From April 7 to 12, the famed Crumbl Cookie franchise released a collaboration with popular reality TV family, the Kardashians. The lineup included Kourtney’s Flourless Chocolate Cake, Kim’s Snickerdoodle Crumb Cake Cookie, Khloe’s Cookies & Cream Skillet Cookie, Kendall’s Cookie Dough Cupcake Cookie and Kylie’s Pink Confetti Sugar Cookie.
The collaboration initially generated widespread excitement online. Many people, who may not be weekly customers, came to the store to try and judge which family member's cookie is the best.
The collaboration also gathered excitement for the debut of Crumbl’s first gluten-friendly dessert: Kourtney’s Flourless Chocolate Cake. The inclusion brought many new gluten-friendly eaters to the franchise to finally try one of its desserts.
The enthusiasm toward the dessert quickly turned to distaste once people were able to try the lineup. The majority of the reviews for the other cookies were positive, but the internet was flooded with negative reviews when it came to Kourtney's Flourless Chocolate Cake.
Videos featured customers gagging after taking a bite or simply taking one bite and choosing not to say anything because they presumably had nothing good to say.
Celebrity food and beverage products have become increasingly more popular in recent years because of the rise in internet engagement toward food reviews. When celebrities attach their names to a food or beverage product, the internet is more intrigued by the product.
Without the Kardashians including their names in this Crumbl lineup, the dessert would not have had so much engagement. The flourless chocolate cake may not have gotten a surplus of negative reviews as a result.
The Kardashian name brought many non-gluten-free consumers to try the flourless cake. Those consumers' lack of exposure to gluten-friendly desserts may have been a bias since the dessert is not typically what they indulge in.
With the rise of negative reviews on TikTok, the CBO of Crumbl, Sawyer Hemsley, went on TikTok to try the dessert himself, hoping to steer public attention from the negative reviews. Many of the comments accused Hemsley of not swallowing the bite he took, “He HELD that bite in that cheek” and “‘Never tf again’ was said off camera for sure.”
The surplus of negative reviews highlights what works in Crumbl’s business strategy. The negative reviews toward the franchise will be forgotten about in a week once a new lineup is announced and replaces the unfavored desserts. On the other hand, the fast-changing menu does not give employees enough time to properly learn how to bake the new desserts.
When it comes to baking a gluten-friendly dessert, which Crumbl has never done, the employees who cook these desserts likely did not have a proper amount of time to learn how to bake a gluten-friendly dessert properly.
The uprisings of celebrity food products lead to a surplus in food review content. With the backlash toward Kourtney's dessert, it may lead to celebrities being more mindful of the desserts they attach their name to, if it is a positive review they are seeking.
