Cookie Time celebrates 40th birthday with two new products

A supersized Cookie Time cookie is about to hit the shelves to celebrate the Kiwi brand’s 40th birthday tomorrow and a second ‘‘top secret’’ product will be released later this month.

The iconic 85g original chocolate chunk cookie was first baked in 1983 and, 40 years on, the classic is getting a 40% supersize to 120g. The waist-busting special will be baked this week, and will be ready for shelves and cookies munchers the following week for a limited time.

But the mega birthday edition cookie is only the first surprise for the business that started small in Christchurch and is now a multimillion-dollar operation sending products across the world. On February 21 Cookie Time is releasing a ‘‘top secret’’ brand-new product that has been three years in the making, cofounder and managing directer Guy Pope-Mayell said.

In a nod to the business’ humble roots – delivering freshly baked cookies to 70 Christchurch dairies each morning – tomorrow Pope-Mayell will head off on a two-week national road trip delivering a new secret product to 51 franchised distributors.

Pope-Mayell is ‘‘so confident’’ the new product could be as big a success as the original chocolate chunk cookie the company has produced half a million units of it.

The family business has held the same shareholding for 40 years. It was founded by Guy’s older brother, Michael Mayell, and Guy came on board within a year. They were aged 21 and 19 at the time. Fast-forward four decades, sales are worth $55 million, growing at 25% per annum, and selling to domestic and international markets.