Crumbl is taking its pink sugar cookies off the menu — and fans are crushed

Kait Hanson
·3 min read

It's the end of an era — at least for fans of Crumbl Cookie's Pink Sugar cookie. The flavor is being removed as a permanent menu item from Crumbl's weekly rotation.

CEO and co-founder Jason McGowan announced the shocking news of Pink Sugar cookie's departure last week on the brand's Instagram with a personal video for fans.

"As we seek more opportunities to create the best cookies in the world, that means we have to leave other cookies behind to make room for new and exciting ones," McGowan says in a two-minute clip. "After Saturday, April 23, the classic Pink Sugar cookie will leave the weekly menu as a staple."

Launched in 2017 by cousins McGowan and Sawyer Hemsley, Crumbl Cookies offers five weekly flavors: three new and two signature. Fans eagerly anticipate "flavor drops" each Sunday on the brand’s social media, which boasts more than 7 million followers across Instagram and TikTok, to see which new treats will accompany signature favorites, Chocolate Chip and Pink Sugar.

According to the company's website, Crumbl has expanded to over 300 bakeries in 36 states nationwide since opening, "making it the fastest-growing cookie company in the nation."

McGowan explained that specialty Crumbl flavors have “dwarfed” the popularity of the Pink Sugar cookie, and removing it as a staple will create more room for other creations on the weekly menu.

Fans of the beloved flavor were quick to react to the news.

"I am crying sweet icing tears," one user wrote.

Another chimed in, "This is the worst news ever."

Others shared that Crumbl's sugar cookie was the only flavor they liked and some lamented that chocolate chip should have been the flavor to get the boot.

More than 8,000 people weighed in, but not everyone was sad to see the cookie go.

"Thank goodness," one user wrote alongside praise hand emoji. "Make room for better flavors now."

The company went so far as to post an obituary for the cookie, revealing a "memorial service" would be held on April 22.

“We’ll be going LIVE to gather, to share some of our favorite memories, our stories, to laugh, to cry, and remember a beloved cookie who will be greatly missed from the weekly menu,” the caption reads.

"If you are grieving or have additional questions about the departure of Pink Sugar from the weekly menu, we are here to support you. Please call 1-833-505-PINK."

Crumbl held a memorial service for their pink sugar cookie, which is leaving the menu as a weekly staple April 23.
Crumbl held a memorial service for their pink sugar cookie, which is leaving the menu as a weekly staple April 23.

During Friday's cookie funeral held on Instagram Live, mourners dressed in the brand's signature pink and black colors consoled one another while Hemsley spoke of the "lost" cookie's popularity through the years.

"I'm so sad," one user wrote during the live broadcast.

Another wrote, "I’m hoping the emotional support hotline is real."

"The pink sugar cookie was a special cookie for the company—more than 18 million cookies delighted our Crumbl fans across the nation and it was a staple on the weekly rotating menu for four years," a representative from Crumbl told TODAY Food in an email. "Customer feedback has always been at the core of our processes and customer feedback let us know that it was time to bring in some new and exciting flavors! We know that many of our fans are saddened with this news, but the pink sugar cookie will still be on the menu in the future from time to time."

A call to the Pink Sugar cookie support hotline yielded a busy signal.

EDITOR’S NOTE (April 22, 2022, 5:37 p.m. ET): This article has been updated with a statement from Crumbl.