The Scouts are not happy about the sold-out cookie on eBay
The Rally Cookie Crisis: Girl Scouts Need Help to Explain the Seasonal Plans for a Raspberry Flavored Spin on the Thin Mint
The much-hyped Rally, a raspberry-flavored spin on the Thin Mint, was always supposed to be a limited-edition cookie. Girl Scouts leadership might have taken interest in it by surprise because of a new online ordering system.
As demand surged, with some cookies even ending up on eBay, in some cases listed for about $40 per box, supply stayed the same because cookie makers couldn’t quickly pump out more Rallies. ABCBakers is one of the Scouts manufacturers and it needs plenty of time to make limited-edition cookies. The other, Little Brownie Bakers, said bad weather caused power outages at a Kentucky plant, contributing to other inventory issues that lead to tight supply.
As a result, the Rallies sold out rapidly, leaving scouts and parents to explain the situation to annoyed shoppers even as they tried to make sense of it themselves.
The process of explaining there are no Rallies available for young scouts is particularly frustrating, according to the scout’s parent. We tell people about the situation when they ask for the new cookie and they will not buy anything. It is disappointing for the girls.
Some parents have been frustrated not only by the shortages, but by what they say is piecemeal communication from Girl Scouts USA. And after years of Covid-related disruptions, their own patience is wearing thin.
Terry Esper, associate professor of logistics at the Fisher College of Business of the Ohio State University, said that it was difficult to predict demand for the Rallies because there was a new way to buy them.
The ease of online ordering may have attracted more customers. Plus, Girl Scouts built a lot of hype with the limited-time offer, creating a sense of urgency, Esper noted.
ABC fulfilled the “seasonal plan that was communicated to councils in June 2022” in regard to the Rallies, says an FAQ dated February 16 on the Girl Scouts Iowa site. “We cannot produce more at this time, as we do not have unique materials and packaging. The lead times are too long and can’t be produced in time for the rest of the season.
Everett, the scout parent, orders cookies for three troops in Southeastern Michigan. She ended up getting a few cases of Raspberry Rallies but other families in her troop could not.
This is just another disruption for Everett, who said part of her initial cookie order went unfilled last year, meaning that cookies were missing from early cookie booths and only showed up weeks later.
Chad Huset, whose two daughters are scouts in the Minneapolis area, watched his daughters field question after question about the unavailable Rallies at a recent cookie-selling event.
He canceled an order for Rallies for his wife earlier in the season. An FAQ page for the Wisconsin Girl Scouts explains that ABC’s selling platform did not immediately shut down access to customers ordering products because of a time lapse.
Huset’s wife received a similar explanation following the cancellation in a series of emails. CNN was asked by ABC to comment on the story.
The situation was a chance for him to teach the scouts how to embrace the challenge. Scouts in her daughter’s troop have been encouraging shoppers who ask for the Rally to try the Adventureful, introduced last year, instead.
