Eggo waffles show up in Stranger Things because the Duffer Brothers liked eating them as kids, not because Kellogg’s paid for the placement. That distinction turned out to matter enormously — what started as an unplanned, organic detail in Eleven’s characterization eventually reversed years of declining sales for a struggling 65-year-old breakfast brand.
Table of Contents
- Why Eggo waffles became part of Eleven’s story
- How Kellogg’s discovered the connection after the fact
- The real sales numbers behind the Eggo boom
- How the partnership evolved once it became official
- Frequently asked questions about Eggo waffles in Stranger Things
Why Eggo waffles became part of Eleven’s story
Eggo waffles first appear in season 1 when Mike Wheeler offers Eleven food after finding her hiding in the woods, giving her the only thing he knows how to prepare himself — frozen waffles, straight from the box. According to accounts of the writing process, Matt and Ross Duffer included the detail purely because it felt true to the character and their own childhoods, not with any commercial partnership in mind.
The detail becomes a recurring motif throughout the season: Eleven is later shown using her telekinetic powers to shoplift boxes of Eggos from a local supermarket, and eats them alone in the woods while hiding from Hawkins Lab. By season 2, Jim Hopper is shown leaving boxes of Eggos out in the woods for Eleven as a quiet peace offering — reinforcing the food’s place as a symbol of comfort for a character who spent her entire childhood without access to ordinary things like frozen breakfast waffles.
How Kellogg’s discovered the connection after the fact
Eggo waffles’ presence in the show wasn’t a paid product placement — by most accounts, Kellogg’s wasn’t even aware the reference was happening until after season 1 had already aired. Once the show became a hit and fans began associating Eleven’s character directly with the brand, Kellogg’s leaned into the free publicity, tweeting out scenes from the show that featured their product and beginning to actively engage with the connection on social media.
That engagement escalated considerably by season 2. Kellogg’s partnered directly with Netflix on a joint marketing push, setting up an Eggo food truck at the season’s premiere event, releasing a Hasbro-produced Eggo-themed Stranger Things card game, and airing a joint commercial that used a classic vintage Eggo advertisement to promote the new season.
“When Eggo waffles became a fixture on the hit show ‘Stranger Things,’ we quickly leveraged the resulting consumer engagement,” Kellogg’s CEO Steven Cahillane said. “It sparked conversations.”
The real sales numbers behind the Eggo boom
Eggo waffles had been on a steady sales decline in the years leading up to Stranger Things’ 2016 premiere. According to Nielsen data reported at the time, sales turned around almost immediately after the show’s release, with reported growth including a 14% jump during the fourth quarter of 2017 and a 9.4% average growth rate during the first four months of 2018 — both periods that lined up closely with the show’s second season debuting in October 2017.
That growth wasn’t sustained indefinitely, though. By May 2018, well into the gap between seasons, Kellogg’s frozen waffle, pancake, and French toast sales growth had slowed to just 1.3% year-over-year, a steep drop analysts attributed to the natural fading of cultural relevance during a lengthy hiatus between new episodes. Eggo and its sibling brand Morningstar Farms made up roughly 6% of Kellogg’s $13 billion in annual sales at the time, a modest but meaningful slice of the company’s business that had found unexpected new life through an unpaid television reference.
How the partnership evolved once it became official
Once the relationship between Stranger Things and Eggo became a recognized marketing opportunity, Kellogg’s built increasingly elaborate campaigns around each new season. Ahead of season 2’s premiere, the company released eleven different themed waffle recipes — a deliberate nod to Eleven’s name — designed for fans hosting viewing parties. The company also released Eggo-branded merchandise and continued coordinating social media activity timed to each new season’s release.
Analysts and marketing writers have since pointed to the Stranger Things and Eggo relationship as a notable case study precisely because of how it began — without any commercial arrangement, driven purely by a creative choice that happened to resonate. That origin has been credited with making the eventual partnership feel more authentic to fans than a typical paid placement might have, since the association between Eleven and Eggo waffles was already deeply embedded in the character’s story before any business relationship existed at all.
For more on the character whose love of Eggo waffles became one of the show’s most memorable details, Read more: Eleven’s Origin and Powers covers her full journey across the series. And for another real-world brand tie-in the show generated organically, Read more: WSQK breaks down the real radio station Netflix built around the show’s fifth season.
CBR’s coverage of the Eggo sales boom goes deeper into the specific quarterly numbers behind the phenomenon, and it’s worth reading in full here.
Stranger Things 5 | Official Trailer | Netflix
Frequently asked questions about Eggo waffles in Stranger Things
Was Eggo a paid sponsor of Stranger Things? No. According to reporting on the show’s marketing history, the Eggo waffles reference wasn’t a paid product placement — the Duffer Brothers included the detail organically, and Kellogg’s only capitalized on it after the show had already become a hit.
How much did Eggo sales increase because of Stranger Things? Reported figures show Eggo-related sales grew by 14% during the fourth quarter of 2017 and 9.4% during the first four months of 2018, both periods coinciding with the show’s second season.
Why does Eleven love Eggo waffles in Stranger Things? Eleven’s attachment to Eggo waffles stems from Mike Wheeler offering them to her as her first real food after she escapes Hawkins Lab, establishing the food as a symbol of comfort and normalcy she’d never previously experienced.
Did Kellogg’s create any special products because of Stranger Things? Yes. Kellogg’s released eleven themed waffle recipes ahead of season 2, partnered with Hasbro on an Eggo-branded Stranger Things card game, and ran a joint marketing campaign with Netflix around the season’s premiere.
Did Eggo sales stay high throughout the show’s run? No. Sales growth slowed significantly during gaps between seasons, dropping to just 1.3% by May 2018, though each new season’s release tended to reignite consumer interest in the brand.
