Insomnia Cookies has spent more than two decades building a business around the of delivering warm cookies to people when they crave them most.
That idea, first developed by founder Seth Berkowitz in his University of Pennsylvania dorm room in 2003, has grown into an international chain with more than 375 bakeries. Now, as the company pursues an ambitious expansion strategy, it’s giving its brand a makeover.
Insomnia unveiled a refreshed visual identity Monday, replacing its illustrated moon logo with a photograph of a half-eaten chocolate chunk cookie. The changes extend to packaging, typography, photography, and marketing, all tied together by a new tagline, “Always Warm Since 2003.”
The company partnered with creative agency &Walsh on the project, which aims to preserve Insomnia’s personality and late-night roots while making the brand relevant to a wider range of customers and occasions.
“Insomnia created the warm cookie delivery category in 2003, and after 23 years, this felt like the right moment to remind people who we’ve always been,” Berkowitz says. “We’ve grown from a college dorm room concept to more than 375 bakeries across the U.S., Canada, and U.K., and our customers now turn to us for far more than late-night cravings.”
The refresh comes during a significant period of change for Insomnia.
Krispy Kreme, which acquired a majority stake in the cookie chain in 2018, sold that ownership position to Mistral Equity Partners and Verlinvest in 2024. The doughnut company subsequently sold its remaining 34 percent stake in 2025, giving Insomnia an opportunity to pursue its growth plans under new ownership.
Berkowitz, who continues to serve as CEO, previously told QSR magazine that Insomnia sees room for 1,800 domestic bakeries. The company has historically concentrated on college campuses and urban neighborhoods, but it is pursuing opportunities in suburban markets, transportation hubs, tourist destinations, and sports arenas.
That expansion creates a new challenge. How does a company closely associated with college students and late-night cravings appeal to customers who may now be ordering cookies for office parties, birthdays, and family gatherings?
Before developing its new identity, Insomnia conducted qualitative consumer research with Gen Z and millennial participants through dscout.
The findings revealed that customers frequently associated the brand with experiences and memories instead of specific products. Participants recalled late-night study sessions, celebrations with friends, and moments of relaxation.
According to the research, 75 percent of respondents said they ordered Insomnia for comfort instead of a sugar rush. In a separate question, all respondents who answered associated ordering the brand with winding down instead of winding up.
“What stood out was how often customers talked about the memories around their cookies, from late-night studying to celebrations with friends,” Berkowitz says. “They associated us with comfort and connection, not just a sweet treat.”
Those findings became the foundation of the “Always Warm Since 2003” campaign, which connects the temperature of Insomnia’s cookies with the emotional experiences customers associate with the brand.
The company also recognized an opportunity to maintain relationships with customers as their lives change.
Someone who discovered Insomnia during college might now order cookies for an office celebration, a family gathering, or an afternoon treat. Reaching those customers requires expanding the occasions when Insomnia comes to mind without abandoning the identity that attracted them originally.
“Our college roots and late-night delivery will always be part of who we are. But the same customer who discovered us during a study session may now order cookies for an office celebration, family gathering or afternoon treat,” Berkowitz says. “We want to grow with them and introduce new audiences to the experience we created.”
The most recognizable change is Insomnia’s logo.
The previous version featured an illustrated cookie moon, a reference to the brand’s nighttime origins. Its replacement is a photograph of an actual chocolate chunk cookie with a bite missing, complete with melted chocolate.
The company retained its signature purple color and recognizable moon imagery, but incorporated bolder lettering, warmer colors, and more prominent product photography.
“The cookie has always been the hero of our business, so we wanted it to be the hero of our identity. Reimagining the illustrated cookie moon as a real, half-eaten chocolate chunk cookie connects our earliest brand symbol to the warm, gooey product that made us a category creator,” Berkowitz says.
The updated identity also pays tribute to Insomnia’s history.
Its original pizza-style delivery box helped distinguish the business when Berkowitz began delivering cookies to fellow college students. That packaging remains an important part of the company’s visual identity, even as the refreshed boxes feature new graphics and typography.
Insomnia says four elements were particularly important to preserve during the process. The cookie moon, original pizza box, signature purple, and chocolate chunk cookie.
Working with &Walsh, the company sought to modernize those assets without losing their familiarity.
“Consumer research kept us grounded in what customers love: warmth, nostalgia and a playful personality,” Berkowitz says, “One of the biggest creative decisions was evolving the illustrated moon into a real cookie. It was a meaningful change, but it felt authentic to our roots and gave us a flexible, product-led identity for the future.”
The rollout begins Monday and will occur in phases across Insomnia’s bakeries, packaging, and digital channels. The launch includes social media content and marketing activations in New York City, including 150 posters and a bakery transformation.
The company says consistency will be a priority as it introduces the new branding across more than 375 locations in three countries.
Insomnia’s evolution isn’t limited to its appearance.
Alongside the refresh, the company is introducing a self-heating catering box capable of keeping cookies warm for up to three hours after leaving the bakery.
The technology is intended to solve a problem that comes with expanding into catering. Customers ordering dozens of cookies for an event may not serve them immediately, potentially losing the fresh-from-the-oven experience that distinguishes Insomnia.
The new packaging uses Lava Gel heat technology, which creates warmth through a mineral reaction activated by water. Specially positioned heating packs distribute warmth throughout the box, helping maintain the cookies’ temperature and texture.
The heated packaging is included with Insomnia’s 50- and 100-cookie catering packs at no additional charge.
“We started with a simple question: how do we bring that fresh-from-the-oven experience to occasions when cookies aren’t eaten immediately after delivery?” Berkowitz says. “Our self-heating catering box helps keep cookies warm for up to three hours, making Insomnia a natural fit for office gatherings, birthdays, celebrations and events.”
The company is also exploring potential applications for smaller packages, gifting, and pop-up experiences.
Catering represents another way for Insomnia to expand its customer base and generate orders outside its traditional late-night business.
The new branding is meant to support that expansion by making Insomnia recognizable to consumers who may have little familiarity with its college-town origins.
Over the next five years, the company plans to continue exploring new products, categories, and occasions, with catering and gifting among its opportunities.
Success will be measured through brand awareness, customer engagement, repeat purchases, sales growth, and whether consumers begin thinking of Insomnia outside late-night hours.
“Five years from now, I want Insomnia to be even more synonymous with warm cookies than it is today. We created the category, and we’re just getting started,” Berkowitz says. “Our focus is on continuing to scale the brand and business, expanding into new occasions and dayparts, and exploring new products and categories that make sense for our consumers while staying true to what made Insomnia special in 2003.”
