Girl Scouts of the USA released a limited-edition Raspberry Rally cookie last week and quickly sold out.
For Girl Scouts and customers, the high demand for the coveted cookie has created a maelstrom of frustration.
The Raspberry Rally cookie was available for online purchase only on Monday, Feb. 27, months after it was initially teased back in August.
So, what’s the deal with Raspberry Rally?
Unlike other cookie flavors that can be purchased at booths or sold door to door by local troops, this limited-supply cookie would be available online only, to be directly shipped to customers, as long as supplies lasted.
Preorder options were not available.
While fans of Thin Mints and other favorites were able to stock up, when the new flavor was wiped off the market mere hours after orders opened, many cookie lovers found themselves empty-handed as their months of anticipation resulted in no Raspberry Rally cookie bounty.
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Cookie sellers weren’t happy either
“We lost so many cookie sales for people waiting for this cookie. The sellout speed is insane [especially] since we understood the end of season delay was to support the supplier to be able to meet demand asks. This is overall incredibly disappointing and frustrating,” said one Facebook commenter.
“Everything about the campaign for [Raspberry Rallys] has been inconvenient for Scouts and for customers. I hope GS gets rid of this model entirely for next year,” another comment read.
Local troops saw “unexpected interest” in the new release and found the amount of fanfare Raspberry Rallys garnered before their online availability exceeded expectations, said Lauren Wells, director of marketing and communications for Girls Scouts of the Chesapeake Bay, which serves Delaware and the eastern shores of Maryland and Virginia.
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What’s with the cookie shortage?
Due to supply chain challenges experienced by their supplier, Little Brownie Bakers, shortages of cookie flavors have been a nationwide issue since the pandemic began. Last year, Adventurefuls were a scarce commodity after experiencing setbacks due to supply issues, Wells said. (Adventurefuls are described by the Girls Scouts as “Indulgent brownie-inspired cookies topped with caramel flavored crème with a hint of sea salt.”)
“We do our best to replenish our stock throughout the season, but there are some customers who were not able to get their hands on any,” Wells said. “We have seen some direct challenges with other flavors like Samoas and Toffee-tastic.”
Raspberry Rally selling on eBay
Unlike cookie flavors that are annual regulars on the cookie-sale circuit, Raspberry Rally fanatics who were unsuccessful in getting any boxes have no idea if or when the cookie will be available again.
Now, high demand for the hard-to-get goodies has resale prices skyrocketing, much to the dismay of cookie lovers.
Girl Scout cookies usually sell for $5 or $6 a box. Now, resellers can be found charging $36 for a single box of the limited release, with some listings going beyond those upcharges.
“As I was searching for these new cookies, check out eBay, you can find these cookies on EBay … smh at a tremendous mark up,” a Facebook comment read.
“We, too, missed orders as many wanted them. Shipping is outrageous in general. Such a shame that supplies only lasted a few hours. Very disappointing,” commented a Facebook user.
So who did get the Raspberry Rally cookies?
Raspberry Rally inventory was distributed among councils based on council size and how successful their sales have been in the past.
While Girl Scouts of the Chesapeake Bay is a relatively small council, according to Wells, Delaware sales clocked in at 4,660 boxes of Raspberry Rally.
Despite those sales, some are disgruntled about the way the cookies were sold and feel it does not align with the spirit of the organization.
“I feel the way these cookies were handled is contrary to what the cookie program is supposed to be about. Our girls are supposed to sell cookies, not a computer,” said a Facebook user.
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“Bad business practice GS … thanks for making it my kid’s problem to apologize and explain that GSCB made us wait until today to order this cookie then not be able to follow through with the product,” said another.
“I combined my customers’ requests to minimize shipping costs. I’ve got a tally sheet for my customers. It’s a shame that kids would be penalized for pre-collecting order based on how you guys set up this cookie this year,” a comment read.
Girl Scouts policy states members are not supposed to purchase Raspberry Rally cookies and resell them to customers, a promise each troop is expected to uphold.
Although online comments suggest that some members did do this, causing others to ask how this was allowed and if the sales will be valid due to the rule-breaking, councils do not know what the intended use is when orders are bought in bulk and cannot prevent bulk sales, said Wells.
Did cookie controversy hurt local troops’ sales?
Even with the Raspberry Rally debacle, regional troops are still in good standing with their sales and near the end of a successful season.
“We have had a really successful cookie program locally, so it hasn’t affected our sales much,” said Wells.
