Each season, more than a million Girl Scouts sell about 200 million boxes of cookies and bring in over $800 million in just a few months. This episode traces the business from a 1917 bake sale in Muskogee, Oklahoma, through licensed commercial baking in 1936, the switch to calendars and war bonds during World War II rationing, and the standardization forced by the baby boom.

We break down the two-bakery system, in which 112 regional councils each choose Little Brownie Bakers or ABC Bakers, and explain why names, recipes and prices vary from town to town. We also cover how revenue is split, the Digital Cookie platform, record-setting sellers, and the controversies over trans fats, palm oil, and a 2025 lawsuit.

• Why the same cookie can be sold as Samoas in one place and Caramel deLites in another
• How Thin Mints make up about 25% of all sales, and why prices can change across a town line
• How revenue is divided among the bakers, the local troops, and the regional councils
• How two 11-year-old Scouts pushed the organization toward sustainable palm oil
• The facts behind the March 2025 class action, which relied on a study that was not peer reviewed