Girl Scout Cookie season is here in Philly, but if you’re looking for the colorful pile of boxes along with the cute smiling faces of the cookie sellers in person, you might be out of luck.
In 2021, the Girl Scouts of Eastern Pennsylvania have kicked off their first-ever fully virtual cookie season. Being the largest girl-led entrepreneurship program in the country, the Girl Scouts have figured out ways to shift their business model and still get their in-demand treats out to Philadelphians and beyond. The new methods include taking delivery orders through a new national collaboration with Grubhub, purchasing cookies from a local troop for direct shipment, or even curbside pick-up.
“The pivot to innovative approaches is even more important this year. Cookie bosses as young as five years old are continuing to embrace their entrepreneurial spirits and stay connected to their communities amid the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Kim E. Fraites-Dow, CEO of Girl Scouts of Eastern Pennsylvania in a statement. “We hope the delicious Girl Scout Cookie flavors, as well as girls’ skillful and persuasive sales methods, provide some comfort and levity to the local communities during this time. I can’t wait to see how our girl-led businesses become a success while bringing joy to the community.”
If you’re craving some caramel delights, or maybe looking for some thin mints, getting your hands on the sugary desserts is still almost as easy as purchasing a few boxes on your way out of a store. According to the release, supporters can place orders and pay online and select either shipping or curbside contactless pickup. They can also opt to purchase cookies that the council will then donate to Hometown Heroes, select local nonprofits and first responders. The proceeds from each purchase stay local with the troop and Girl Scouts of Eastern Pennsylvania to power its essential leadership programming.
If you’re looking to keep your purchasing power virtual however, buyers can also head to gsep.org to find a local troop to purchase from through the Smart Cookie platform for direct shipment or donation to local organizations. As a bonus, the organization is also underwriting all credit card processing fees for online sales, and if customers select shipping at checkout, they will pay 50% of shipping purchases of six packages or more.
Customers can also get their hands on a new cookie that has come out this year. This year, GSEP will offer the new Toast-Yay!™ cookie, a French toast–inspired cookie. According to the release, the GSEP has also partnered with bakeries across our nine-county footprint, including The Sugary here in Philly to develop custom Toast-Yay! creations to celebrate the new cookie and female entrepreneurship.
Getting the new creations, and sampling the old favorites can be done easily and almost instantaneously as well. Consumers can order Girl Scout Cookies for delivery on Grubhub.com or the Grubhub app. The organization has figured out their own innovative way to make it work on the food ordering and delivery platform. Being wildly experienced in managing e-commerce, local Girl Scouts will be able to track and fulfill orders, manage inventory, and more, all using Grubhub’s back-end technology. Grubhub has also reportedly waived all fees for the GSUSA to make this new delivery option feasible for sales without reducing troops’ and councils’ proceeds.
The release states that Girl Scout Cookie season is recognized across Girl Scouts of Eastern Pennsylvania’s nine-county footprint (Berks, Bucks, Carbon, Chester, Delaware, Lehigh, Montgomery, Northampton, and Philadelphia) from Jan. 21 through March 14. For more information on how to purchase cookies in your community and support the Girl Scouts of Eastern Pennsylvania, customers can visit gsep.org/findcookies
