The great Bondi Crumbl cookie scam

Sydney locals and TikTok influencers who queued for up to an hour for a cult cookie brand are outraged after the event was revealed to be a fan-run pop-up with days-old cookies imported from the US and sold for $17.50 a pop.

After weeks of hype surrounding the “exclusive” one-day North Bondi event at the front of a trophy shop beside a petrol station on Old South Head Road featuring US-based Crumbl Cookies, customers expecting to enjoy a freshly baked treat were surprised to find the cookies being sold not from a bakery but from a makeshift stall outside a trophy shop next to a petrol station on Old South Head Road.

The cookies were brought over by fans and priced at $75 for a box of five or $17.50 each, a significant markup compared to the US price of $6.49 per cookie. The event was promoted through the TikTok account @CrumblSydney, which had released several videos leading up to the pop-up, suggesting that “Crumbl is landing in Australia” and using authentic clips from Crumbl Cookies’ official content.

Although The New York Times has described Crumbl as the “fastest-growing dessert chain in the United States,” this North Bondi pop-up was not affiliated with the company. Instead, the organisers traveled to the US, bought the cookies, and brought them back to Australia to sell at the event.