Backlash Grows Against 1,000 Calorie Crumbl Cookies

A single Big Mac from McDonald's has 562 calories, and a single milk chocolate chip cookie from Crumbl has a whopping 720 calories.

The trendy cookie brand, which has gained viral popularity and opened hundreds of locations across the United States over the past six years, has baffled and outraged food lovers online, leading many online to wonder why those cookies are so darn big and caloric.

There is perhaps nothing more American than a massively caloric dessert food franchise that targets suburban strip malls and sells its products with a cute aesthetic, but that's not all to the story of the brand.

Crumbl was originally founded in 2017 by two cousins in Utah. The company's menu is based around a core stable of cookies (including a large milk chocolate chip cookie) and a rotating weekly series of new cookie types.

A subreddit devoted to the company hosts discussions and arguments about the new cookies for each week, which people anticipate like new Fortnite drops. Influencers on TikTok post Monday reports from the driver's seats of their cars parked outside of a Crumbl, and review the cookies — adding to the hype surrounding them.

https://www.tiktok.com/embed/v2/7241283685293608234

https://www.tiktok.com/embed/v2/7225790683951615278

The franchise has expanded rapidly, and controversially. Some reporters and online commentators accuse Crumbl franchisees of trying to "flip" their locations by cashing in on a temporary cookie hysteria and then selling their locations at the peak price after a year, leaving buyers to run the business after the hype dies down.

Online, some have made the connection between the Mormon faith of the founders (which forbids alcohol, caffeine and other drugs) and their endorsement of cookies, which purportedly lead to a strong sugar rush.

But the biggest thing about Crumbl is the nutritional value of the cookies, which has recently sparked a wave of controversy online.

Some have accused the company of deceptive marketing for advertising the caloric value of a serving size and then deciding there are six or seven servings within one cookie. As of late, it seems hating on Crumbl is almost as viral as loving Crumbl.

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