Lowrey vs Royal Dansk Butter Cookies: What Is the Difference?

Lowrey and Royal Dansk are two butter-cookie brands with distinctive origins, recipes, textures and presentation styles.

Royal Dansk is widely recognised for Danish butter cookies presented in its classic blue tin. Lowrey offers handcrafted New Zealand butter cookies made with New Zealand cultured butter and packed in red steel gift tins.

This independent guide compares publicly available product information from both brands. It is not a laboratory test, blind tasting or quality ranking. The aim is to explain the differences so that you can choose according to your own preferences.

Product recipes, packaging and availability may change. Always check the current product label and the manufacturer’s official website before purchasing, especially if you have allergies or dietary requirements.

Lowrey vs Royal Dansk at a glance

Neither format is automatically better. They are designed to provide different butter-cookie experiences.

1. Where are Lowrey and Royal Dansk cookies made?

Lowrey Butter Cookies are handcrafted in New Zealand. Their piped shape and delicate structure are part of the product’s distinctive style.

Royal Dansk states that its butter cookies are made in Denmark and are rooted in Danish baking traditions. The brand has used its recognisable blue tin since 1966.

The main difference is therefore not simply New Zealand versus Denmark. The two brands also offer different recipes, textures, assortments and presentation formats.

2. How do their ingredients differ?

Lowrey uses New Zealand cultured butter. Across the Lowrey range, the proportion of cultured butter varies by flavour. Cultured butter contributes a developed dairy aroma and rich butter flavour, while the recipe and making process create the cookies’ delicate structure.

The Lowrey Original Butter Cookies recipe contains butter, flour, corn starch and icing sugar. Flavoured varieties contain additional ingredients relevant to their flavour, such as cocoa, coffee, matcha, freeze-dried raspberry or black sesame seeds.

Royal Dansk’s official product page lists ingredients for its Danish Butter Cookies, including wheat flour, butter, sugar, coconut, invert sugar, salt, a leavening agent and vanilla flavouring. Exact ingredient lists may differ by product, pack size or market.

These ingredient lists should not be treated as a simple quality ranking. They reflect different recipes and product formats. Anyone with an allergy or dietary restriction should rely on the label of the specific product they intend to purchase.

Learn more about cultured butter and how it differs from regular butter.

3. Are Lowrey cookies crisp or crunchy?

No. Lowrey Butter Cookies are not designed to have a hard, crisp or crunchy bite.

Their texture is delicate, crumbly and melt-in-the-mouth. Because of that delicate structure, some movement or breakage may occur during transport. This does not change the flavour or indicate that the cookies were intended to be firm.

Royal Dansk describes its own Danish Butter Cookies as crisp and buttery. Its official website also describes the classic assortment as offering different shapes and styles, including the Vanilla Ring, Coconut, Finnish Style, Country Style and Pretzel-style cookie.

This creates a useful distinction:

• Choose Lowrey if you prefer a very delicate, crumbly cookie that melts readily in the mouth.
• Consider Royal Dansk if you prefer the crisp texture and assorted cookie styles described by the brand.

These are differences in product style, not a conclusion that one texture is universally superior.

4. How do the flavour selections compare?

Lowrey offers six flavours:

• Original
• Coffee
• Chocolate
• Matcha
• Raspberry
• Black Sesame

Each Lowrey tin contains one flavour rather than a mixture. This allows customers to choose a particular flavour or combine several tins when creating a gift.

Royal Dansk’s classic blue tin takes a different approach. It contains an assortment of cookie shapes and styles. According to the brand’s official website, the classic assortment includes varieties such as Vanilla Ring, Coconut, Finnish Style, Country Style and Pretzel-style cookies.

Someone who wants one clearly defined flavour may prefer Lowrey’s single-flavour tins. Someone who enjoys several traditional cookie styles in one container may prefer an assorted format.

5. How do the tins and gifting styles differ?

Both brands use reusable metal tins, but their visual identities are different.

Lowrey uses red steel tins with gold-coloured branding. The tins are designed for gifting, sharing and keeping after the cookies have been enjoyed. Standard Lowrey tins contain 430g, while Black Sesame Butter Cookies are packed in a 360g tin.

Royal Dansk is associated with its classic blue tin. The brand describes this resealable and reusable packaging as an important part of its history and identity.

The choice between them is largely personal:

• Lowrey’s red tin provides a New Zealand gift presentation with one selected flavour.
• Royal Dansk’s blue tin offers a familiar Danish presentation with assorted cookie styles.

For Lowrey gifting options, explore the Lowrey Butter Cookies collection.

6. Which butter-cookie tin should you choose?

Choose according to the qualities that matter most to you rather than relying on a general claim that one brand is “better”.

Lowrey may suit you if you are looking for:

• Butter cookies handcrafted in New Zealand
• New Zealand cultured butter
• A delicate, crumbly and melt-in-the-mouth texture
• Single-flavour tins
• Flavours such as Coffee, Chocolate, Matcha, Raspberry or Black Sesame
• A red New Zealand gift tin

Royal Dansk may suit you if you are looking for:

• Danish-made butter cookies
• The crisp texture described by Royal Dansk
• Several cookie shapes and styles in one assortment
• The brand’s familiar blue-tin presentation

The most useful distinction is not premium versus ordinary or winner versus loser. It is the difference between two recognisable products made for different preferences.

Frequently asked questions

What is the main difference between Lowrey and Royal Dansk?

Lowrey offers handcrafted New Zealand butter cookies made with cultured butter, with each red tin containing one flavour. Royal Dansk offers Danish butter cookies with several cookie shapes and styles in its classic blue-tin assortment.

Are Lowrey Butter Cookies crispy?

No. Lowrey Butter Cookies are designed to be delicate, crumbly and melt-in-the-mouth rather than hard, crisp or crunchy.

Does Royal Dansk describe its cookies as crispy?

Yes. Royal Dansk’s official website describes its butter cookies as crisp or crispy. That description applies to Royal Dansk’s product and should not be used to describe Lowrey’s delicate texture.

Do Lowrey tins contain assorted flavours?

No. Each Lowrey tin contains one flavour. Customers can select from Original, Coffee, Chocolate, Matcha, Raspberry and Black Sesame, subject to availability.

Do both brands use butter?

Yes. Lowrey uses New Zealand cultured butter, while butter appears in the ingredient information published on Royal Dansk’s official product page. Recipes and butter proportions should be checked on the current label for the specific product and market.

Is Lowrey associated with Royal Dansk?

No. Lowrey and Royal Dansk are separate brands. This article is an independent comparison based on publicly available information and does not imply affiliation, sponsorship or endorsement by Royal Dansk.

Sources and comparison disclosure

Information about Lowrey is based on Lowrey’s current product information. Information about Royal Dansk is based on the brand’s official website and official Danish Butter Cookies product page accessed on 28 July 2026:

• Royal Dansk official website
• Royal Dansk cookie information
• Royal Dansk Danish Butter Cookies product page
• Lowrey Butter Cookies Guide

Royal Dansk is referenced only to identify the product being discussed. Lowrey Foods is not affiliated with, sponsored by or endorsed by Royal Dansk or its owner. All third-party names and trademarks belong to their respective owners. This comparison does not use independent sensory testing or laboratory analysis and should not be interpreted as a quality ranking.