If you’ve spent any amount of time eating Girl Scout Cookies, you most likely have favorites. If you take your GSC fix very seriously, you already know that two separate bakeries supply the Girl Scouts of America councils with their cookies each year: the Little Brownie Bakers and the ABC Bakers.
Where you live determines which Girl Scout Cookies you see and eat.
You’re Not Imagining It; The Cookies Really Are Different
Anyone who has tasted both ABC and Little Brownie Baker’s Thin Mints can tell you that they’re different , but they wouldn’t be able to tell you why.
Luckily, the LA Times thoroughly researched the differences and put together a handy infographic to show you the dissimilarities between cookies from each baker. Calories, fat, sugar, protein, and even the cost to make each cookie can vary between the two bakers.
Read the full LA Times article to find out info on Do-si-dos, Trefoils, and Savannah Smiles.
Each Girl Scout Council Chooses A Baker Every Three Years
Here’s where it gets complicated. Girl Scout Councils around the country choose which baker supplies their cookies once every three years, when the current contract expires. Southern Maryland Online reports that Little Brownie Bakers is owned by Kellogg, while ABC Bakers is owned by Interbake Food. Both companies try to beat each other on customer service and pricing to win contracts from individual Girl Scout councils any time they’re available.
Sometimes a baker succeeds in winning a council away from the other baker, which can be confusing and frustrating for both Girl Scouts and customers, since the cookies taste different and have different names.
Julie Carson, director of sales for the Girl Scout Council of the Nation’s Capital, told Southern Maryland Online:
So councils are aware that changing bakeries isn’t a choice to make lightly. But let’s not forget that the entire reason Girl Scouts sell cookies is to help fund Girl Scout programs. When the Girl Scouts of Eastern Missouri changed bakers, director of sales Patrice Miller told Southern Maryland Online that the change wasn’t easy.
To check out the interactive map that the LA Times put together and find out exactly which bakery supplies your favorite Girl Scout cookies, click here.