The founders of a famous American bakery have indicated they have no intention of suing the organizers of a pop-up that sold their cookies in Australia.
The pop-up shop in the eastern Sydney suburb of North Bondi, set up on the last weekend in September, had people queuing for up to an hour to discover Crumbl biscuits cost a whopping $17.50 each one or $75 for five.
Several customers expressed dismay at the price, as a four-pack of cookies costs just $21 in the US, and it emerged that the store was run by Crumbl ‘fans’ who brought the baked goods from Hawaii.
Westbourne College Year 10 student Toby Joshua, 16, was revealed to be the mastermind behind the pop-up and the revelation fueled further anger.
Crumbl’s founders told alphabet They had no intention of taking legal action.
“While Crumbl did not sponsor the pop-up in Australia, we love seeing the enthusiasm for Crumbl around the world,” a statement from the company read.
Although the store was promoted on a TikTok account called crumblcookiesyd, which featured the same pink branding as the American company, Toby and his family said they never claimed to be an official store, but were instead “passionate fans.”
“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.
The founders of a famous American bakery have indicated that they have no intention of suing the organizers behind a pop-up that sold their cookies in Australia (pictured, an Australian was unimpressed with the cookies).
‘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.’
A parallel import is an item purchased overseas to sell in Australia where the reseller does not have permission from those behind the product.
This is still legal as long as the items are not sold by the manufacturer or an affiliate of them.
Daily Mail Australia does not suggest that the organizers made such a statement.
Since the cookies were purchased days earlier in the US, several of them complained about their quality.
“This is really, really bad,” said Hamze, a TikTok food critic.
“It’s so sweet, the texture is just weird, it’s so sugary… I feel like I’m eating sugar.”
The organizers of the pop-up store defended themselves on TikTok.
‘We never claimed to be an official Crumbl store. This was clearly stated in the biography and in our comments,’ they said.
“Our goal was to bring authentic Crumbl biscuits to Australia by importing them directly from the US.”
Customers waited “hours” in line to try the famous Crumbl biscuits, but claimed the imported biscuits were “disappointing” (pictured, queues in North Bondi on Sunday)
‘We traveled to the United States to buy the cookies and imported them with their original packaging. We don’t bake them ourselves.’
‘Crushed cookies should be kept 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.
Organizers insisted that only a few people had complaints.
“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.
‘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.”
Many customers were surprised to see that the cookies were selling for $17.50 each, even though the same cookies were sold in packs of four for $21 in the US.
Crumbl cookie flavors include Cookies and Cream Milkshake, Ultimate Peanut Butter, Brownie Sundae, and Pumpkin Cake, in addition to their original chocolate chip flavors, and sell for about $6.50 in the US.
On Wednesday, Daily Mail Australia tracked down Toby, registered owner of the companies Candy X and Sugar Party AU behind the business, at his family home in the city’s east.
But the brothers’ mother, Lauren Joshua, refused to answer questions about the backlash at their $4 million Bellevue Hill mansion and slammed the door on reporters.