--- title: The great Utah cookie wars - The Hustle description: The Utah cookie wars have taken the sugar-loving state by storm. image: https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/194739920-HS-News-Brief_2022-12-07T010539.824Z.webp --- # The great Utah cookie wars ![Juliet Bennett Rylah](https://53.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/53/assets/hubspot.com/web-team/WBZ/HubSpot%20Media/Blog%202021/Images/Nav/Optimized/TheHustle_Icon_Dark.svg) [Juliet Bennett Rylah](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/author/juliet-bennett-rylah) [Juliet Bennett Rylah Twitter profile ](https://twitter.com/JBRylah) Published: December 07, 2022 Updated: October 11, 2023 Cookies are big business in Utah, partly because members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints abstain from booze, but indulge in sugar, [per](https://www.utahbusiness.com/utah-cookie-wars-competing-for-calories/) *Utah Business*. ![The great Utah cookie wars](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hs-fs/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/194739920-HS-News-Brief_2022-12-07T010539.824Z.webp?width=595&height=400&name=194739920-HS-News-Brief_2022-12-07T010539.824Z.webp) Gourmet cookies can retail for **$4+** each, generating annual revenues of **$800k**–**$2.5m** per store. This makes the #UtahCookieWars an especially sweet legal drama. #### **In one corner…** … is Crumbl Cookies, a Utah-based chain with 575+ stores, [per](https://www.wsj.com/articles/cookies-so-good-were-being-sued-welcome-to-utahs-bakery-wars-11670339955?mod=hp_featst_pos5)* The Wall Street Journal*. It’s suing local underdogs Dirty Dough and Crave Cookies, alleging they copied its presentation and packaging. #### **But the prime beef…** … is between Crumbl and Dirty Dough. Crumbl [alleged](https://www.linkedin.com/posts/jasonmcgowan_utah-lawsuit-update-stolen-documents-i-activity-6970189133201760256-Gtv-/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop) that an ex-employee — who happens to be Dirty Dough founder Bennett Maxwell’s brother  — made off with 66 recipes, among other brand secrets. Dirty Dough denies this, and is openly mocking Crumbl via billboards that read “Cookies so good we’re being sued,” and [videos](https://www.instagram.com/p/CjQWZCAK50u/) that [imagine](https://www.instagram.com/p/CjI9SP0o8X1/) Crumbl’s leadership as a cabal of corrupt, yet dim, villains scheming to crush competition. #### **How will the cookie crumble?** A trademark attorney [told](https://www.cnbc.com/2022/10/15/utah-cookie-war-crumbl-dirty-dough-crave.html) *CNBC* that some of the alleged stolen ideas aren’t protected by IP law, while a judge could dismiss other trademark claims for being too dissimilar. The brands’ logos *do* all feature cookies with missing bites, but, as *Techdirt *[notes](https://www.techdirt.com/2022/07/19/bakery-sues-other-bakery-in-trademark-suit-over-unprotectable-elements/), they’re otherwise pretty different. Yet there may be multiple winners. Dirty Dough said the hullabaloo has attracted more franchisees, Crave says sales are up 50%, and [local news stations](https://twitter.com/LincolnGraves/status/1593397720739241984) are conducting taste tests to determine whose batter is better. Topics: [Lawsuits](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/tag/lawsuits) [Food](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/tag/food) ## Follow us on social media prev next - ![Holy smokes, there may actually be a limit to Texans’ love of barbecue](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/1244337807-httpsthdaily.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.comfinal_size-Texas-BBQ_20230928210924.webp) ### Holy smokes, there may actually be a limit to Texans’ love of barbecue - ![Think your industry is weird? Get a load of the beaded ice cream business](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/908447747-httpsthdaily.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.comfinal_size-dippindots_20231002233115.webp) ### Think your industry is weird? 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