Founder Candace Nelson Confirmed Closure as Employee Backlash Spread Online.
Sprinkles Cupcakes closed all of its locations this week, a move that quickly became public after rumors spread online and the company’s founder confirmed the shutdown on social media.
Candace Nelson, who launched the bakery chain in Beverly Hills in 2005, addressed the closure on Wednesday in a video posted to her social media accounts after rumors about a shutdown circulated among influencers. Nelson said she had learned only days earlier that private equity firm KarpReilly LLC planned to end operations.
Her remarks were the first public acknowledgment from anyone that the entire Sprinkles chain was closing without prior notice to employees or customers. Sprinkles operated 21 stores and 25 branded “cupcake ATM” vending machines across six states and Washington, D.C., employing hundreds of workers.
Nelson sold the company to KarpReilly in 2012 and exited the business with an undisclosed profit from the sale. In her video, she described the closure as the loss of her legacy and wrote in the text of the post, “I’m deeply grateful to the fans, customers, and community who showed up, celebrated with us, and made Sprinkles part of their traditions – and to the team who made it all happen. I’ll always be proud of what we built. Today, my heart is with the Sprinkles employees.💔”
Following the announcement, Sprinkles’ main social media pages and parts of the company’s website were taken offline. Before the accounts were removed, employees posted critical comments describing being laid off with little notice just after the holidays.
“One day’s notice of losing my job. How will I take care of my five kids?” one former employee wrote. Others echoed similar concerns, including, “One day’s notice is crazy. Just use us for the holidays and toss us aside,” and, “Thank you for one day’s notice of unemployment with no severance.”
KarpReilly did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
