In the 2010's, a nearly identical brand appeared out of nowhere. Same name. Same pink palette. Same weekly-drop cycle we’d been running for years. Same pop-culture-inspired creations to keep things fresh.
It felt like they’d taken the skin of my company, Crumble Co, and stretched it over another industry. Instead of fragrance, they were selling cookies.
At first, I wasn’t worried. Before I knew about its religious ties, I even thought: wow, what a fun collab this could be someday. But as they scaled — fueled by a wealthy family and Mormon community backing allegedly — things turned dark.
Buried Alive in Cookie Complaints
The cookie chain exploded in popularity. And when they fumbled the ball on customer service, we got stuck footing the bill.
Our inbox was suddenly flooded with thousands of their customer service complaints. Some days 100+ emails — “where’s my dozen?”, refund requests, delivery nightmares, even school projects — all for cookies we didn’t bake.
The cookie company had no real support system at the time. No phone number. No customer service email. So when people googled Crumble? They found us — a small queer-owned fragrance brand that had been using the name for nearly a decade.
Google itself even started routing Crumbl Cookies customer service queries to our website. Imagine logging in and realizing your small, ragtag team is now unpaid customer support for a national franchise.
Asking for Help, Getting Threatened
We reached out. At first politely, then desperately.
We got the corporate brush-off: vague “we’ll work on it” responses, promises of future fixes. But nothing changed. The complaints kept pouring in, and our brand was disappearing under the weight of confusion.
When we pushed harder, their tone shifted. Instead of action, we were warned to buzz off — or face legal consequences for harassment. Yes, seriously. We were the ones suffering, and now we were being threatened.
So we sought legal counsel. And by then, 2021 had arrived. The pandemic was gutting e-commerce. Our family was in a personal crisis. And the options on the table were brutal:
-
Find millions to sue a giant and pray we win.
-
Or eat the costs, rebrand, and rebuild from scratch.
Here's some screenshots for reference, communication thus far etc.
Loss, Grief, and the Breaking Point
While all this was happening, tragedy hit home. Within months, I lost four family members — including two who worked in the business alongside me. Then my mother fell ill and I had to move closer to a hospital a thousand miles away. It all sucked.
The grief was overwhelming. Paired with the pandemic, the political chaos of 2020, and this brand identity crisis, I simply didn’t have the bandwidth to wage war with a cookie empire who seemed hellbent on squashing our lil queer owned brand.
We delayed the inevitable, trying for two more years to make Crumble Co work. But customer service became nearly impossible. Consumer confusion was constant. Our brand had been effectively erased. Hell people started calling us copycats, yes, seriously.
We had no choice left but to close, recoup & rebrand.
From Crumble to Bewilderment
At the time, I was running a secondary side project: Bewilderment, a Gen Z–focused gift shop. In 2023, I made the call to merge everything under the Bewilderment name and finally step out of the shadow we’d been stuck in.
It was stupidly costly. It was painful. And it was the only way forward.
Two and a half years later, I can say this: I’m proud of where we landed. The grief has softened into clarity, and I finally have the strength to tell this story openly so our fans understand what happened to Crumble Co.
We will never go back to our old name. Building Crumble Co with my family will always be something I cherish — but Bewilderment is who we are now. And I love it. Everything happens for a reason.
Looking Back, Looking Forward
Do I regret waiting so long to confront this publicly? Yes. If I’d had the strength back then, maybe more could have been done. But when you’re queer, small, and staring down the threat of financial ruin from a giant, conservative-seeming corporation, the fear is paralyzing.
I don’t know if we were their blueprint. I can’t say for certain whether they studied us or if it was parallel thinking. What I do know is this: the similarities were striking, the consumer confusion was undeniable, and their mishandling of the situation cost us greatly.
Now, as the founder of that cookie chain steps into the LGBTQIA+ community, I believe it’s important he reckon with the harm that’s been done along the way.
To him I say this: My heart still breaks for the future my family’s brand could have had if not derailed. Human to human, I deserved better than to have been swatted away like a gnat. You caused me & those I care about, real harm. I hope you can confront that in time. My inbox is always open. Oh, and welcome to the LGBTQIA+ community.
To our fans– Apology or no apology, Bewilderment is here for the long haul. We are still queer-owned, still queer-focused, and still building the colorful, political, joy-driven brand we’ve always been and always will be. We’re having a blast and love working with the countless artists, makers and creatives that make this adventure worth it.
This one skid-mark on our history as a company doesn’t define us.
Thank you for your support through the years. Sorry if you lost track of us, but glad you’ve found us once more.
With love,
Brandon Love
Founder of the original Crumble Co & Bewilderment.