If you have ever had a Thin Mint, then you probably understand the hype behind the Girl Scout cookies.
Girl Scout cookies are universally recognized as being both delicious and classic.
Each year, some of the same flavors will arise, and you will experience the same tastes you had as a child.
Not many products withstand the test of time like a Girl Scout cookie.
The only unfortunate thing about Girl Scout cookies is that they tend to be a bit expensive.
It may not seem like much to purchase one box, but when you are buying two and three, the prices will rise significantly.
Here are a few reasons Girl Scout cookies are so expensive.
Why Are Girl Scout Cookies So Expensive?
1. Profit for Cookie Company
There are a few different bakers that produce cookies for the Girl Scouts.
These producers are certainly not going to make Girl Scout cookies for free.
They have to mass-produce large volumes of these cookies, and they will do this to make their own share of the profit.
By the time the cookie company makes its profit, the problem becomes that there needs to be money left for all the other people involved in this process.
Bakers can offer a large discount to an organization like the Girl Scouts.
During a busy time of year, they will be making millions of cookies each day.
This is certainly quite a bit to keep up with and will therefore require a lot of staff, a large facility, and plenty of ingredients.
For those who think the cookies are made by the Girl Scouts, that is not true.
The cookies are made by outside companies that are hired by the Girl Scouts.
This also brings up the interesting concept that some of the cookies are slightly different than others.
Although the taste may be the same from one baker to another, there could be other changes.
For instance, you may see a difference in the shape between two boxes.
Certainly, the shape of the cookie is not going to change the way you feel about it entirely.
Still, it is interesting as it looks like a quality control issue.
The issue is more about volume than it is about quality control.
Selling so much volume forces the Girl Scouts to use several bakers and try to make sure the product stays as consistent as possible.
Since it is getting more and more expensive to run a business or operation, the bakers have to occasionally raise their costs.
When this happens, the Girl Scouts need to raise their prices as well.
All of this will trickle down into the price we pay for Girl Scout cookies.
2. Takes Time to Make Cookies
Another reason Girl Scout cookies are expensive is that they can be time-consuming to make.
Since these cookies have been around for so many years, you can easily find knock-off recipes online.
Although these recipes will not be the exact Girl Scout recipe, they are going to be pretty close.
The recipes will allow you to create these treats in your own kitchen on your own time.
The problem with this is that most people are not going to take the time to make Girl Scout cookies.
In addition to the time, you are still going to need to purchase the ingredients.
When you calculate your time and your ingredients, you will end up realizing it may be worth it to simply purchase the Girl Scout cookies.
In fact, if you take a look at any cookies in the grocery store, you will see that they are all priced rather high.
This is partly because most people do not have the time or patience to make their own cookies.
Therefore, when you purchase a box of Girl Scout cookies, you are also paying for convenience.
We all know that there is a price associated with something being convenient.
3. Branding and History
The Girl Scout cookies are famous.
The flavors are almost as well-known as something like an Oreo.
Everyone has their opinion as to what the best Girl Scout cookie is.
People know the size of the box, the color of the packaging, and the iconic taste as well.
Girl Scout cookies are very much a part of history.
The Girl Scout cookies have been around for a very long time.
In fact, in 2017, they hit their 100-year anniversary.
When the Girl Scouts started selling cookies, they also baked them.
They started on a very small scale in a school with a simple sugar cookie.
As things grew, they eventually had to start outsourcing the baking of the Girl Scout cookies.
During some difficult times in history, getting the cookies baked was a bit of a problem, but it still got done.
At the time, the cookie selling was done to raise money for the individual troop.
With the extra money, they could spend more time doing things around the community and taking care of the others in their troop.
Things have certainly changed quite a bit since then.
Today, the selling of Girl Scout cookies is quite competitive.
In fact, you have probably already been asked several times this season if you are interested in purchasing Girl Scout cookies.
This went from a simple way to raise money for one troop to a massive and competitive business venture.
There are now individual girls who sell thousands of boxes of cookies each year.
This is an incredible amount, and it will raise money for her individual troop and the entire Girl Scout organization as well.
Of course, as things have gone from simple to complicated, so have the prices.
When Girl Scout cookies were first produced, they were made in the kitchen, and because of that, pricing could be controlled.
Since the Girl Scouts are employing outside bakers to make their cookies, they don’t have the same control over costs.
This is an unfortunate problem which happens as the world continues to grow.
The pricing on Girl Scout cookies is undoubtedly not likely to go down anytime soon.
They would have a very difficult time figuring out where it is appropriate to cut costs.
4. Fundraising for the Girl Scouts
Another reason you pay more for Girl Scout cookies is that the price is inflated to help with fundraising efforts for the Girl Scouts.
To make sure that there is enough built in to support the Girl Scouts, the cookies are marked up in price.
Not only are you going to be paying for the cookie, but you will also be making a donation to the Girl Scouts.
The Girl Scouts of America are going to get a portion of each box of cookies sold, and so will the individual troops.
The individual troops are the ones who will use the money for their own projects and to continue doing their work around the community as well.
The general idea behind the Girl Scout cookie sale is to raise money for Girl Scouts.
If you can get behind this concept and want to help, then you can purchase quite a few boxes of cookies.
Another way to help is to just make a donation to a local troop.
Give the troop leader a call and see what they are working on or how they would need the help, and you can make a financial contribution.
Sometimes if you take the $50 you were going to spend on Girl Scout cookies and send it directly to the troop instead, you will be making a significant impact.
5. Palm Oil Trouble
The Girl Scouts of America have had some trouble with palm oil in the past.
Palm oil was one of the main ingredients in almost all of their cookies.
Palm oil is a type of vegetable oil which many are finding to be a bad thing for the environment.
When producing palm oil, large areas of vegetation need to be destroyed.
This started to become a problem for the Girl Scouts.
They were facing backlash because of the fact that they were producing so many cookies and causing damage to nature and our world.
Some chose to ignore this issue, but certain Girl Scouts stopped selling.
Some large organizations stopped purchasing Girl Scout cookies as well.
The image that was portrayed was that the Girl Scouts as a whole did not care about the environment.
Of course, this is a bit extreme, but it did start to have a major impact on the company.
After some time, the Girl Scouts had to start removing some of the palm oil from their cookies.
When they began to replace the palm oil with other ingredients, the pricing started to go up a bit as well.
Today, some of the cookies still feature this same palm oil but in much lower quantities than in the past.
The Girl Scouts have made a concerted effort to show their belief in the economy and the importance of caring for the world that we live in.
Certainly, this is a message they will want their young leaders to carry out into the world as well.
How Can I Save Money on Girl Scout Cookies?
Chances are you will have a hard time finding ways to save money on Girl Scout cookies.
The cookies very rarely go on sale as they are usually only offered for sale during a particular time of the year.
This short window of opportunity to buy the cookies helps them to sell quite a bit more cookies and not have to worry about lowering the price.
The Girl Scouts usually get a pretty good handle on the number of cookies they are selling each year, and then they can order accordingly.
This helps to manage stock and make it so that the supply never exceeds the demand.
If you feel as though you need Girl Scout cookies, but you don’t want to pay for them, you will have to start baking!
Do Individual Girl Scouts Make Money?
Some young girls will take this project very seriously and start to sell thousands of boxes of cookies.
This is very impressive, but the girl will not earn any financial benefit for herself.
The profits are all going to go to her tribe to pay for trips and other essential resources.
The Girl Scouts do have an incentive program, however.
If a girl is a super seller, she will likely get store credit or access to other prizes for selling so many Girl Scout cookies.
Having to go out and seek sales for cookies can be a difficult job.
Certainly, it is a good thing these girls get rewarded in some way.
Putting in all that time and effort is a great learning experience for these young ladies.
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