How the Cookie Crumbls
West Springfield, Mass. - Stand Out Truck®, meet Pink Truck.
The rosy vehicle is a fixture in front of West Springfield’s new location of Crumbl Cookies. The gourmet cookie franchise opened on November 10, setting records for its popularity.
“(At least) for the first three weeks, we’ve been the busiest Crumbl in the country,” said franchise owner Aaron Lawrie.
His team of 55 employees mixes and bakes the cookies from scratch every day, and even with the unexpectedly high number of customers, they’ve managed to hustle to meet demand.
“It’s us getting used to that pace to try and make sure that we can get cookies out to our customers in a timely fashion,” Lawrie said.
Part of the location’s popularity may be attributed to the use of the Stand Out Truck®, which has been promoting the grand opening and new location. After such a positive first experience, Aaron is planning to explore additional marketing opportunities with Stand Out Truck®.
“I’m excited about the partnership,” he said.
One of Lawrie’s marketing ideas revolves around his iconic Pink Truck, a fixture on social media. On the Instagram page @pinktruckguy, followers have an opportunity to win free cookies.
From Oatmeal to Nuts
Crumbl Cookies’ recipe for success is a constantly evolving and unique menu. There are 250 possible flavors, yet only six are selected each week. The new menu is released every Sunday evening.
Weekly cookie flavors include classic choices of chocolate chip or sugar cookie. The menu also incorporates unique selections, such as Fruit Pizza, Carrot Cake and Waffle. Some are distinctive twists on classics, including Oatmeal Butterscotch, Walnut Chocolate Chip and Snickerdoodle Cupcake.
Once a month the menu includes a Mystery Cookie, which is selected by the franchise owner. It can be a seasonal choice, something that is popular with the local crowd or a way to use extra ingredients.
From Submarines to Flour
Lawrie’s background isn’t in baking, or even in franchise ownership. He’s an engineer by trade, most recently building submarines for the military. A church friend who had opened Crumbl franchises in Connecticut encouraged Lawrie to consider opening two more franchises, including the one in Massachusetts.
“There’s a lot of Crumbls in eastern Mass, but everyone in this area had to drive down to Manchester, Connecticut,” he said. “We definitely needed something in the greater Springfield area. West Springfield seemed like the perfect spot.”
The engineer has found some similarities between has former career and making cookies.
“Engineering experience helps with problem-solving,” Lawrie said. Being an engineering manager has translated to being a franchise leader, but surprisingly his expertise helps in other ways.
“With the numbers involved in baking, weighing things, coming up with projections of how many ingredients we need to buy, how much dough to make for a particular day, how many cookies to put in the oven,” he said. “There’s definitely a lot of math involved.”
Lawrie also owns the Crumbl in Norwalk, which opened in April. He’s very grateful for the hospitality he’s experienced in Springfield.
“We’re just so excited to be part of the West Springfield community,” he said. “We’ve been thrilled with the community interaction and great customers.”
Lawrie aspires to be as welcoming to customers as they’ve been to him.
“We want to make sure that every time a customer comes in, it’s a positive, memorable experience.” Lawrie said. “There’s nothing else like us around, which makes us a really great fit.”
Crumbl Cookie is located at 935 Riverdale Street. The business is currently open Monday through Thursday from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., and Friday and Saturday from 8 a.m. to midnight. Cookies are available by in-store purchase, curbside pickup or delivery.
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