Girl Scout cookies have been through a lot in recent years, from shortages to secondary market buzz, and now inflation is taking its toll as well, CNN reports. The price of Girl Scout cookies is about to go up in some areas of the country.
A box of Girl Scout cookies usually costs $5, but some varieties are priced at $6, including S’mores and Toffee-tastic. A Girl Scout troop in New York recently informed its membership that all cookies will be sold for $6 a box in the upcoming cookie season. The last time the Girl Scout organization raised the price of cookies was in 2014 and 2015, when boxes went from $4 to $5.
Girl Scout cookie prices, explained
“In order to combat rising production and material costs, GSHH [Girl Scouts Heart of the Hudson] will be increasing the price of all cookie packages to $6.00,” the New York chapter’s interim CEO wrote in an email. “We expect our neighboring councils to announce similar increases in the coming weeks and months.”
Other chapters in New York, Louisiana, and North Carolina all announced similar price increases last year, citing budget concerns as well. GSHH specifically noted rising costs for the chapter and for the organization’s cookie supplier, Little Brownie Bakers.
For those not as versed in the business of the Girl Scouts and its iconic cookies, the Girl Scout cookies distributed across the country are produced by two different bakeries: ABC Bakers in Richmond, Virginia and Little Brownie Bakers (LBB) in Louisville, Kentucky. LBB produces 75% of the nation’s Girl Scout cookies and had issues with production throughout the earlier part of this year. The factory experienced periodic delays caused by mechanical issues and low inventory levels, frustrating Scouts and cookie fans alike.
Despite these challenges, the Girl Scouts organization has taken other creative approaches to fundraising with its beloved cookies. At the beginning of the year the Girl Scouts introduced an online exclusive cookie: the Raspberry Rally. The cookie sparked so much enthusiasm that it sold out almost immediately; the downside was that some people began selling boxes online for a huge markup, the proceeds of which did not benefit the Girl Scouts themselves.
In the end, Girls Scout cookie sales are meant to benefit a youth program to empower kids and help them build their skills. An extra dollar per box doesn’t seem so bad as long as I can get my Trefoils.