QSR May 2023

| GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT | fresh ideas THE COOKIE SEGMENT IS EXPANDING WITH COMPETITIVE, EMERGING BRANDS ACROSS THE U.S.

Examining the Cookie Craze The dessert category is quickly saturating with serious franchise players.

BY BARNEY WOLF

C ookies are baking in more than just chocolate chips these days. The popular confections comprise America’s latest des sert-based store craze, joining past favorites like artisan ice cream, cupcakes that trended in the early 2000s, and frozen yogurt, which has been in expansion mode a couple of times. Gourmet cookie operators have exploded onto the scene, expanding both internally and through franchise deals that could add hundreds of new stores across the country. The burgeoning

competition has led some observers to say the “Cookie Wars” have begun. That phrase took a more literal turn last year after fast-growing national chain Crumbl, based in Linton, Utah, filed lawsuits against two smaller Utah-based players, alleging copyright infringement. These actions eventually garnered the social media hashtag “#UtahCookieWars.” Using a combat term seems a bit overdramatic for the humble

ADOBE STOCK / B.G. PHOTOGRAPHY

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