What You Need To Know About Yum Crumbs From Shark Tank

Crumbs can be good and crumbs can be bad. If you're talking about embarrassing crumbs scattered down the front of your shirt telling the whole world about the maple-glazed old-fashioned donut you scarfed down, then they're bad. But, if you're referring to the interior matrix of a freshly baked loaf of bread or the sugary topping on a square of streuselkuchen, then crumbs are good. Thankfully, Yum Crumbs is firmly in the latter camp.

Launched in 2020, Yum Crumbs bills itself as "the most scrumptious dessert topping you'll ever find," according to its website. Offering both crumb and candy varieties in flavors like Birthday Cake, Apple Pie, and Salted Caramel, Yum Crumbs can be sprinkled over ice cream for a flavor-packed crunch, applied as a coating to chocolate-dipped fruit, or used as a convenient shortcut for bakers who want to save a bit of time topping their wares. In fact, it was baked goods that served as the impetus for the creation of the company.

The founders found themselves rushed to fulfill a large number of orders for crumb cakes, a type of yeast-risen cake topped with crumb toppings made from sugar, butter, spices, and flour. With production of the crumb topping eating into their limited time, they were struck by the idea that a ready-to-use dessert topping could save professional and home bakers a lot of time. The company has since expanded its product line to include more than just baked good toppings.

Family-operated and minority-owned, Yum Crumbs was founded by Delson and Amanda Jeanvilma. The company's line of toppings and crumbs is available on its website as well as at 23 retail locations ranging from Florida to Arkansas to Hawaii and including an outlet in Canada. The various baking crumbs and dessert toppings Yum Crumbs offers come in 12, 32, and 64-ounce bags — with some flavors coming in 10-pound bags — perfect for sizing out for your needs. 

More conventional flavors include Pistachio and Mint Chocolate. But, for those seeking crumbs that are a bit more outside the box, Yum Crumbs also offers flavors like Maple Bacon and Bubble Gum. Curious newcomers who may be overwhelmed by all the choices can thankfully purchase a sample pack of 20 one-ounce bags of different flavors to play around with. Yum Crumbs also offers several gluten-free versions of its products.

As a showcase for the versatility of its creations, Yum Crumbs has teamed up with True Scoops, a company that makes ice cream mixes, to create a semi-DIY ice cream sandwich kit. Each kit includes a packet of True Scoops Vanilla Bean ice cream mix, a bag of Yum Crumbs Double Chocolate Chip Cookie mix, and some Yum Crumbs Candy Cane dessert crumbs to roll the finished ice cream sandwich in.

Online reviews for Yum Crumbs toppings are generally positive, with many reviewers raving about the range of flavor options as well as the convenience afforded by the product. The company's Judge.me page currently has 885 five-star reviews. Fan Angela M.M. writes, "I love your products. I have tried the Strawberry Shortcake, Lemon, Banana, Chocolate, and Red Velvet. They are all equally delicious!" 

Another satisfied customer, Tj M., was extremely pleased that Yum Crumbs has allergy-conscious options, stating, "I have two kids with severe gluten allergies. These gluten-free products have changed the game. They are not only safe for my kids but are delicious." Over on Amazon, the reviews are also generally positive, but some folks have written in to voice their disappointment with the product overall. 

In a three-star review, one customer wrote of the Strawberry Shortcake crumbs, "I was expecting more. I thought it would have small bits of freeze-dried strawberries, but it tasted like crushed cereal." There are also more than a few one-star reviews from Amazon shoppers complaining that their Yum Crumbs arrived pulverized to a fine powder, hard and stale, or with lackluster flavor.

It was a long road that got Delson Jeanvilma and Yum Crumbs to a 2023 episode of Shark Tank. He took the stage with his son, highlighting that the company is a family affair, and pitched the Sharks — Kevin O'Leary, Barbara Corcoran, Daymond John, Lori Greiner, and Mark Cuban — on the whimsical sweet treat toppings the company makes. With 26 different flavors to choose from, Jeanvilma noted that you can enhance a dessert with the taste of "just about anything you can think of" turning "any ordinary dessert into a masterpiece." The ask? $100,000 for a 10% stake in Yum Crumbs. 

The Sharks wanted to know if the product was available to commercial customers. Jeanvilma explained that it is and that they actually make up the lion's share of Yum Crumbs' sales, which, to date, top $1.7 million. He also added that Yum Crumbs recently received a purchase order that will place the product on the shelves of the largest craft store in the U.S. Yum Crumbs' toppings are also used by the popular convenience store chain Wawa, which uses the sprinkles on its in-house desserts. 

Greiner was the first to bow out due to Yum Crumbs' B2B focus and her preference for B2C businesses. Then, Cuban's lack of food knowledge pushed him out of the race. O'Leary, John, and Corcoran, though, got into a bidding war, with Corcoran and John emerging victorious with an offer of $100,000 for 20% of Yum Crumbs.