kind cookie lineups, we see a lot of fan favorites coming back time and time again. Crumbl also likes to remix some flavors, like turning the beloved Biscoff cheesecake into a Biscoff lava cookie. Clearly, the brand is listening, and it's not likely we'll see that flourless chocolate cake coming through any time soon — or possibly, ever again.