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Home / New Zealand

Hawke’s Bay Cookie Time seller Louis Gaffaney breaks national record

Michaela Gower
By Michaela Gower
Multimedia Journalist·Hawkes Bay Today·
24 Dec, 2023 12:56 AM2 mins to read

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Middlemore Hospital’s public plea, Christmas mayhem hits Auckland Airport and why Christmas dessert might be a bit pricier this year in the latest NZ Herald headlines. Video / AP / NZHerald

You might have seen him around and may have even bought a bucket of Cookie Time cookies from him, and if you did, you contributed to the record-breaking success of Louis Gaffaney.

Determined to sell in the name of Christmas cheer, he was able to break the official national record, selling almost 11,700 buckets and beating the record by 1611.

Louis Gaffaney now holds the record for the most cookie buckets sold at Christmas. Photo / Paul Taylor
Louis Gaffaney now holds the record for the most cookie buckets sold at Christmas. Photo / Paul Taylor

When Hawke’s Bay Today spoke to him on December 22, he predicted he would sell out, with only 380 buckets left across Hawke’s Bay.

He has been selling cookies since November 1, which included ordering them, delivering them and running stalls.

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“I’m just so busy trying to sell the last of them, and I haven’t really had a moment to celebrate.”

The 20-year-old has also raised enough money to donate 250 buckets of cookies to the Christmas Cheer Appeal.

He said his best tip for selling cookies was bantering with customers, and his secret to selling so many cookies was pretty straightforward.

“The more time you [spend] selling, the more buckets you will sell.”

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Gaffaney managed to get friends and family to help, and said his top-selling cookie was the original chocolate-chip flavour.

Louis Gaffaney has been selling cookie buckets since the beginning of November.
Louis Gaffaney has been selling cookie buckets since the beginning of November.

He remained humble and said, “It’s pretty cool - things tick along as usual and it doesn’t change a lot.”

While it might not change much for him, some of the money he raised will go towards helping others this Christmas.

This is the second year the Hawke’s Bay-born and bred student has taken on the job to make some holiday dough. Studying commerce, majoring in finance and commercial law in Wellington, he’s “back in the Bay working to save for next year”.

He says for him, Christmas is about spending quality time with friends and family.

He does plan to return next year and sell cookies and, who knows, maybe even break his own record.

Michaela Gower joined Hawke’s Bay Today in 2023 and is based out of the Hastings newsroom. She covers Dannevirke and Hawke’s Bay news and has a love for sharing stories about farming and rural communities.

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