A very successful era is ending on Netflix before the end of the 2025 TV schedule, with only four episodes left of Stranger Things Season 5. The sky-high viewership numbers have been impressive but not entirely unexpected; recent reveals about other ways the show has affected brands are a bit more surprising. Ahead of the debut of Volume 2 of Season 5, we can safely say that Eleven’s obsession with Eggos has been lucrative for the parent company, and way more people are into Dungeons & Dragons now than they were before Season 1.
According to new statistics from Variety, El’s love of Eggos that started in Season 1 in 2016 has been great for Kellogg, the brand’s parent company. Kellogg experienced growth of 14% in the fourth quarter of 2017 and 9.4% growth in the first four months of 2018. The timing suggests that fans were all-in on Eggos before, during, and after Season 2, which released on October 27, 2017. (Sales reportedly dipped over the hiatus between Seasons 2 and 3.) Millie Bobby Brown may not love frozen waffles, but that’s definitely not the case for everybody!
The company leaned into the Stranger Things boost ahead of the fifth and final season as well, with Eggo's Stranger Things Strawberry Waffles available in the freezer aisles in grocery stores across the U.S., with the website describing them as “limited edition Eggo Stranger Things Strawberry Waffles are Hawkins’ favorite toaster waffle brought to life,” and “perfect for powering bike rides, late-night cravings, and even Demogorgon hunting.” El hasn’t used waffles to fuel up just yet in Season 5, but the military quarantine affecting Hawkins certainly doesn’t pose a problem for real-life consumers who can drop by their local supermarket.
Dungeons & Dragons also experienced a massive resurgence thanks at least in part to Stranger Things, with Netflix reporting a growth in interest in the tabletop game by a whopping 673% since Stranger Things premiered in 2016. Given that D&D has been part of the show going back to almost the very first scene of the series and the kids usually name the Upside Down monsters after creatures from the game, it’s no surprise that it has gained more of a mainstream fanbase over the past decade.
While there were likely outside factors such as the 2023 release of Chris Pine’s Dungeons & Dragons movie and expansions to the game, the box office disappointment of the film didn’t lead to the movie getting a sequel, whereas you may not be able to walk into your nearest Target without seeing a Hellfire Club-themed D&D set. (R.I.P. Eddie Munson, with Joe Quinn not expected in Stranger Things Season 5.)
The bad news for Kellogg and Dungeons & Dragons publisher Wizards of the Coast is that the end of the series likely means demand will die down for both products. An animated Stranger Things spinoff is on the way, but it’s unlikely that will generate anywhere near the kind of buzz as the live-action series.
In the meantime, the next week with the release of Season 5, Volume 2 on Christmas Day and the series finale on New Year’s Eve could result in one last major boost in profits. I don’t know that the party will have much time for playing D&D in the middle of fighting Vecna, but maybe El’s battery will need an Eggo fix to be recharged before the end. Find out with a Netflix subscription, with the next three episodes on December 25 at 8 p.m. ET.
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