This story has been updated
Earlier this year, Utah-based cookie company Crumbl sued Dirty Dough and Crave for copyright infringement. After the lawsuit became public knowledge, Dirty Dough responded by launching a marketing campaign around the lawsuit and taking out billboards on I-15 that said things like “Cookies so good, we’re being sued!”
Now, Crumbl’s CEO is speaking out.
On Monday, Crumbl CEO Jason McGowan gave a public update about the lawsuit on LinkedIn. The statement he gave is titled “Utah Lawsuit Update — Stolen Documents” and is written on Crumbl Cookies letterhead. It reads, “Dirty Dough has stolen trade secrets from Crumbl’s internal database. An ex-employee has turned over at least 643.7 MB of information that Dirty Dough had in their possession.”
The statement continues by listing the information that Crumbl alleges Dirty Dough possesses, including 66 Crumbl recipes, as well as the company’s processes, cookie calendar, training videos and other propriety information.
Crumbl stated that “we have confirmed through voicemails and other proofs that Dirty Dough planned to leverage these materials to develop their copycat concept.”
“Dirty Dough wants the public to believe this lawsuit is about stifling competition,” the statement concludes. “This is really about Dirty Dough conducting business in an unethical manner.”
Dirty Dough responded to the allegations in an Instagram post. They said, “Dirty Dough categorically denies stealing any documents from Crumbl. Dirty Dough’s recipes, building schematics and processes are not similar and are clearly different to the public eye.”
Previously, Bennett Maxwell, CEO of Dirty Dough, said, “The whole lawsuit is just bogus in my opinion.”