When TikTok influencers queued for more than an hour to buy a cult American cookie at an “exclusive” pop-up shop in Bondi at the weekend, they weren’t expecting to pay $17.50 per cookie.
And little did they know that the popular Crumbl brand cookies were days-old “obsolete” imports sold by fans who had bought them overseas, rather than an official arm of the popular American Crumbl cookie business.
Foodies were left furious at the weekend when they queued to buy imported biscuits at a pop-up shop in North Bondi that were marketed as “exclusive” by a social media account called CrumblSydney.
But the account was fan-run, the sale was not supported by US-based Crumbl Cookies brands, and the cookies, flown in from Hawaii, sold for a whopping $75 for five cookies. A four-pack costs just 21 Australian dollars in the United States.
“This was like a scam, it’s actually very bad,” said TikTok food critic Hamze.
“It’s so sweet, the texture is just weird, it’s so sugary… I feel like I’m eating sugar.”
An Instagram account created by the pop-up organizers, under the name Crumblaus, was banned from the platform, but its TikTok remains active.
It was there that organizers defended themselves against Tuesday’s fierce reaction and denied that the cookies were stale.
Elle, from the eastern suburbs, spent more than $100 on the pop-up event and was not impressed.
Sydney TikTok food critic Hamze (pictured) said the cookies were ‘actually very bad’
Customers waited “hours” in queue to try the famous Crumbl biscuits, but claimed the imported biscuits were “stale” and “disappointing” (pictured, queues in North Bondi on Sunday)
‘We never claimed to be an official Crumbl store. This was clearly stated in the bio and in our comments. “Our goal was to bring authentic Crumbl cookies to Australia by importing them directly from the US,” they said.
‘We traveled to the United States to buy the cookies and imported them with their original packaging. We don’t bake them ourselves.’
Responding to accusations that the biscuits were stale, the organizers said: ‘Crumbled cookies should be stored at room temperature in an airtight container for up to three days or refrigerated for up to seven days.
‘We kept them complying with these requirements. Some were heated to enhance their texture, which is what Crumbl also does.
The group then responded to dozens of customers who closed the pop-up.
“While most customers enjoyed the cookies, a couple of influencers felt they didn’t meet expectations,” they said.
‘We apologize that (the cookies) do not live up to expectations, however at the end of the day they are just cookies.
Many customers were surprised to see the cookies selling for $17.50 each, even though the same cookies were sold in packs of four for $21 Australian dollars in the US.
‘While there may be a small difference in quality, some flavors may not appeal to some people. “A lot of people came up to us and were there saying they were delicious and thank you for selling them.”
Elle, an influencer who shares snippets of her life as an “eastern suburbs mom,” shared her thoughts on the Crumbl pop-up after trying 10 cookies.
In her clip, she and two other people described the cookies as “disappointing” and said they looked like they were purchased “at a bake sale.”
Commenters on Elle’s review criticized the “crazy” price of the “suitcase cookies” and questioned whether the organizers could face legal action.
‘As an American, not only does it bother me that you have to pay a lot of money for old, stale cookies, but Crumbl is overrated for sure!’ said one.
“I feel like Crumbl is going to take legal action,” said another.
“This is nothing like the Crumbl they played you guys with,” wrote another.
“I actually can’t believe it was $17.50 for a cookie,” said another.
Organizers said they had met all legal requirements for the event and made very little profit from the pop-up.
“This event was never about profit,” they said.
‘Our goal was to bring cookies to Crumbl fans. The import and resale is called parallel import. Parallel imports are legal.
‘We followed all legal procedures, declared the cookies as commercial products and obtained the necessary approvals from Australian customs.
‘We hope this clears up any confusion. Thank you to those who supported us and provided us with valuable feedback.’
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Crumbl for comment.
