As the Girl Scouts prepare to mark the 100th anniversary of selling cookies, the organization in Northeast Ohio will mark another historic milestone — the introduction of $5 boxes of the specialty baked goodies.
The old standbys are back again — Thin Mints, Samoas, Tagalongs, Do-si-dos, Trefoils and Savannah Smiles.
They will still cost $4 a box — the same as last year.
But the new kids in the troop, the Girl Scout S’mores and Toffee-tastic, will cost $5 a box.
The gluten-free Toffee-tastic with crunchy toffee bits was introduced on a limited basis as a pilot last year.
The Girl Scout S’mores features a crunchy graham sandwich with a creamy chocolate and marshmallow filling.
All the cookies are baked by Little Brownie Bakers.
Kimberley Graves, spokeswoman for Girl Scouts of Northeast Ohio, said this is the first time a $5 box is being sold throughout the region, but these are some pretty special cookies.
“Our specialty cookies do cost a little more than the others due to the expensive nature of the ingredients, separate baking process and additional distribution costs,” she said. “The Girl Scout S’mores and Toffee-tastic cookies cost our council more than twice as much as the core cookies, which are $4 per box.”
Last year Girl Scouts in the 18-county region that includes Summit, Portage, Medina and Stark counties sold some 2.6 million boxes of cookies.
Girl Scouts will officially begin taking pre-orders for the cookies on Jan. 4 with the cookie booths opening in March. The campaign runs through April 2.
Cookie lovers can call 1-888-9-THIN MINT to find a local troop or visit gsneo.org once the sales begin.
Last year, Girl Scouts in Northeast Ohio sent 58,313 boxes of cookies to those serving in the military through the organization’s Operation: Sweet Appreciation.
Local troops get 17.5 percent of the sale of each box, with 30 percent covering the expense of producing the cookie. The remainder is split between administrative expenses (9.25 percent), membership and troop support (25 percent), outdoor and other programming (14.5 percent) and volunteer programs (3.75 percent).
Five years after founding the organization, Juliette Gordon Low sold the first cookie in 1917 to help fund the then-fledgling organization and the rest is history.
“The Girl Scout cookie program is essentially a business built by girls,” said Jane Christyson, who heads the Northeast Ohio region, in a statement. “Girls who participate set goals and decide how their profits will be used to support their activities, which often include giving back through service projects. Because it’s girl-led, they’re learning to be effective leaders, manage finances, and gain self-sufficiency and confidence in handling money.”
Craig Webb, who is a Do-si-dos kind of guy, can be reached at cwebb@thebeaconjournal.com or 330-996-3547.