Popular US cookie brand Crumbl Cookies has cleared the air after rumours swirled that the viral “fraud” Sydney pop-up was a marketing ploy used to announce the opening of stores in Australia.
Outrage erupted on social media last week after it was revealed a Crumbl Cookies pop-up in North Bondi, which was heavily promoted on TikTok by the account @crumblsydney, was not affiliated with the real brand.
The organisers behind the event were just fans of the cookie company and had flown to the states, bought over 800 cookies and flown them back to Australia to be resold.
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However many felt duped by the event after believing the pop-up was being run by the actual company.
Several days after the uproar, the real Crumbl announced it was planning to open stores in Australia, causing many to wonder whether the Sydney pop-up was a PR stunt.
In a statement to 7NEWS.com.au, a spokesperson from Crumbl Cookies confirmed this was not the case.
“It was not a PR stunt,” they said.
It’s not clear where or when the stores will open in Australia.
A spokesperson had previously said the company was “amazed” by the recent support of its Australian fans.
“Crumbl has been inspired to accelerate plans to provide all dessert-loving Aussies, with a true Crumbl experience,” they said.
The masterminds behind the TikTok account @crumblsydney said they never claimed to be the real brand and were just “fans importing”.
People were unimpressed however, calling the whole operation “deceptive”.
“It’s straight-up fraud,” one person said.
The account began posting TikToks in late September, showing professionally edited videos of the cookies being made and spruiking the pop-up event in North Bondi on September 29.
Since the backlash the account has deleted all of its videos.
The cookies were sold to fans for about double the US price.
In a statement to 7NEWS.com.au one of the organisers, known only as Tony, said the price of the cookies was due to costs of getting the product back to Australia, and his intention was “not to generate substantial profit”.
“Our goal was to bring Crumbl’s cookies to fans who otherwise wouldn’t have the opportunity to try them,” he said.
Crumbl claims to be the fastest-growing cookie company in the US, selling over one million cookies every day.
It has recently exploded in popularity on social media, with its popularity helped by endorsements from influencers and celebrities.