- Crumbl founders Jason McGowan and Sawyer Hemsley will step down from daily leadership roles.
- They will remain on the board, with McGowan as chairman.
- The change aims to enhance growth and innovation amid recently reported company challenges.
LINDON — Crumbl founders Jason McGowan and Sawyer Hemsley say they are stepping away from "day-to-day operating roles" within the Utah-based company they founded nearly a decade ago.
McGowan, the company's CEO, and Hemsley, its chief brand officer, will leave their roles, along with Bryce Redd, the company's chief technology officer, McGowan and Hemsley penned in an open letter posted to social media on Monday.
All three intend to remain members of the board of directors after their replacements are found, and McGowan plans to serve as the chairman of the board.
"We are still deeply invested in this company, in our franchise partners, and in where Crumbl goes from here," the founders wrote. "I believe now is the right time to bring in new leadership through an open search process. That is why I am sharing this now."
It wasn't immediately clear when their successors will be named.
The leadership change, they added, should give the dessert chain "an opportunity to focus on scale, sharpen the experience for customers and franchise partners, and continue pushing the product innovation that has always set Crumbl apart."
McGowan and Hemsley, who are cousins, founded Crumbl in 2017, offering cookies in Logan. Hemsley was a Utah State University student at the time, and McGowan had experience in the tech industry. They began by testing their recipes with customers at grocery stores and gas stations.
The company quickly became a giant in the dessert world, offering a rotating menu of cookies and other treats for delivery. It moved its headquarters to Lindon, where it employs more than 300 people. There are also more than 1,000 Crumbl locations across the globe, including in every U.S. state, according to the company.
Despite the growth, however, it has faced some headwinds. Employees complained about mass layoffs in 2023. About 10% of its corporate workforce, including its chief operating officer, were let go last year, Bloomberg Businessweek reported in December.
Businessweek reported there was a widening gap between successful and struggling locations, leading to some closures.
Monday's announcement also comes a little more than a year after QSR reported that the private equity firm TSG Consumer Partners planned to acquire a minority stake in the privately held company.
It wasn't immediately clear if any of these factored into Monday's announcement.
"We are incredibly proud of what we have built," McGowan and Hemsley wrote. "What started as an idea between cousins has turned into something much bigger than we ever expected. The foundation is strong, and the future is exciting. ... We are excited to watch Crumbl continue to grow in this next chapter."
