For further information:

Girl Scouts of Northern Illinois 

Marketing & Communications

1-844-476-4463

customercare@girlscoutsni.org

Girl Scouts of Northern Illinois is kicking off the 2026 Girl Scout Cookie season on January 6 when consumers can support local Girl Scout entrepreneurs by purchasing their favorite cookies. Girl Scouts are now selling the new Exploremores™, filled with delicious flavors of chocolate, marshmallow, and toasted almond–flavored crème. We would love to work with you to cover this exciting news and show why it’s important to support Girl Scouts by purchasing cookies! 

Every Girl Scout Cookie purchase fuels local Girl Scouts’ adventures throughout the year. Girl Scouts build a better future for themselves, our community, and the world. More information is included in the press release below, including how customers in our area can purchase cookies. Would you be interested in covering this news? We’d be happy to coordinate interviews with current Girl Scouts for your coverage and/or offer cookie samples. We look forward to hearing from you! 

Girl Scouts of Northern Illinois Kicks Off National Cookie Season by Welcoming Exploremores™ to the Cookie Lineup and Adobe as National Sponsor 

Girl Scouts across northern Illinois embark on the highly anticipated 2026 Girl Scout Cookie season, channeling their entrepreneurial skills through creativity and exploration. 

Northern Illinois — Today, January 6, Girl Scouts of Northern Illinois follows the theme of Brave. Fierce. Fun! to kick off the 2026 Girl Scout Cookie™ season as Girl Scouts explore more possibilities through the largest girl-led entrepreneurial program in the world!

Exploremores™, a rocky road ice cream–inspired sandwich cookie, will join the legendary lineup for the 2026 Girl Scout Cookie season. Filled with delicious flavors of chocolate, marshmallow, and toasted almond–flavored crème, Exploremores reflect the spirit of exploration at the heart of every Girl Scout.

In addition to the exciting new cookie, the 2026 cookie lineup will include fan favorites such as refreshing Thin Mints^® (vegan!), caramel-y Samoas^®, peanut butter-stuffed Tagalongs^®, crunchy Do-si-dos^®, buttery Trefoils^®, toffee-chipped Toffee-tastics^® (gluten free, too!), and the caramel and brownie-inspired Adventurefuls™. All cookies are $6 per package.

 The Girl Scout Cookie Program^® provides invaluable entrepreneurial skills for Girl Scouts across the country and funds experiences such as service projects, troop travel, and summer camp. From a curious kindergartener, amazed by jellyfish at the local aquarium, to a middle schooler finding the courage to go on a first overnight trip with a troop, Girl Scouts know the road to discovery starts with exploration. Each cookie season, Girl Scouts develop important life skills like goal setting, decision making, money management, people skills, and business ethics through the Girl Scout Cookie Program. All proceeds from cookie sales stay with local troops to power Girl Scouts’ amazing experiences year-round.

Right now, Girl Scouts all over the world are exploring who they are, what they can do and all they can become. Your purchase helps them make the world a better place—one box of cookies at a time.

How to Purchase Girl Scout Cookies This Year

• If you know a Girl Scout, reach out!
• If you don’t know a Girl Scout, connect with local cookie entrepreneurs at www.girlscoutsni.org/buycookies, and they’ll add you to their customer list!
• Use the Girl Scout Cookie Finder by entering your zip code. There, you can find a troop selling at a nearby booth, purchase cookies to be shipped directly to you from a local troop, or donate cookies for community causes.
• You can also text COOKIES to 59618 to stay informed about Girl Scout Cookie news.

As this year’s national sponsor of the cookie program, Adobe will encourage Girl Scouts to express their individuality and think creatively as they pursue their goals this cookie season. Through a national educational video featured on the Digital Cookie^® platform, Adobe will equip Girl Scouts with essential skills in online communication and responsible digital design. By sharing these creative tools, Adobe is supporting Girl Scouts to become confident digital creators and entrepreneurs. 

Girl Scouts do more than sell delicious treats—they’re entrepreneurial powerhouses creating a more equitable future for themselves and the world. During Girl Scout Cookie season, each entrepreneur sets out to sell delicious cookies while also building entrepreneurial and business skills imperative for leadership and future success. All net revenues raised—100 percent of it—stays within the northern Illinois area.

We’re Girl Scouts of Northern Illinois

Girl Scouts bring their dreams to life and work together to build a better world. Through programs from coast to coast, Girl Scouts of all backgrounds and abilities can be themselves as they discover their strengths and rise to meet new challenges—whether they want to climb to the top of a tree or the top of their class, lace up their boots for a hike or advocate for climate justice, or make their first best friends. Backed by trusted adult volunteers, mentors, and millions of alums, Girl Scouts lead the way as they find their voices and make changes that affect the issues most important to them. Join, volunteer, or donate at www.girlscoutsni.org.

We serve 16 counties including parts or all of Boone, Carroll, Cook, DeKalb, DuPage, Jo Daviess, Kane, Kendall, Lake, LaSalle, Lee, McHenry, Ogle, Stephenson, Whiteside, and Winnebago. To volunteer, reconnect, donate, or join, visit www.girlscoutsni.org or call 844-GSNI-4-ME (844-476-4463).