Paighten HarkinsThe cousins who founded the Utah-based Crumbl — once hailed as the country’s "fastest-growing gourmet cookie company” and its “trendiest” — are stepping down from executive roles and day-to-day operations.
Co-founders Jason McGowen and Sawyer Hemsley announced their exits Monday in a letter posted to social media.
The move comes after the company’s revenue plunged 37% between 2022 and 2023, forcing layoffs and plans to slow its rapid expansion, Bloomberg reported.
Between 2021 and 2023, the trade publication Restaurant Business reported, Crumbl averaged 276 new locations per year. It opened just 81 new locations in 2024, according to franchise disclosure documents cited in that reporting.
McGowen and Sawyer created Crumbl, which specializes in a revolving menu of decadent, TikTok-worthy treats packaged in a pale pink box, in 2017. Their first store opened in Logan. In less than six years, Bloomberg reported, they had expanded to all 50 states. They now operate more than 1,000 locations, according to the company’s website.
“We are incredibly proud of what we have built. What started as an idea between cousins has turned into something much bigger than we ever expected,” the letter read. “The foundation is strong and the future is exciting.”
Crumbl did not respond to The Salt Lake Tribune’s request for comment on Tuesday.
In what the co-founders referred to as a “planned transition,” the pair will officially step down once Crumbl hires a chief executive officer to replace McGowen and a chief brand officer to replace Hemsley. Bryce Redd, the company’s Chief Technology Officer who previously worked at Facebook, will also be stepping down.
They plan to remain on the board of directors.
With McGowen, Hemsley and Redd out, Crumbl plans to start a “next chapter,” where it will “focus on scale, sharpen the experience for customers and franchise partners, and continue pushing the product innovation that has always set Crumbl apart,” the letter stated.
While Restaurant Business reported that Crumbl’s strategy of slowing expansion paid off in 2024 for some franchisees — with increased sales and increased average net profit compared to 2023 — it added that median net profits were much lower, “suggesting a wide gap in profitability performance among Crumbl’s franchisees.”
Paighten is an Enterprise reporter at The Salt Lake Tribune. She covers a variety of topics, including business, health, growth and the legal justice system — sometimes all at once. She is from southern Oklahoma, and lived and worked in the state, most recently at the Tulsa World, before starting at The Tribune in October 2017.