GO BIG OR GO HOME – COOKIE TIME CO-FOUNDER’S 40TH BIRTHDAY ROADTRIP

Cookie Time is going big for its 40th birthday, launching a supersized special edition of its famous Original™ Chocolate Chunk Cookie and hitting the road to celebrate. [This time in a CoolBox Ute]

In the 1980s, Cookie Time’s 85g Original Chocolate Chunk Cookie was the first individually wrapped cookie marketed for sale in the NZ market, a category it still leads today. It’s New Zealand’s top selling cookies brand, and New Zealand’s most trusted cookies brand (Reader’s Digest Trusted Brands). The new special edition 120g cookie is 40% bigger than the original, available for a limited time.

In line with the launch, Cookie Time Co-Founder and Managing Director Guy Pope-Mayell and Creative Lead Suzanne Pope-Mayell head out on a nationwide road trip today, visiting franchisees throughout the country to commemorate the occasion.

It’s a move that harks back to Guy Pope-Mayell’s very first Cookie Time job, delivering cookies in the company’s beloved Mini Clubman. This time round it’s a Ute, and the back is filled with a secret stash of another big birthday surprise coming later this month.

“Back in 1983, delivering cookies was one of the best jobs. Our Mini Clubman was low to the ground, the doors made a satisfying ‘clunk’ when they closed and, best of all, the sound system was great.

“Fast-forward 40 years and Suzanne and I are hitting the road to celebrate with our 51 franchisees nationwide and to hand-deliver them our birthday cookies, plus a sneak preview of another big launch planned for later this month, breaking into a new treat category.”

Pope-Mayell says the launch planned later this month is a passion project he’s been working on for several years, but details will remain under wraps until then. Making the supersized cookie for immediate release was a no-brainer.

“Cookie Time is famed for its large cookies and generous chocolate chunks. Our birthday mantra is go big or go home, so what better way to celebrate than to go even bigger on the cookie that launched our business.

“We are humbled to be 40 years in business and firmly embraced as a Kiwi icon, still proudly family owned and NZ made, and growing faster than ever with our new Dunedin Cookie Bar and a rapidly expanding export portfolio.”

Cookie Time’s 51 franchised distributors handle all stock delivery, merchandising and marketing to supermarkets, dairies and service stations nationwide. Cookie Time is ranked New Zealand’s number one FMCG distributor, taking out the top spot in the 2021 and 2022 Coalface Consulting combined channel stores rankings.

Pope-Mayell says the number one ranking is a testament to the dedication of franchisees and the benefits of a franchised distribution model.

“We’re really proud of our franchisees who own their own businesses and go the distance each day to keep our products on shelves. They measure up against the big multinationals and they do it all without the teams of reps, delivery people and merchandisers that most multinationals have access to,” Pope-Mayell says.

“Our franchisees are an integral part of the Cookie Time family and we’re thrilled to take this birthday opportunity to sit down, share a meal and connect with all of them on a more personal level,” he says.

The Pope-Mayells kick off the birthday roadtrip in Auckland on 7 February, meeting northern franchisees, then travel south to check in with franchisees all the way through to Invercargill.

Source: Cookie Time press release February 2023. CoolBox NZ is a trusted supplier of Cookie Time Limited