NEW YORK — The original husband-and-wife co-founders of Crumbs Bakeshop, Mia and Jason Bauer, have relaunched the specialty cupcake brand with a new retail model and added a line of cookies to their product offerings. The newly organized baking company, which is back under the Bauers’ ownership, launched a CPG retail line for its cupcakes and cookies and will utilize e-commerce to sell direct to consumers.
There will be no Crumbs bakeshops this time around. According to the company, all Crumbs cupcakes and cookies are made by hand using Ms. Bauer’s recipes at its partner commercial bakery facilities in the Northeast.
The CPG line of cupcakes and cookies will be available at ShopRite, Kings, Fairway, Westside Market and Foodtown in the Northeast. The company said it plans for its sweet baked foods to be available, “on the shelves in hundreds of doors by the end of the year.”
Crumbs cupcakes and the new cookie jar line will be available for direct shipment nationwide through the company’s website, with same day delivery available in New York through UberEats, GrubHub, Doordash, Seamless and Postmates through a partnership with Reef Kitchens, according to the company.
“Through this new model of online ordering and local delivery we can reunite our fans with Crumbs wherever they may be all over the country,” Crumbs said.
In the baking company’s first iteration, Crumbs was anchored by its neighborhood bakeshop locations. From its first store, opened in March 2003, on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, NY, the company quickly grew to a total of 45 locations, including 31 stores in the New York Metro area, 6 locations on the West Coast, 3 stores in Washington, DC, 1 location in Virginia and 4 locations in Illinois.
The company originally offered more than 75 cupcake varieties baked fresh daily, as well as more than 150 different sweet baked foods, including cakes, pies, cookies, Danishes, scones, croissants, brownies and muffins.
In 2011, after it had become the largest US-based retailer of cupcakes, Crumbs was acquired by 57th Street General Acquisition Corp. In June 2011, it became a publicly traded company and in 2012, the Bauers exited the business.
What followed were three consecutive fiscal years of losses and the company’s eventual delisting from the Nasdaq. The company was sold again in 2014 and under the new management the last Crumbs store closed in 2016.
“The idea to relaunch Crumbs was hatched during the pandemic as we found ourselves nostalgic for happier times and the simpler and sweeter things in life,” the Bauers said. “We took our time figuring out what would be the best way to bring it back for our fans.”
The Crumbs relaunch brings the same cupcake varieties that, “fans knew and loved,” according to the company. Cupcakes are available in 12-packs of mini cupcakes and 6-packs of classic cupcakes at supermarkets. Crumbs oversized signature cupcakes are available direct to consumer.
The new cookie jars feature the company’s most popular cupcake flavors, including cotton candy, Sprinkle Sundae and red velvet.
“It is so amazing to think that some of the people who loved Crumbs growing up will now get to order and share our cupcakes with their children for the first time,” Ms. Bauer said. “Like so many others, we were sad when Crumbs closed its doors all those years ago, so being able to bring it back to life, at this time when reconnecting with people and reminiscing about happy times feels especially needed, is really meaningful and feels like a gift."