And no-one could be happier than 79-year-old Maria Barta.
The bear, with his signature polka-dot bowtie and "dum-dee-doo" catchphrase, is close to her heart because he is believed to be the brainchild of her late husband, Dunedin man Jim Hinkley.
In April last year, the company removed images of Cookie Bear from all its Chockie Chippies, Hundreds & Thousands, Stripes and Shrewsbury packaging.
At the time, Griffin’s said it wanted to "refresh" its packaging to make it more appealing to a wider range of Kiwi biscuit lovers.
But after "a year-long hibernation", Cookie Bear would return to New Zealand shop shelves this week, a Griffin’s spokesman said.
"Cookie Bear’s return comes after the widespread response to his removal from packets in April last year, where many New Zealanders had their say about Cookie Bear’s enduring meaning to them.
"While Griffin’s knew Cookie Bear was loved by Kiwis, his time away revealed just how deep that connection runs."
Among the thousands of comments shared online, many New Zealanders spoke about Cookie Bear as more than just packaging.
"People described him as part of their childhood, a familiar face in kitchen cupboards and a small but steady presence across generations.
"With an overwhelming response, Griffin’s knew they needed to bring him back.
He was so well loved, he became the mascot for the Cookie Bear Club during the 1970s and 1980s, which had more than 160,000 members at its peak; and over the years, he has become one of the most recognisable characters in New Zealand supermarkets.
Cookie Bear has a close connection to Dunedin because he was created for the biscuits made at the Hudson’s biscuit factory in the city.
While credit for his creation is officially given to the late Carlton-Carruthers du Chateau Ltd advertising agency director Don Donovan, Mrs Barta believed the credit should go to her late husband, Jim Hinkley, who was a marketing director for Cadbury Schweppes Hudson in Dunedin.
She said he came up with the idea after seeing the Andy Williams Show in 1969, when Hungarian acrobat and stuntman Janos Prohaska began appearing in a bear costume, asking for cookies.
"He immediately thought that was a great idea to market Hudson’s biscuits.
"Ted Barringer, who was the general manager of Cadbury from 1963 to 1980 — and a lovely, lovely man and as honest as the day is long — in his book Sweet Success, he said that Jim was ‘the father of Cookie Bear’."
Mrs Barta said she was so pleased to see the public still found value in Cookie Bear, and even more delighted that he had not ended up on the same pile as many other discarded New Zealand advertising icons.
"I’m pleased to see that he’s come out of a year-long hibernation, because he’s so close to my heart.
"He’s not the Cookie Bear that I know, but as an icon, I’m pleased that he hasn’t been lost to the New Zealand public.
"I’m so pleased that Jim’s legacy is continuing."
