Meet the metro Atlanta Girl Scouts featured on new Exploremores cookie box
It’s Girl Scout Cookie season, and this year, there’s a new cookie that features three Atlanta-area Girl Scouts on the box.
Exploremores is a rocky road ice cream–inspired sandwich cookie filled with chocolate, marshmallow, and toasted almond–flavored crème.
And, “It’s yummy,” said Etta, a 7-year-old Girl Scout from Fulton County.
Etta, along with Armani, 8, of Cobb County, and Brianna, 9, of Coweta County, were chosen as the “faces” of Exploremores and appear on boxes nationwide.
It’s quite an honor for any Girl Scout, but particularly those from Georgia, the home state of Girl Scout founder Juliette Gordon Low.
Having their photo go wherever Girl Scout Cookies are sold is “amazing,” Etta said.
“I really like it,” Brianna said.
Armani has been busy signing her autograph on boxes of Exploremores cookies. Her mother, Chalyse Taylor, who also serves as Armani’s troopleader, bought a case to ship to family members so they could have a keepsake box.
Girl Scouts have been taking cookie orders since January and also sell at makeshift booths in front of restaurants, grocery stores and other shopping areas.
Already, Exploremores are selling better in Atlanta than other new cookies have in the past, said Leslie Gilliam, communications director of Girl Scouts of Greater Atlanta.
“Exploremores has been the most popular (cookie) this year, just because of the girls being on the box,” Taylor said.
The three girls were among dozens of Girl Scouts who participated in a photo shoot in Atlanta last year sponsored by Girl Scouts USA.
These photo shoots were held in cities across the country and were open to any Girl Scout who wanted to represent the organization.
The girls didn’t know they would be on the cookie boxes until they received them in December.
Photos are used worldwide to market Girl Scout activities, cookies, new badges and more.
“Girl Scouts is committed to showing real Girl Scouts — including adult volunteers — on its website and in promotional materials,” Gilliam said.
“There’s no better advertisement for our mission than using real faces, real stories, real Girl Scouts. It’s authentic, and girls can see themselves reflected in them.”
The one photo every Girl Scout hopes to be chosen for is the coveted cookie box cover, Gilliam added.
The Exploremores cover was shot by award-winning Atlanta photographer Kate T. Parker, who is known for her New York Times bestselling photobook, “Strong is the New Pretty.”
Atlanta last had Girl Scouts on the cover of Raspberry Rally, a limited-edition cookie available for one season in 2023.
Each year, more than 200 million boxes of Girl Scout Cookies are sold, and the Girl Scouts of Greater Atlanta expects to sell around 3 million boxes through March.
The 2026 Girl Scout Cookie lineup also includes favorites such as Thin Mints, Samoas, Tagalongs and more. Each box is $6, the same price as last year.
Profits stay local, with a portion going directly to the troops where the cookies were sold.
In Greater Atlanta, funds support financial assistance for girls, two camps, a horseback riding program, a girl-focused STEM Expo, multiple council activities, and adult background checks and training for leaders.
The girls featured on Exploremores said they look forward to camping and horseback riding with their troops, and the cookie profits help offset the cost.
Troops also use the sales proceeds for community service projects.
Girl Scouts also can win prizes for cookie sales.
Brianna hopes to sell 2,026 boxes and earn a trip to Universal Studios. Last year, she and her sister sold enough cookies to earn a free trip to Disney World.
Each cookie season also helps Girl Scouts develop life skills, including people skills, business ethics, money management and entrepreneurship.
Girl Scouts of Greater Atlanta serves 34 Georgia counties and a portion of Polk County, Tennessee.
For more information, visit girlscoutsatl.org
