The Margin: Why the Girl Scouts are raising cookie prices in some places — and canceling their bestselling Raspberry Rally flavor

Dough, no — there’s a couple of changes coming to Girl Scout cookies that fans may find hard to swallow. 

The price of Girl Scout cookies in some parts of the country will be going up — a few as early as this month — with some troops in New York and Massachusetts raising prices by about $1 apiece to $6 a box, for example. 

What’s more, the viral new Raspberry Rally flavor that was just introduced a year ago will be discontinued ahead of the next Girl Scout cookie selling season — which, nationally, will run roughly between January and April 2024, although some troops are already setting their cookie-sale dates and prices this fall. 

So, what’s going on here? 

First, to be clear, not every single box of Girl Scout cookies across the country is definitely becoming more expensive, despite what some news outlets have reported. The Girl Scouts of the USA told MarketWatch that some local councils in different parts of the country are indeed raising their prices — but then again, some other councils may not be raising their prices at all.

There are 111 Girl Scout councils across the country, which set local cookie prices based on many different factors, including inflation. A spokeswoman for the Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts told CBS that the decision to raise their Girl Scout cookie prices to $6 a box beginning Nov. 20 is based on “the costs associated with food production, labor and transportation,” for example.

And the Girl Scouts Heart of the Hudson in New York recently made a similar announcement. The chapter’s interim CEO Helen Wronski told CNN that “in order to combat rising production and material costs, GSHH will be increasing the price of all cookie packages to $6.”

So check with your local troop to determine whether you’ll have to cough up extra dough for a box of Thin Mints or Trefoils in your neck of the woods.

Which brings us to the Raspberry Rally, a recent addition to the Girl Scout cookie lineup that quickly became a fan-favorite. They were described as a “thin, crispy” cookie, with a chocolate coating similar in style to the classic Thin Mints, but instead “infused with raspberry flavor” when they were announced in 2022, and rolled out for the 2023 cookie season at the beginning of the year. They were such a hit that they sold out within hours of becoming available online, and the $5 boxes began popping up on resale sites like eBay for as high as $50 a box.  

Raspberry Rally Girl Scout cookies were an online exclusive that quickly sold out during the 2023 cooking season. They won’t be back for 2024, however, while the Girl Scouts focus on “classic” flavors, instead.

Girl Scouts of the USA

In fact, they’re still going strong on eBay, such as this listing for 34 boxes of recently-expired Raspberry Rally cookies for $250, or a little over $10 a box, or these 12 boxes for $149, so just over $12 apiece. Raspberry Rally cookies were originally about $5 apiece, remember.

So why are the Girl Scouts discontinuing such a hot seller? A spokesperson told MarketWatch over email that the Raspberry Rally cookies were introduced last year as part of a pilot, online-only sales strategy, but now they want to prioritize their classic flavors such as Samoas, Shortbread and Tagalongs, instead.

“This was a fun and new way to teach girls omnichannel business skills and expand our cookie portfolio by introducing an exciting new flavor profile to the Girl Scout Cookie Program,” they said. “While Raspberry Rally was extremely popular last year, we are prioritizing supplying our classic varieties” in 2024.  

What’s more, it sounds like the Girl Scouts of the USA wasn’t thrilled about Raspberry Rallies blowing up the resale market. “When cookies are purchased through a third-party seller, Girl Scout troops are deprived of proceeds that fund critical programming throughout the year,” a rep told CNN.

A Girl Scout spokeswoman declined to elaborate any more on price increases or discontinued flavors with MarketWatch, but added, “Don’t worry! Girl Scouts will be back next season with your favorite flavors such as Thin Mints, Samoas/Caramel DeLites and Trefoils.”

That may be cold comfort to the cookie lovers who had been looking forward to getting their hands on another batch of Raspberry Rally treats, however. 

“RIP Raspberry Rally cookies. You were tasty. You were delicious. You were a taste explosion in my mouth. You will be missed,” tweeted one fan.

“How sad,” tweeted another. “Couldn’t get them last year, and again this year. Oh well.”

“Never tried them, and I guess I never will,” added another.

The Girl Scouts sell about 200 million boxes of cookies — nearly $800 million worth — during each cookie season, making it the world’s largest entrepreneurial program for girls. What’s more, each troop votes on what to do with its cookie money, whether that be funding a camping trip, or setting up kits to give to the homeless.

And their sales strategy has largely been a success over the past 106 years thanks to their traditional recipe blending deep nostalgia and clever marketing, plus limited supply and availability, as the cookies only sell for about four months out of the year. So customers can feel the need to stock up on these childhood favorites while they’re in season — otherwise, they’ll have to wait until the following year to get their Girl Scout cookie fix.

Related: Here’s how the Girl Scouts will keep women rolling in dough throughout their lives — beyond selling cookies

Check out the economics of Girl Scout cookies here.

And individual Girl Scouts have certainly shown themselves to be savvy cookie sellers — such as viral anecdotes of some enterprising troops selling cookies outside of marijuana dispensaries in states where cannabis has been legalized. 

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