After only two seasons, Stranger Things has become one of Netflix's most popular shows, and it's no surprise that elements from the series have become popular with real-life viewers. While there probably aren't too many people who embraced the Stranger Things craze by growing Steve Harrington-esque mullets or going monster-hunting, there have apparently been plenty who embraced their inner Eleven by indulging in some Eggos. Unfortunately for the frozen waffle industry, however, Stranger Things is stuck in another hiatus, and that has meant slower sales of Eggos.
In the four weeks of 2018 ending on May 19, the sale of Kellogg's frozen waffles, French toast, and pancakes grew by only 1.3% from the same period in 2017. While growth is always good for any company, the 1.3% is a major decline from the average growth of 9.4% in the first quarter of 2018 and the 14% of the last quarter of 2017. Now, one could argue that warmer months may simply mean that fewer people are interested in toasting their breakfast, but AllianceBernstein analyst Alexia Howard thinks differently. According to Howard (via CNNMoney), the buzz surrounding the second season of Stranger Things has died down, and so fans are less inclined to buy Eggos and live out their Hawkins dreams via breakfast food.
Stranger Things Season 2 debuted back on October 27, 2017, which gave consumers plenty of time in the fourth quarter of the year to add Eggos to their diets after watching Eleven chow down on waffles at every opportunity. She'll eat them toasted, frozen, and drenched in syrup; fans may be less inclined to eat them straight out of the box, but the trend is clear: Eggo sales jump when the telekinetic teenager is eating them on Netflix.
Kellogg credits Stranger Things with restoring a sense of "cultural relevance" to a brand that has been around for six and a half decades. The company's chief executive Steven Cahillane has explained that Kellogg's "leveraged the resulting consumer engagement" after Stranger Things brought so much attention to the frozen waffles. After 65 years on the market, Kellogg hasn't shied away from embracing modern forms of marketing, including Twitter. The official Eggo account tweeted back and forth with the official Stranger Things account in the time between Seasons 1 and 2, and the much talked-about Super Bowl commercial for Season 2 put a twist on a classic Eggo commercial. In October 2017 -- the very same month that saw the release of Season 2 -- Eggo scored its most-ever month mentions on social media.
Basically, sales began to grow following the debut of Stranger Things in 2016 and surged around the release of the second season, but the long hiatus between Seasons 2 and 3 isn't helping Eggo sales, and hiatus isn't ending any time soon. Season 3 is currently filming, which means it almost certainly won't hit Netflix until the first or second quarter of 2019. Kellogg and Eggo may just have to wait with the rest of us until Eleven is eating waffles again.
Stay tuned to CinemaBlend for the latest in Stranger Things news. For some viewing options to pass the time during the wait for Season 3, check out our summer TV premiere guide and our 2018 Netflix premiere schedule. You can always rewatch the first two seasons of Stranger Things, and some explanations of what happened to Will in the Upside Down will be available before the end of the year in an unconventional medium.
