Cookie Time Most Trusted Cookie Brand And Enters The Top 20

Cookie Time was today named the winner for the second year running of the NZ’s Most Trusted Cookies category in the Reader’s Digest Most Trusted Brands Awards.

Cookie Time also entered the Reader’s Digest prestigious Top 20 Brands list for the first time. Now in its 40th year of business, Cookie Time has rapidly climbed the Top Brands rankings during the past four years.

Guy Pope-Mayell, Cookie Time Managing Director, says the results are extraordinary.

“Prior to 2018, we weren’t even in the top 100. To make this much progress in four years to now be part of the Top 20 is exceptional, and a testament to the huge investment we’ve made in the business.

“Our bakery team have excelled, despite the challenges of Covid, and our sales team continues to drive growth. Our big brand work has been supported by strategic partnerships, social media and online/digital campaigns. At the coalface, our franchise network is the #1 FMCG distributor*,” he says.

“We’re really proud to join the finest and most iconic brands in the Top 20, and look forward to seeing where this takes us.”

The Trusted Brands Cookies category was introduced in 2021, with Cookie Time the inaugural winner. Previously, Cookie Time had been considered part of the ‘Biscuits’ category.

Pope-Mayell says judging cookies in the biscuits category had been like judging wine in a beer category.

“Biscuits and cookies have some very distinct differences. We have incorrectly been called a biscuits company by many over the years, so it’s great to have this cookies category bedded in.”

So, what is the difference between cookies and biscuits?

“Cookies generally have a softer texture, more depth and look homemade. The treat element comes from inclusions, like generous chocolate chunks, and they evoke homestyle comfort and childhood memories,” says Pope-Mayell.

“Biscuits in contrast are generally thin, hard and crunchy and look quite uniform. They are generally a quick eat, and the treat element comes from enrobing (enclosing in chocolate) or having a filling sandwiched between two biscuits,” he says.

The Cookie Time business was launched on 7 February 1983, with 70 jars of cookies delivered to 70 Christchurch stores. The Original Chocolate Chunk Cookie was the first cookie designed and marketed for individual sale in NZ, a category Cookie Time still leads today. In 1983, Cookie Time’s first year of production, 500,000 of the large size Original Chocolate Chunk Cookies were baked. Now it bakes around 30 million large cookies a year.

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