US brand Crumbl Cookies to open Australian stores following viral pop-up shop ‘fraud’ in Sydney

Cult US cookie brand Crumbl Cookies has announced plans to open stores in Australia after an unaffiliated pop-up store in Sydney went viral last week when it was accused of duping customers.

Fans lined up in droves outside a shop in North Bondi last Sunday for a chance to get their hands on the coveted cookies, which were priced at $17.50 a pop.

The store, which was organised by owners of TikTok account @crumblsydney, was a success at first however the account was forced to issue a statement a day later when fans realised the event was not associated with Crumbl Cookies.

The organisers of the pop-up event were labelled “deceptive” with fans claiming they knowingly purported to be the real Crumbl Cookies brand.

Instead it was revealed they had flown to the US, bought over 800 cookies worth thousands of dollars, flown back to Australia and then resold them.

A media frenzy ensued with people from around the world jumping onto social media to share their thoughts on the incident.

In a twist the real Crumbl Cookies brand has now announced it has plans to open stores in Australia.

A spokesperson said the company, which was founded in 2017, had been “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.

It’s not clear where or when the stores will open however any news will be revealed on a new Australian Instagram account.

Underneath a post on the new account one of Crumbl’s co-founders assured fans that unlike the pop-up store, these new stores would be legit.

“PS: THIS IS REAL,” Sawyer Hemsley said.

‘It’s straight-up fraud’

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 endorsement from influencers and celebrities.