Super Bowl Sunday is a time for the people of the United States to set aside their differences and join friends and family on the couch to watch the big game and argue about which team will be the champion of American football. The real winner? Corporations. The day before the Super Bowl, families run rampant in grocery stores, shopping for snacks to share during the Big Game- and what better snack than a box of Girl Scout Cookies?
Super Bowl season is peak selling time for GS Cookies. Even official regional girl scout social media accounts often post super-bowl-themed advertisements on Facebook and Instagram to catch people’s attention and fit in with the trend. Amidst the last-minute shopping chaos, girl scouts can often be found in front of or inside local grocery stores, bustling with business.
GS Cookies have been a crucial part of the snack game for over a century. From January to April, supermarkets and town squares are flooded with little booths, with boxes in all colors of the rainbow and little girls asking, “would you like to buy some Girl Scout Cookies? Only $6 a box!”
However business isn’t going as steady as one might think. Let’s take a look at how the girl scout business of cookies has officially crumbled.
Supply-chain issues and labor shortages during the COVID-19 pandemic led to a nationwide GS Cookie shortage that their bakeries spent years recovering from, and both girl scouts and their customers are still paying the price of millions of dollars in lost revenue.
It’s no secret that snacks are more expensive these days, and GS Cookies are no exception. Today, GS Cookies sell for $6 – 1.5 times more than they cost in 2014 ($4 a box). This is partially due to inflation, but supply shortages have also drastically increased prices for GS Cookies and when prices increase, sales often decrease, and these factors make for a rough cookie season.
Take the 2023 Raspberry Rallies for example, a cookie that was supposed to be added to the yearly line-up, but ended up being a limited edition only available for 2 years. With an appearance similar to that of Thin Mints – the most popular and well-loved GS cookie – cookie lovers had high expectations, causing Raspberry Rallies to sell out completely in less than a day. Due to the supply shortages, Raspberry Rallies never restocked, and those desperate to try them had to search eBay, where many were illegally re-sold for up to $40 a box.
Despite the setbacks, the 2024 GS Cookie season brought in over $1 billion in revenue. Over 200 million boxes of cookies were sold, bringing in unexpectedly high profits to the girl scouts all across the country… or did it? Despite such a high profit, only a fraction of the money earned actually goes to individual GS Troops. Out of each $6 box of cookies, only about 17% of revenue goes to Troop profits and girl scout rewards, and despite boxes costing more and more every year, individual girl scouts aren’t seeing a rise in profits.
With girl scout activities and camps getting more expensive, cookies can only be expected to increase in cost and decrease in quality.
Recently, customers have noticed differences in taste between cookies from the two licensed GS Cookie bakers: ABC Bakers and Little Brownie Bakers. The cookies are similar across bakeries except for a few small variations in ingredients and appearance. Within the past few years, both bakeries have been tweaking the nutritional value of their cookies, by putting more sugar in each serving. This change in sugar quantity fundamentally alters the iconic flavors and textures of GS Cookies.
Favorite flavors like Savannah Smiles, Girl Scout S’mores and -in 2026- Toast Yays! will or have been discontinued for not bringing in enough money. This is mainly due to negative public reception over the change in GS cookie flavors.
The real issue is, the purpose of purchasing GS cookies is not about what’s in the box, but what’s behind it. Since founder Juliette Gordon Low started the fundraiser of selling cookies in 1971, it was intended to fund the adventures and learning experiences of girl scouts. But with rising prices of everything from yearly registration to camps, girl scouts are having to sell more and more to afford the same experiences they used to have. All while cookie prices soar, and customers are less interested in buying cookies.
None of this is to say that buying GS cookies is bad, it’s just important to be aware of how you’re buying. If you’re buying directly from a girl scout at a booth or your door then you can be sure that you’re funding a local troop. If you have the time, talk to the girl scout, ask about her goals and what she plans to do with the money she raises. Buy from the girl scout, not the organization behind her.
GS cookie sales can be an excellent opportunity for girls to practice making change, learning to track income, and develop strong entrepreneurial skills– and the customer gets a sweet sugary snack in the process. What GS cookie are you looking to try this year?
