The UpshotGirl scouts cut back on cookies
The economic downturn has claimed another victim: Thank U Berry Munch Girl Scout cookies.
In an effort to cut costs, several Girl Scout councils are cutting the types of cookies they sell. Among the brands on the chopping block: Thank U Berry Munch, Dulce de Leche, and several more. The goal is for the Girl Scouts to simplify their sales process and, in the process, make more money (tutoring from sales professionals probably won't hurt, either).
An article from The Wall Street Journal explains that it's not just the roster of cookies that's being trimmed; the Girl Scouts are also cutting back on the packaging. At least one variety will come in plastic packaging instead of the familiar cardboard box. The WSJ writes that this change will "save on the cost of 150 tons of paperboard."
Before you go storming Girl Scout headquarters with torches, keep in mind that the brands the Girl Scouts have elected to keep make up a whopping 77 percent of all sales. Thin Mints will still be around. Same thing with Tagalongs (the peanut butter cookies), Samoas, Lemon Chalet Cremes, Do-Si-Dos, and Trefoils. It's really just the marketing duds, like Dulce de Leche, that several Girl Scout councils have elected to retire. (And one can't help but think that Thank You Berry Munch got the heave-ho for being one pun over the line.)
But are they really duds? We took a look at the Web searches and found that some of the most popular cookies in Search are the types that will no longer be sold by some troops. Thin Mints, arguably the most popular of all Girl Scout cookies, are some of the least searched for. Here's the list based on a week's worth of Search data:
