Crumbs! Girl Guides to stop selling biscuits

Girl Guides plans to stop selling biscuits next year, their national board announced on Saturday.

A statement released by Girl Guides stated that GirlGuiding New Zealand wants to allow its members and volunteers to focus more on its core purpose and programmes.

"Following careful consideration and analysis, the GirlGuiding New Zealand Board has decided to stop fundraising through the sale of Guide biscuits by its membership," the statement said.

Girl Guides chief executive Susan Coleman said the organisation would like to acknowledge and thank the Griffin's Food Company for its longstanding partnership with GirlGuiding New Zealand.

"We would also like to extend our thanks to our members and volunteers for their support selling biscuits over the years, as well as all the people who have purchased our product," said Coleman.

Guide biscuits are expected to remain available for sale until early 2019 and will continue to be manufactured during 2018

Managing director at Griffin's Brett Henshaw said it had been an honour and a privilege to have manufactured the iconic Guide Biscuits for more than 60 years.

Well-known celebrity cook Jo Seagar said it was a terrible shame the quintessential biscuits were being discontinued.

"I used to be a Girl Guide and I spent many years selling the biscuits when I was growing up in Hawke's Bay, it was a big fundraising thing and the biscuits were a part of the fun," she said.

Seagar said she had fond memories of her mother buying the biscuits in bulk and then turning them into fudges and cheesecakes.

She said she was doubtful the Guides would be able to find a fundrasier as successful and popular as the biscuits.

"Making that much money off the biscuits, how will you get better than that? Good luck to them, it's a lot of money."

Distraught members of the public have taken to social media to express their despair about the fate of the biscuits.

As a former Girl Guide and lifelong lover of Girl Guide biscuits, this is genuinely terrible news. 🍪💔 pic.twitter.com/LFk3yvtXQv

— Hannah Martin (@hellohannahm) May 12, 2018

Apparently Girl Guide biscuits are cancelled, too. Today is hard.

— The friend who needs magnolias (@Styla73) May 11, 2018

Kiwi chef Simon Gault said it was a real shame that the Girl Guides planned to stop selling the biscuits, "because they were yummy".

"But they've got a lot of sugar in them so it's probably quite a responsible thing for them to do, but they need to have a re-think and come up with something else because everybody likes to support the Girl Guide biscuits."