A Beloved Cupcake Company Is Shutting Down — And Fans Are Blaming Private Equity
Sprinkles Cupcakes' viral vending machines are gone after 20 years.
Sprinkles Cupcakes’ viral vending machines are gone after 20 years.
By Jonathan Small | edited by Jessica Thomas | Jan 05, 2026
The Cupcake ATM has dispensed its last red velvet dessert. Sprinkles Cupcakes, famous for selling treats through vending machines that went viral on TikTok, shut down after 20 years of operation.
“Even though I sold the company over a decade ago, I still have such a personal connection to it, and this isn’t how I thought the story would go,” founder Candace Nelson said on TikTok. She started the company in her Beverly Hills kitchen in 2005 after losing her job.
Nelson sold Sprinkles to private equity firm KarpReilly LLC in 2012 after expanding to 10 locations nationwide. Outraged fans are calling the closure part of a troubling trend where private equity firms buy restaurant brands that later file for bankruptcy or close altogether.
The Cupcake ATM has dispensed its last red velvet dessert. Sprinkles Cupcakes, famous for selling treats through vending machines that went viral on TikTok, shut down after 20 years of operation.
“Even though I sold the company over a decade ago, I still have such a personal connection to it, and this isn’t how I thought the story would go,” founder Candace Nelson said on TikTok. She started the company in her Beverly Hills kitchen in 2005 after losing her job.
Nelson sold Sprinkles to private equity firm KarpReilly LLC in 2012 after expanding to 10 locations nationwide. Outraged fans are calling the closure part of a troubling trend where private equity firms buy restaurant brands that later file for bankruptcy or close altogether.