If you love the taste of Thin Mints but don’t want to wait for a Girl Scout to sell you cookies there is now another way for you to get your fix. Girl Scouts have expanded the use of their signature flavor to coat pretzels and almonds — and you can buy them in a store year-round (and for less than a box of cookies).
I was disappointed to see the Girl Scouts stray from what I thought was the purpose of the cookie drive. Their website states: “When you buy the delicious cookies you crave directly from a Girl Scout, you’ll enjoy them more knowing you’re helping her gain the business smarts and confidence to take on the world, one cookie at a time.” I guess the almonds-in-the-store profit or the new online-only raspberry cookie sales help to run Girl Scout programs, but to me, it’s not the same.
It must be so tempting to expand distribution to gain additional revenue. Businesses create franchises, franchises grow to greater geographical areas, and Girl Scouts expand beyond cookies. But there is a caché and inherent demand when something is limited. If cookies were on supermarket shelves all the time, my guess is that fewer people would pay $5 per box for them vs. when a girl in uniform makes the same request for one month each year.
I wonder if the availability of other Thin Mint products will impact cookie sales. More isn’t always more in the end.
