LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The bakers responsible for making Thin Mints, Samoas and other Girl Scout Cookie favorites are struggling to keep up with demand.
Citing global supply chain issues, local labor shortages and unforeseen severe weather, Little Brownie Bakers in Louisville posted to Facebook Thursday, saying, “The teams in our bakery have been working overtime to make sure troops get their initial orders.”
What You Need To Know
- Little Brownie informed the Girl Scouts on Monday that severe weather had knocked out power to its bakery and stopped production over the weekend
- In Louisville, Samoas are among the top three most popular flavors, along with Thin Mints and Tagalongs, according to Brooke Slone, director of product sales for the Girl Scouts of Kentuckiana
- One of two Girl Scout Cookie makers in the country, Little Brownie Bakers supplies 75% of the cookies sold each year
- Boxes of various flavors that normally cost $6, including the newly introduced online-only cookie Raspberry Rally, are fetching a premium on eBay
One of two Girl Scout Cookie makers in the country, Little Brownie Bakers supplies 75% of the cookies sold each year. ABC Bakers, owned by Hearthside Food Solutions in Anaheim, California, supplies the rest.
As reported by CNBC, Little Brownie informed the Girl Scouts on Monday that severe weather had knocked out power to its bakery and stopped production over the weekend, specifically in the production of its popular Samoas.
Samoas are among the top three most popular flavors In Louisville, along with Thin Mints and Tagalongs, according to Brooke Slone, director of product sales for the Girl Scouts of Kentuckiana.
She said her council already delayed Girl Scout Cookie season by two weeks this year “due to anticipation of some shortages with some popular flavors.”
Ordinarily, cookie season for the Louisville council begins with preorders that run for a month starting Jan. 1. This year, Girl Scouts of Kentuckiana and many other councils around the country started preorders Jan. 14.
Little Brownie Bakers’ delays come at an inopportune time. Slone said her council’s cookie preorders this year were up 19% compared with 2022. The Girl Scouts of Kentuckiana have already sold 1.1 million packages this year.
Slone expects the most popular flavors to be in stock for their council’s booth sales later this month, though the bakery “has turned off some of those flavors for direct shipping online to prioritize having those cookies in hand for the girls at the cookie booths.”
Similar to their preorders, the Girl Scouts of Kentuckiana have delayed deliveries to March 16 and also delayed booth sales this year by a month. Booth sales will run from March 24 through April 30.
Because of the delays, resellers are now taking advantage of a situation affecting the millions of Girl Scout Cookie fans who revel in choosing between the coconut Samoas, peanut butter Do-si-dos, graham cracker S’mores — or not choosing at all. Boxes of various flavors that normally cost $6, including the newly introduced online-only cookie Raspberry Rally, are fetching a premium on eBay.
The money Girl Scouts raise through annual cookie sales helps support the world’s largest entrepreneurship program for girls.
What some of them are learning from the delays this year: “It can be challenging at times,” Slone said.
