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- It’s Girl Scout cookie season.
- Most people don’t need much convincing to buy a box of their favourite cookie flavours, but some Girl Scouts still pull out all the stops to maximise sales.
- Girl Scouts have set up shop at a flower store on Valentine’s Day, made sales pitches at the Oscars, and even sold cookies outside marijuana shops.
It’s Girl Scout cookie season, which means Trefoils, Thin Mints, Samoas, andDo-si-dos are all the rage right now.
Most people don’t need much convincing to get their hands on a box of their favourite Girl Scout cookies, but that hasn’t stopped some ambitious troop members from coming up with clever ways to sell the treats.
Each year, Girl Scouts who sell more than a set number of boxes – typically somewhere in the thousands – are honored with the title of “Cookie CEO.” But it takes real discipline and, often, a creative approach to achieve that level of success in the cookie-selling game.
Below, take a look at some of the smartest ways in which Girl Scouts have racked up cookie sales.
One Girl Scout in Indiana says she sets up shop at a florist on Valentine’s Day.
An Indiana-based Girl Scout named Sabrina told Fatherly’s Lizzy Francis that she profits off of the many last-minute Valentine’s Day planners in her area by setting up a booth to sell cookies at a local florist shop.
“You get guys who are like ‘I forgot flowers!,'” Sabrina told Fatherly. “And then they’d see the cookie booth and say, ‘You know what, it’s not the same old chocolate. This is perfect.'”
According to Fatherly, Sabrina typically sells more than 1,000 boxes of cookies each season thanks to her crafty approach to the cookie-selling game.
In 2018, a 9-year-old Brownie and her father set up shop outside a marijuana store in Edmonton, Canada.
Elina Childs sold out of her cookie supply in under an hour, when she and her father Seann based their cookie stall outside a marijuana store. Elina sold 30 boxes of cookies at $US5 apiece, making $US120 in just 45 minutes.
“It amazed me how quickly they went,” Seann told CBC. “Even people in cars driving on the avenue there would stop and roll down their window and ask for cookies.”
While Elina is technically not a Girl Scout, but rather a Canadian Girl Guide, her father said he was inspired by Girl Scouts in California who had employed similar tactics to sell their cookies.
A Colorado-based Girl Scout recently put a shirtless photo of Jason Momoa on the boxes and called them “Momoas.”
With the help of her mother, who is a marketing professional, Girl Scout Charlotte Holmberg rebranded her supply of “Samoa” cookies as “Momoas” and plastered a shirtless photo of the “Aquaman” and “Game of Thrones” actor on the box.
The Girl Scouts of Colorado shared Holmberg’s marketing strategy on its Facebook and Instagram pages on February 13 and she went viral shortly after. The story gained so much traction, in fact, that Momoa himself fielded some questions about it on the red carpet prior to the 2019 Oscars.
“I love Girl Scout cookies,” Momoa told Entertainment Tonight. “I was waiting to get some free ones. I’d love some.”
Many Girl Scouts see college campuses as cookie-selling hot spots.
A 13-year-old Girl Scout named Skyler told the Daily Nexus that she has sold cookies outside of the University of California, Santa Barbara, campus for the past two years, she. She has her sights set on selling 3,000 boxes of cookies in 2019.
“There are a lot of really enthusiastic people and it’s always a treat to be here,” she said.
At the University of Georgia, Girl Scout cookies generated so much buzz that the student newspaper wrote an article to help students find a booth during the two sales days on campus.
And Beth Hagovsky, the director of Student Leadership and Activities at St. John’s University, used her position on campus to help her daughter sell cookies.
“Last year when we did this, I knew I was sitting on a gold mine as the person who reserves the tables outside the dining hall,” Hagovsky told The Hawk Newspaper. “Needless to say, my daughter sold the most cookies in the troop last year.”
One Girl Scout channeled her inner Cardi B with a rap about selling cookies.
Kiki Paschall, 10, from California, looked to market her Girl Scout cookies by filming a video in which she rapped about selling cookies to the tune of Cardi B’s “Money.”
The Girl Scouts of America shared Paschall’s video on its offical Twitter page, where it has received more than three million views. Even Cardi B acknowledged Paschall’s creative effort with a retweet.
It’s no surprise that Paschall went on to sell more than 1,000 boxes of cookies.
Chris Rock’s daughters brought their troop to sell cookies at the 2016 Academy Awards.
When Chris Rock hosted the 88th annual Academy Awards in 2016, he allowed his daughters’ Girl Scout troop to sell cookies during the show.
The young saleswomen appeared to sell Peanut Butter Patties to Kate Winslet, Thin Mints to Christian Bale, and other flavours to a variety of celebrities on hand.
“Reach into your millionaire pockets and buy some of my daughters’ Girl Scout cookies,” Rock told the audience.
Rock later revealed that the troop had raised a whopping $US65,243 on the night.
Read more:
Chris Rock helped his daughters sell Girl Scout cookies at the Oscars – and they made bank
And “This Is Us” star Mackenzie Hancsicsak sold Girl Scout cookies from her table at the 2019 SAG awards.
Apparently acting isn’t the only skill “This is Us” star Mackenzie Hancsicsak has in her arsenal.
The 11-year-old actress, who plays young Kate on the hit NBC series, sold Girl Scout cookies from her table at the 2019 Screen Actors Guild awards. She even tweeted to alert fellow attendees of where to buy a snack.
Some Girl Scouts in Greenville, South Carolina, hit the jackpot by waiting out in the cold.
A handful of Girl Scouts from a Greenville, South Carolina, troop were recently the recipients of a grand gesture.
Kayla Dillard, a parent who was with the troop, told INSIDER that a man bought seven boxes for $US40 and told the girls to keep the change. But, shortly after, he returned to purchase all of the cookies the troop had to keep them out of the cold weather. All in all, the man spent $US540 on cookies.
Dillard later posted about the man’s mega cookie purchase on Facebook, and it quickly went viral.
Many Girl Scouts use their cookie sales to help the military.
Girl Scout cookie enthusiasts have the opportunity to donate cookies to the US military through the Girl Scouts Gift of Caring service project. According to the Girl Scouts of America’s official website, “100% of the proceeds stay in the community to fund Girl Scout activities and community service projects” after the costs of the cookies are covered.
In 2018, Girl Scouts nationwide collected more than 200,000 boxes, or nearly $US1 million worth, of cookies for members of the US military.
And, at long last, Girl Scouts have embraced innovation.
In the past, potential buyers were often turned away if they didn’t have cash to pay for their cookies, but innovations like mobile payment apps and mobile credit-card readers have changed the cookie-selling game.
“We love Venmo,” a sixth-grade Girl Scout named Olivia told the Daily Nexus. “We took over $US1,000 on it at our UCSB cookie booth. Not all troops use it but we think it is a must.”
And now, Girl Scouts are able to create websites through which they can sell cookies during the cookie-buying season, but buyers must actually know a Girl Scout in order to be invited to purchase the cookies online. Cookie lovers who don’t personally know a Girl Scout can find a local cookie booth by entering their zip code on the Girl Scouts website.
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