Latest news with #Crumbl
USA Today
7 hours ago
- Business
- USA Today
Whole Foods is opening new stores in 2025: See locations
Whole Foods is opening new stores in 2025: See locations Popular grocery store chain Whole Foods has more than 535 locations across the U.S., Canada and the U.K., and is continuing to add to its footprint in 2025. According to the company's website, it has opened six new locations across the world so far this year, with five of those being in the U.S. The company is also scheduled to open three more stores in the U.S. later this month. Founded in 1980, the Austin-based grocery chain touts itself as the "world's leading natural and organic foods retailer" and also the first "certified organic national grocer" in the United States. The company's website says that all foods sold at their stores must meet the company's quality standards, which prohibit hydrogenated fats, high-fructose corn syrup and "more than 300 flavors, colors, sweeteners and other ingredients commonly found in food." The beauty and body care products sold at Whole Foods stores also must be free from phthalates, parabens and microbeads. Here's where new Whole Foods stores have opened so far in 2025, plus where new stores are opening soon. Where have new Whole Foods stores opened in 2025? According to the company's website, it has opened six new stores around the world so far, with five of them being in the United States: Las Vegas, Nevada: Opened on May 15 Opened on May 15 New York City (East Village): Opened on May 14; Whole Foods Market Daily Shop Opened on May 14; Whole Foods Market Daily Shop London, England: Opened on March 25 Opened on March 25 Doylestown, Pennsylvania: Opened on March 13 Opened on March 13 Boca Raton, Florida: Opened on February 11 Opened on February 11 Falls Church, Virginia: Opened on February 7 The company announced in September 2024 it was opening its first smaller format store, called Whole Foods Market Daily Shop, in New York City's Lenox Hill neighborhood in the Upper East Side. The company said the smaller store is "designed to bring the freshest, high-quality ingredients to customers with a convenience that fits their fast-paced urban lifestyles." The store will provide grab-and-go snacks and meals weekly essentials, and will be about a quarter to half the size of an average Whole Foods store. The second location of its smaller format stores opened in the StuyTown development in the East Village on May 14, with a third location set to open in Hell's Kitchen on June 4. The company also announced in March 2025 it opened its first U.K. location since 2014 in the Chelsea neighborhood of London. More store openings: New Crumbl locations coming soon: See where cookie chain is expanding Where are new Whole Foods locations opening? The company's website lists three locations set to open this month: New York City (Hell's Kitchen): Opening on June 4; Whole Foods Market Daily Shop Opening on June 4; Whole Foods Market Daily Shop St. Charles, Illinois: Opening on June 25 Opening on June 25 Miami, Florida: Opening on June 26 Gabe Hauari is a national trending news reporter at USA TODAY. You can follow him on X @GabeHauari or email him at Gdhauari@
Fast Company
16 hours ago
- Business
- Fast Company
The summer's biggest trend is a tariff-proof indulgence
The color of the summer is here, and it started with a chocolate bar. Pistachio (both the food and the color) is all the rage right now. The nut entered the limelight over the past several months after various food creators on TikTok popularized 'Dubai chocolate,' an indulgent chocolate bar filled with pistachio cream, tahini, and shredded phyllo dough. This spring, Dubai chocolate officially made its way into the mainstream, appearing as a cookie at Crumbl, a shake at Shake Shack, a chocolate bar at Trader Joe's, a donut at Krispy Kreme, and a returning latte flavor at Dunkin'. Demand for Dubai chocolate has spiked so high that pistachio producers in Iran exported 40% more nuts to the United Arab Emirates in the six months leading to March 2025 than they did in the entire 12 months before. Some stores have had to limit sales of the bars due to disruptions of the global pistachio supply chain. But it turns out that for customers in the U.S., there's a bonus to the trend besides an influx of tasty treats: The nut is relatively shielded from potential tariffs. Come what may, chances are that it's about to be a very nutty—and very green—summer. America dominates the pistachio market The U.S. is the top producer of pistachios globally, accounting for about 75% of the world's supply, according to Zachary Fraser, president and CEO of American Pistachio Growers (APG). The second-largest producer is Iran. The 2024-2025 U.S. pistachio crop harvest, Fraser says, was 1.1 billion pounds in-shell—'the third-largest harvest in the history of the industry.' So far, Fraser reports, the Trump administration's tariffs have not had an immediate impact on the nut's production. 'The industry is closely monitoring tariffs as the situation evolves, and we are active in the conversations with government officials to stay on top of the changing dynamics,' Fraser says. 'Continuing to invest in market development and new countries to drive demand is part of that strategy.' From APG's perspective, there's been a marked rise in interest in pistachios over the past several months. 'Recognizing the trending Dubai chocolate bar, it's been exciting to see the popularity of pistachios grow across many other food and beverage products,' Fraser says. 'We're seeing pistachios incorporated across baked goods, spreads, snacks, ice cream and more.' Pistachio goes beyond the bar Pistachios aren't staying confined to sweet treats, either. As the nut's flavor profile has risen into stardom, so, too, has its signature sage-green hue. In the past two months or so, pistachio green has exploded from the chocolate wrapper to fashion runways, mood boards, and even interior design. In March, Homes & Gardens called the hue designers' 'go-to color for spring and summer 2025.' In May, Harper's Bazaar noted that the 'gastronomic shade' defined recent fashion shows by Miu Miu, Prada, Alexander McQueen, Gucci, and others. The average American is also becoming enamored with the color. According to Pinterest global data from January to March 2025, searches for 'pistachio chocolate bar' surged 1,989%, while searches for 'pistachio outfit ideas' jumped 361% and those for 'pistachio green weddings' were up 285%.
CNBC
4 days ago
- Business
- CNBC
Why everyone is selling Dubai chocolate bars
As a new chocolate trend takes over the globe, U.S. companies like Shake Shack and Crumbl have worked quickly to capitalize on its continuing popularity with limited edition spinoffs, while other chocolate manufacturers have created dozens of dupes sold at Target, Costco, Amazon and now Trader Joe's. The idea for "Dubai chocolate" was first sparked in 2021 by Fix Dessert Chocolatier founder and CEO Sarah Hamouda's pregnancy cravings, she told CNBC. The original chocolate bars are filled with a mixture of pistachio cream, kadayif (shredded phyllo dough) and tahini. "All I knew in my head is that I wanted to create this chocolate bar that's essentially a dessert encased in chocolate, but looks and feels like a chocolate bar," Hamouda said. In December 2023, the bars went viral on social media. "Instead of getting one order every week, we started to get 10, 15 orders," she said. "It was exciting, but it was also like, you know, oh my God, like, how is this happening." The Fix bars are only available in Dubai and drop twice a day on local delivery service Deliveroo. They're periodically available at Dubai International Airport's Duty-Free shop, which reported that over 1.2 million bars were sold in April, generating $22 million in sales. Yet, the United Arab Emirates isn't part of the international trademark treaty that would secure protection for the Dubai chocolate name, which makes it easy for any company to make an imitation of the bar. Chocolate manufacturer Lindt, which posted $6.2 billion in its full fiscal-year 2024 earnings, sold a limited-edition bar in December 2024, and said it's developing a new permanent Dubai chocolate recipe "in response to overwhelming demand." Shake Shack launched a limited-edition milkshake in April with the flavors. Crumbl is working on a brownie spinoff. Starbucks didn't create an official product, but promoted a customer's idea for a Dubai chocolate-inspired drink, which it later said boosted sales among Gen Z consumers. Baskin-Robbins and Dunkin', which are owned by Inspire Brands, have each launched Dubai chocolate-inspired desserts in other countries like Malaysia and the Netherlands, but wouldn't confirm if they were bringing them to the U.S. markets. Nuts Factory, a New York City based dried fruit and nuts store, says it was the first company to make a dupe of the bar in the city. It launched in July after testing out different versions in just a couple of days, according to its CEO Din Allall. The bars are made by hand, and it had to impose a one-bar-per-customer limit in stores that summer. "People just started calling nonstop. We couldn't meet the demand, and we just turned the world upside down to make sure we meet the demand. And I think now we're in good shape," he said. Allall said the company used to make a "couple hundred" bars per day. Now it makes a "few thousand" daily, as the stores have added more flavors, hired additional workers and bought more machines to meet demand. Nuts Factory has also created other Dubai chocolate-inspired desserts. So far the trend has lasted for 18 months, and companies are still joining in. Trader Joe's just launched arguably the cheapest Dubai chocolate dupe at $3.99 per bar. It's too early to track "Dubai chocolate" flavor combinations on restaurant menus, says food service consulting firm Technomic, but chocolate-pistachio flavor combos on restaurant menus were up 22.3% between the fourth quarter of 2023 and the same period in 2024, and increased 5.9% the year prior. Watch this video to learn more.
USA Today
4 days ago
- Business
- USA Today
New Crumbl locations coming soon: See where cookie chain is expanding
New Crumbl locations coming soon: See where cookie chain is expanding Show Caption Hide Caption Watch 2-year-old's must-see reaction to Cookie Challenge In Nashville, TN, 2-year-old Judah burst into tears and shared his extra snack with his mom during the viral "Cookie Challenge" after she received none. Crumbl has opened over 1,000 locations in the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico since being founded in 2017, and the company is showing no signs of slowing down. The dessert company is planning to open "just under 100 stores" in 2025, with a majority of those in the U.S. and a few in Canada, Crumbl spokesperson Mallory Moore told USA TODAY. So far this year, the company has opened 27 new locations in the U.S. and three in Canada. The cookie and dessert chain touts its "rotating flavors, open-concept kitchens, and famous Pink Box" as reasons for its success. Co-founders Jason McGowan and Sawyer Hemsley teamed up in 2017 on a "quest to bake the perfect chocolate chip cookie" and opened the company's first location in Logan, Utah, according to the Crumbl website. Here's a look at where the company is opening locations this year and where it has recently opened new ones. Where is Crumbl opening new locations? Moore provided USA TODAY with a list of nine Crumble locations opening this summer, including: Poughkeepsie, New York Homestead, Florida Midwest City, Oklahoma Hagerstown, Maryland Santa Fe, New Mexico Bowie, Maryland Tradition, Florida Cape Girardeau, Missouri Deerfield Beach, Florida Where has Crumbl already opened new locations in 2025? The Crumbl spokesperson said these 30 locations it has already opened so far in 2025: Tuscaloosa, Alabama Moreno Valley, California Cottle, California Cupertino, California Lakeshore, California West Torrance, California Westminster, Colorado Wheat Ridge, Colorado Oakland Park, Florida Wildwood, Florida Coralville, Iowa National Harbor, Maryland Hyannis, Massachusetts Grove St. Station, New Jersey NC State, North Carolina NW Rockwell, Oklahoma Altoona, Pennsylvania Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Peach Street, Pennsylvania Shrewsbury, Pennsylvania Caguas, Puerto Rico Cranston, Rhode Island Aiken, South Carolina Pentagon City, Virginia Waynesboro, Virginia Blacksburg, Virginia La Crosse, Wisconsin Canada: Upper Oakville, Ontario Woodbridge, Ontario Guelph, Ontario Contributing: Saleen Martin, USA TODAY Gabe Hauari is a national trending news reporter at USA TODAY. You can follow him on X @GabeHauari or email him at Gdhauari@
Indianapolis Star
14-05-2025
- Business
- Indianapolis Star
Milkshakes bringing customers to Indianapolis stores. Desserts shops opening this summer
Cool sweet treats shops are opening in the area just in time for rising temperatures. MilkShake Factory is opening a couple of Indianapolis-area stores this summer. One in Nora opens in June. Another, in Avon, follows this July. The brand offers a range of handspun gourmet milkshake flavors, as well as limited-time options, sundaes, small-batch chocolates and non-dairy shakes. The 1300 E. 86th St. store in Nora and the Avon shop, at 8932 E. Highway 36 will be among the first 20 franchised locations in the system. The first MilkShake Factory opened in 2003 in Pittsburgh. The family-owned company evolved from a soda fountain and chocolate shop opened in 1914. The team behind the local stores, North Carolina residents Kindall Palmer and Alex Chandler, plan to build more in the area. They currently operate a location in Durham, opened last summer, and another which opened in the Raleigh suburb of Cary in February. The pair, who met as business students at the University of Utah, can open up to 15 locations total between the two metropolitan areas. Four of them will be in the Indianapolis area. 'You can get milkshakes at a lot of different places, but most places where you get them, it's kind of just an afterthought or a little side thing that they do; so that quality and dedication is not always there,' Chandler said. 'When you sip a MilkShake Factory milkshake, you're tasting that difference, because this is what we do. We focus solely on this; so there's a high degree of quality and perfection that goes into it.' Ice cream for the vanilla milkshake base is made in store daily using an exclusive recipe. Among flavors are Chocolate Dipped Strawberry and Campfire S'mores. The chain recently debuted the Chocolate Cake Shake and handcrafted Chocolate Cake Pop for a limited time. The shake combines chocolate cake with house-made chocolate sauce, chocolate ice cream and milk, topped with whipped cream, chocolate drizzle and a cake pop garnish. The cake pops are dipped in MilkShake Factory's signature chocolate and hand-decorated in-store. Chandler learned about MilkShake Factory through social media, and on a trip Pittsburgh for a wedding, he took in the flagship store downtown. 'The first thing that strikes you walking in is just how gorgeous of a space it is. It's a very modern take with kind of this iconic throwback to the old soda fountains of like the 50s and 60s that previous generations would hang out at and get a sweet treat. It's got that feel to it, but kind of in a modern way. So it's a very clean and vibrant store,' Chandler said. There are about 18 locations in seven states. All of MilkShake Factory's Pittsburgh locations are corporate-owned. The Indianapolis shops are among 12 underway. Chandler has experience in selling treats and getting in early on franchises. He has about 10 Crumbl locations in the Detroit, Michigan, area. He joined that company in 2020 when Crumbl had only about 60 stores. "So anything with sugar, we'll sell it," he said. "We like the sweet tooth, so it makes it fun." Story continues below gallery. Since the brand has its genesis in chocolate, it makes sense to find a chocolate bar near the store entrance. Each milkshake is topped with a triangle of chocolate made from the family recipe. There'll be seating for about 12 inside each store, which will have 15-20 workers each. The patio in Nora will seat 20. Demand has already shown itself with folks trying to get in the doors weeks ahead of the openings, Palmer said. 'At both locations, Avon and Nora, we get knocks all the time, like, 'Hey, where's my milkshake?'' he said.
