Startup DreamersStartup Dreamers
  • Home
  • Startup
  • Money & Finance
  • Starting a Business
    • Branding
    • Business Ideas
    • Business Models
    • Business Plans
    • Fundraising
  • Growing a Business
  • More
    • Innovation
    • Leadership
Trending

Study Finds Strong Support For Returning Pumas To East Coast States

August 31, 2025

Her Business Helps Women Earn in a $6.3B Industry: ‘Rewarding’

August 31, 2025

The Overlooked Drivers of Value That Make or Break Acquisitions

August 31, 2025
Facebook Twitter Instagram
  • Newsletter
  • Submit Articles
  • Privacy
  • Advertise
  • Contact
Facebook Twitter Instagram
Startup DreamersStartup Dreamers
  • Home
  • Startup
  • Money & Finance
  • Starting a Business
    • Branding
    • Business Ideas
    • Business Models
    • Business Plans
    • Fundraising
  • Growing a Business
  • More
    • Innovation
    • Leadership
Subscribe for Alerts
Startup DreamersStartup Dreamers
Home » Crumbs Cupcakes Comeback: From $66 Million to Bake Shop Bust
Growing a Business

Crumbs Cupcakes Comeback: From $66 Million to Bake Shop Bust

adminBy adminJune 7, 20230 ViewsNo Comments4 Mins Read
Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email

This article originally appeared on Business Insider.

When Jason and Mia Bauer sold their iconic Crumbs Bake Shop in 2011, they thought they were leaving it in good hands.

But two years later, the cupcake empire started to crumble, and eventually, Crumbs announced in July 2014 that it was closing all its stores and filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

It was a sharp reversal for the New York-based cupcake shop that started in 2003 with a single store in Manhattan’s Upper West Side but went on to spawn a Y2K fad that spread around the globe.

The chain offered over 75 flavors of cupcakes with unique toppings — such as a Girls Scouts Thin Mints option.

Crumbs was eventually acquired by a holdings company for $66 million through cash and stock. The company went public in June 2011.

But Crumbs — which spawned 70 stores in 2013 — was too aggressive with its expansion plans. The breakneck speed of growth and steep competition from other desserts ultimately toppled the empire.

A Crumbs Cupcake shop before the chain went under. Gus Lubin / Business Insider

“We watched from the sidelines as the business suffered,” Jason told Insider.

While the couple was disappointed the new team was unable to take Crumbs to a higher level, “I don’t think there’s ever been a moment of regret,” Mia told Insider.

“It was still very much our baby. We gave birth to this business. We grew it. We were very attached to it, and to see it go away after all of our hard work wasn’t fun,” Jason added.

The Bauers, who described themselves as spiritual people, also “believe that things happen for a reason, so we moved on,” said Jason.

The Bauers declined to reveal how exactly much they received from the sale.

After Crumb’s collapse, Jason started a real estate brokerage that he operated for three years. He then went on to work a corporate job at WeWork where he was the global head of space services. While he did that, Mia raised the kids.

Jason said he enjoyed his WeWork stint, but their cupcake business was always at the back of the couple’s minds.

The Bauers revived the Crumbs brand by chance, and it cost all of $350

Crumbs came back to the fore of Jason’s mind again around 2019, when WeWork started imploding amid intense scrutiny of its finances and leadership after the work-sharing space filed for an IPO in August.

But it was only during a random search on the US Patent and Trademark Office in 2021 that he found that Crumbs’ IP had been abandoned. He then applied to take over the “Original Crumbs Bakeshop” brand in February 2021 for $350, according to a filing from the US Patent and Trademark Office.

They were lucky this time. Jason said they tried to buy the Crumbs brand from Fischer Enterprises earlier when the investment firm held the brand’s intellectual property — but they were unsuccessful.

Insider was unable to independently verify the previous purchase offer.

Jason said he still enjoyed his job at WeWork at the time, so he didn’t pursue the issue or plan any fundraisers to buy the brand back. “I also felt like, you know, it was expensive right for just an IP,” he added.

But as fate would have it, the Bauers managed to acquire the brand a few years down the road.

“The opportunity came back to us, it was meant to be,” he said. Jason eventually left WeWork in 2021.

Now, he is running Crumbs with Mia again.

Other than cupcakes, Crumbs has expanded its range to include cookies.

The business is now funded by the Bauers, as well as a round of funding from friends and family. It has also just closed one round of seed funding, said Jason. He declined to elaborate more on the fundraising.

Despite their previous experience, Bauers are not writing off selling their business again.

“Whether we sell it, whether we take it public, whether we continue to build it, we’re in it to build the brand,” said Jason of revived brand the couple describe as being in its “infancy.”

“It could really go in a million different directions,” Mia added.



Read the full article here

Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email

Related Articles

The Overlooked Drivers of Value That Make or Break Acquisitions

Growing a Business August 31, 2025

Why Marketing Agencies Are Struggling in 2025

Growing a Business August 30, 2025

Why Most Entrepreneurs Are Approaching YouTube the Wrong Way

Growing a Business August 29, 2025

Why Every Entrepreneur Needs an Exit Mindset from Day One

Growing a Business August 27, 2025

How AI’s Defining Your Brand Story — and How to Take Control

Growing a Business August 26, 2025

People Really Only Care About These 3 Things at Work — Do You Offer Them?

Growing a Business August 25, 2025
Add A Comment

Leave A Reply Cancel Reply

Editors Picks

Study Finds Strong Support For Returning Pumas To East Coast States

August 31, 2025

Her Business Helps Women Earn in a $6.3B Industry: ‘Rewarding’

August 31, 2025

The Overlooked Drivers of Value That Make or Break Acquisitions

August 31, 2025

This Company Gives Away 100% of Its Profits — And Its Thriving

August 31, 2025

Government Staffing Cuts Have Fueled an Ant-Smuggling Boom

August 31, 2025

Latest Posts

The Top 5 Mistakes Smart Entrepreneurs Keep Making

August 30, 2025

Why Marketing Agencies Are Struggling in 2025

August 30, 2025

Black Tap Adds New Concepts Tender Crush and Singles & Doubles

August 30, 2025

Chinese ‘Virtual Human’ Salespeople Are Outperforming Their Real Human Counterparts

August 30, 2025

Global Labubu Craze Makes Pop Mart’s Young Founder Richer Than Jack Ma

August 29, 2025
Advertisement
Demo

Startup Dreamers is your one-stop website for the latest news and updates about how to start a business, follow us now to get the news that matters to you.

Facebook Twitter Instagram Pinterest YouTube
Sections
  • Growing a Business
  • Innovation
  • Leadership
  • Money & Finance
  • Starting a Business
Trending Topics
  • Branding
  • Business Ideas
  • Business Models
  • Business Plans
  • Fundraising

Subscribe to Updates

Get the latest business and startup news and updates directly to your inbox.

© 2025 Startup Dreamers. All Rights Reserved.
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Press Release
  • Advertise
  • Contact

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

GET $5000 NO CREDIT