Crumbl Cookies uses caged eggs, planned protests hope to change that

SALT LAKE CITY — Protests are being organized across the state in hopes of getting Crumbl Cookies to change its practices and stop sourcing eggs from battery-caged hens.

On Thursday, The Humane League announced 11 planned protests to take place over three days at Crumbl Cookies locations throughout Utah. The organization said the Utah-based dessert company uses eggs from hens “confined so tightly in cages they cannot spread their wings”

In the US, caged, egg-laying hens are often given approximately 64 square inches of cage space where they reside throughout their lifetime.

The Human Society said that caged laying hens are one of the most intensively confined animals in agribusiness, unable to spread their wings or practice natural behaviors like nesting which causes stress on the animals.

“The worst torture to which a battery hen is exposed is the inability to retire somewhere for the laying act,” the Humane Society said. “For the person who knows something about animals it is truly heart-rendering to watch how a chicken tries again and again to crawl beneath her fellow cagemates to search there in vain for cover.”

The organization stated that living in confinement injures hens, causing foot and claw damage, and can cause broken bones and deformities.

Crumbl Cookies boasts over one million cookies sold daily at 862 locations worldwide. Those cookies are made with eggs produced by caged hens.

Protestors hope that their demonstrations push the company to switch to cage-free eggs, following suit of competitors that have already made the change.

Planned protests

The Humane League has planned to use signs, chanting, and educational materials to aid their efforts. Petition boxes will be at the headquarters protests, with reportedly over 50,000 signatures supporting the switch to cage-free eggs.

Monday, Nov. 18

• Crumbl Headquarters: 257 E 2000 South, Lindon from 8:30 a.m. until 10 a.m.;
• Crumbl American Fork: 598 N West State Rd., American Fork from 10:30 a.m. until 12 p.m.;
• Crumble Saratoga: 1458 N Exchange Dr., Saratoga Springs from 2:30 p.m. until 4 p.m.;
• Crumbl Headquarters from 4:30 p.m. until 5:30 p.m.

Tuesday, Nov. 19

• Crumbl Headquarters: 257 E 2000 South, Lindon from 8:30 a.m. until 10 a.m.;
• Crumbl Springville: 270 S. 1300 East, Springville from 1:30 p.m. until 2:30 p.m.;
• Crumbl Spanish Fork: 789 N. 300 East, Spanish Fork from 3 p.m. until 4 p.m.;
• Crumbl Provo: 1551 N. State St., Provo from 5:30 p.m. until 6:45 p.m.

Wednesday, Nov. 20

• Crumbl Headquarters: 257 E 2000 South, Lindon from 8:30 a.m. until 10 a.m.;
• Crumbl Cottonwood: 7025 S. Park Centre Dr., Salt Lake City from 2 p.m. until 3 p.m.;
• Crumbl Salt Lake City: 2150 S. Main St., Salt Lake City from 5:30 p.m. until 6:45 p.m.

Crumbl responds

Following the news of The Humane League’s plans to protest the franchise, Crumbl Cookies sent KSL TV a statement.

“At Crumbl, our commitment is to provide exceptional and delicious products that meet our customers’ high expectations. Recently, The Humane League threatened to protest our franchise locations unless we made unreasonable commitments to force our franchisees to source 100% cage-free eggs. While we understand and respect the increasing interest in cage-free products, this approach is simply not practical or feasible for our business at this time.

It is unfortunate that The Humane League has chosen to employ misleading and underhanded tactics, which have included public demonstrations and misinformation targeting our employees. We believe these actions are both misleading to the public and unfairly target small business owners, attempting to bully them into making impractical commitments. Crumbl will not be intimidated by these tactics and will not commit to a plan that is not realistic.

As a franchise system, we support each franchisee’s ability to request and evaluate sourcing from cage-free suppliers, and we are happy to assist in these evaluations as part of our commitment to provide choices where possible. We have looked into sourcing cage-free eggs and have found that the percentage that could be feasibly sourced for over 1,000 locations remains low due to supply limitations and other factors. We continue to explore these options and will stay informed of any changes in the market that might make this approach more viable on a larger scale.

Our customers are at the heart of everything we do, and our goal remains to offer products that meet their expectations in taste, quality, and consistency. We are committed to ongoing evaluation of sourcing options and look forward to a future where sustainable and cage-free options may become more feasible across our franchise system.”