Craveworthy Brands CEO Gregg Majewski said he never thought his portfolio company would grow as fast as it did in its first year. But then again, he said he never doubted the team he’s assembled at Craveworthy or their plan to go head-to-head with the largest restaurant companies.
Craveworthy’s recent deal to acquire a significant stake in Dirty Dough is the largest and most established brand the Elgin, Illinois-based company has added to its portfolio. The deal also marks the company’s first foray into the cookie and treat category.
Dirty Dough, founded in 2018 in Provo, Utah, has 58 brick-and-mortar locations and 10 mobile units along with about 40 franchise locations under development, said Bennett Maxwell, who previously owned the company. As part of the deal with Craveworthy, Maxwell agreed to stay involved as board chair of Dirty Dough while Majewski takes over as CEO of the brand from Jill Summerhays, who transitions to president.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The acquisition gives Craveworthy management control of Dirty Dough, according to Majewski.
Majewski, a former adviser for Dirty Dough, said the deal was in the works for months, but finalizing it was held up by Dirty Dough’s lawsuit with Crumbl over trade secrets and trademarks. The brands reached a settlement in what became known as the “Cookie Wars” in October and finalized a written agreement in November and the deal with Craveworthy was finalized in December.
Related: Dirty Dough, Crumbl Reach Settlement Regarding Trade Secrets
Craveworthy Brands CEO Gregg Majewski
“We are very excited about this deal with Dirty Dough for a number of reasons,” Majewski said. “First, we feel there is enormous opportunity for growth for the brand by adding other revenue streams into the pipeline. With our purchasing power, we can also boost the margins for franchisees. In fact, in the first two weeks of just kind of playing around with it, we’re already seeing the cookie costs drop by about 30 percent.
“It also gives our existing franchisees the opportunity to co-brand, which opens the door to additional growth for them,” said Majewski, who pointed out that Craveworthy only needs about 1,200 square feet to create a Dirty Dough location in the space occupied by one of his existing brands.
Since FG Financial Group and Majewski announced the formation of Craveworthy in January 2023 with the intent to grow emerging brands. The company has quickly grown its portfolio. That roster now includes Genghis Grill, BD’s Mongolian Grill and Flat Top Grill, as well as the more recently acquired Budlong Southern Chicken, Wing It On and Krafted Burger Bar + Tap.
In November, Craveworthy announced a partnership with C3 to build out the franchise platform for Mediterranean fast-casual Soom Soom. Majewski’s food company is also in the process of developing a roster of virtual brands that includes Lucky Cate Poke Company, a fast-casual poke concept with 55 ghost kitchens.
Prior to the acquisition of Dirty Dough, the largest entity in Craveworthy’s portfolio was Genghis Grill, with about 44 locations. That’s followed by BD’s Mongolian Grill with 16 units and Wing It On with 12 locations.
Combined, Craveworthy’s brands are open in 24 states. The platform projects $1 billion in systemwide sales within five years.
But it’s the addition of Dirty Dough to the company’s roster that Majewski and his team are focused on now. He said Dirty Dough’s manufacturing facility, which was part of the acquisition deal, is under-utilized and is capable of doing between $150 million and $250 million in sales by adding production of CPG and freezer products. Maxwell said the facility is producing about one million cookies per month now.
Bennett Maxwell of Dirty Dough
“I think we took Dirty Dough as far as we go and it was time to let someone like Gregg and his team to take over,” Maxwell said. “They have the resources and systems in place to grow the brand.”
Majewski sees room to grow in the cookie sector. “I think one of the big things in growing the brand is you have to be more than just cookies and give people a reason to come back every week with different food items. We have a plan in place to add other revenue and incremental streams into our pipeline and our sales mix,” said Majewski, an industry veteran who previously was CEO of Mongolian Concepts Group and Jimmy John’s.
As for the year ahead, Craveworthy isn’t planning to slow down.
“We’re not stopping and we’re always on the lookout for other brands to add to our portfolio, but unless something really exciting comes up that we can’t afford to pass up, I think we’ll probably set on major acquisitions for the year,” Majewski said. “The Dirty Dough deal is a big one for us and we have a lot to do in the next 12 months.”