13 Creative Pop-Tarts Brand Collabs That We Didn't Know We Needed
A true American original, Kellogg's Pop-Tarts popped up in the 1960s and have been a breakfast staple for millions ever since. Available in simple flavors like strawberry and blueberry, Pop-Tarts have been available for decades in both unfrosted and frosted versions. There have been specialty flavors that have come and gone -- like the fan-favorite Strawberry Milkshake -- and those who love them could practically make a living testing out new flavors considering how many there are these days.
Some of the most fascinating Pop-Tarts, though, are collaborations with other brands. Often this takes the form of a special new flavor or sprinkles and frosting that make use of another brand's look and feel. Sometimes, though, it's not even a Pop-Tart, as the brand has been known to work with other companies on co-branded non-food products. From movie tie-ins to creative clothing collabs, these are some of the best and most fun brand pairings that Pop-Tart has ever done.
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Pop-Tarts Took To The Skies With The Powerpuff Girls
The late '90s and early 2000s might be the best era for kid's cartoons, at least if you ask millennials. One of the biggest shows of the day was the heavily stylized, psychedelic Cartoon Network superhero series, "The Powerpuff Girls," focusing on three pint-sized pals who get turned into high-flying heroes. Perhaps initially aimed at little girls, the show quickly spawned a cult following that went well beyond that demographic, and it remains a favorite today, with one reboot in 2016, and another on its way. So it shouldn't come as a surprise that Pop-Tarts joined up with the unstoppable force of the Powerpuff Girls.
Produced in 2001, the Powerpuff Girls Pop-Tarts were only available for a limited time and boasted a "POWberry" flavor -- a special fruity concoction not dissimilar to the company's strawberry flavor. Atop a bright purple frosting -- perfectly fitting for the colorfully outfitted Powerpuff Girls -- were hard sugar sprinkles in various bombastic shapes, including a few reminiscent of Buttercup, Blossom, and Bubbles. Tasty and bright, the Powerpuff Girls Pop-Tarts have become a collectible, and while most of them were probably consumed by kids (and adults) who loved the show -- and the pastries -- those that can still be found today sell for as much as 10 times their original asking price on commerce sites like eBay.
SpongeBob Took Pop-Tarts Into A Pineapple Under The Sea
"SpongeBob SquarePants" is inarguably one of the biggest cartoon phenomena of the 21st century. Its characters and catchphrases have become part of the lexicon of an entire generation and it remains popular with new shows and movies still being released. During its 25+ year run, "SpongeBob SquarePants" has collaborated with Pop-Tarts on several occasions, both for the TV series and its feature film spin-offs.
In 2004, the two brands got together for Wild Bubble-Berry flavored "SpongeBob SquarePants" Pop-Tarts, which -- like the "Powerpuff Girls" collab -- featured sugary shaped sprinkles. Its box was even designed to look like Spongebob's head, a clever choice that worked well considering the box's uncanny resemblance to Mr. SquarePants himself. The beauty of that box, though, was that it was actually designed to be cut up and folded to create a figural SpongeBob standee.
Years later, in partnership with Nickelodeon once more, Pop-Tarts released another SpongeBob Pop-Tarts flavor to promote the 2020 animated feature, "The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run." This new collab was flavored with raspberry-infused "Sea Berry" and had printed graphics on the white frosting that draped the pastry. This included images of SpongeBob, plus popular characters such as Patrick Star, Squidward Tentacles, Sandy Cheeks, Gary the Snail, and more.
Yes, There Was A Pop-Tart/Star Wars Collab Celebrating Anakin Skywalkers Death
These days it's impossible to walk into a store and not see some product or another branded with "Star Wars." The iconic sci-fi franchise -- always famous for leaning heavily into its merchandising -- has exploded since it was bought by Disney in 2012. Similarly, back in the mid-2000s, there was also a massive wave of merchandising. Tied into the release of "Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith," the best Pop-Tarts collab featured Darth Vader on the box and an almost-frightening orange and red color scheme.
What makes the Limited Edition "Star Wars Pop-Tarts" so eye-popping isn't that it exists, but how it ties into "Revenge of the Sith." With a bold flavor called "Frosted Lava Berry Explosion," it promotes the film's dramatic climax where Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) fought a pitched one-on-one battle with his former mentor, Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) on the fiery planet Mustafar. It seems strange to center the snack -- likely aimed at kids eating breakfast -- on the scene where Anakin Skywalker has his legs chopped off and his body burned beyond recognition by his former friend. Nevertheless, there's something kitschy in hindsight about the macabre collab, and the look of the Pop-Tart itself -- bright red pastry dough, even brighter berry filling, and fiery yellow sprinkles -- was enough to make it stand out.
Forget Scooby Snacks, We've Got Scooby-Tarts
There are plenty of famous fictional cartoon foods, from "Futurama" and Slurm Cola to "SpongeBob SquarePants" and Krabby Patties. Arguably the most iconic, however, is "Scooby Doo" and its Scooby Snacks, the bite-sized treats doled out by Shaggy to his talking mutt. But when Pop-Tarts went into business with the classic cartoon it wasn't for a line of dog treats, but a new flavor of the toaster snack. Though the actual flavor wasn't anything revolutionary -- it was another spin on the company's wild berry filling, called "Wild! Scooby-Berry" -- this limited edition pastry had some of the most fun color choices ever seen on a Pop Tart.
First, it's almost impossible to miss the color of the pastry dough itself. It's an almost offputting lime green, making it feel like cartoon food. Atop the Pop-Tart, meanwhile, was a bright -- almost neon -- orange frosting, which contrasted sharply with the dark, maroon berry filling. But that wasn't all, because they also paid tribute to Scooby himself with purple and green bone-shaped sugary sprinkles on top, putting the finishing touches on what might be the most fun collab -- at least visually -- in the history of Pop-Tarts. While the green might make some a tad queasy, it's just the kind of funky color scheme that kids love.
Pop-Tarts Spun A Web For The Spider-Man Movie In 2002
We should start this off with the caveat that there's actually been more than one collaboration between Pop-Tarts and the web-slinging superhero. Most recently there was a brand tie-in between Kellogg's and Spider-Man to coincide with the 2019 movie "Spider-Man: Far From Home," starring Tom Holland, and there were even Pop-Tarts celebrating the Andrew Garfield-led "The Amazing Spider-Man" film. But we're here to talk about the best Spider-Man Pop-Tart, the one released to promote the original 2002 Sam Raimi-directed "Spider-Man" movie starring Tobey Maguire.
Once again, the movie tie-in Pop-Tart defaults to a wild berry filling, this time called "Frosted Spidey-Berry," so it's not necessarily the flavor that makes it great (though like all wild berry offerings, they're tasty, even if they didn't top our list of best Pop-Tarts flavors). What's so much fun about it is the way they decorated the pastry; Not with sprinkles, like most on this list, but with icing that mimics the raised spider webbing on Peter Parker's superhero costume. Not only is it delicious, it just looks really cool, and Spidey-loving kids eager for a sweet breakfast treat wouldn't be able to resist.
Gotta Eat 'Em All! Pokémon Pop-Tarts, That Is!
Every decade has its cartoon craze and in the '90s it was the manga-inspired "Pokémon." Imported from Japan, the series introduced kids to adorable monster pets and got them hooked on trading card games, too. It had many imitators, including a few that became popular in their own right, like "Digimon" and "Bakugan." When Kellogg's wanted in on the action, though, they went with the original, "Pokémon," putting out a Wild Cherry flavored Pop-Tart as part of the campaign to promote "Pokémon: The Movie" in 2000.
A highly coveted item for diehard "Pokemon" fans, even an empty box has become a collectible, while sealed boxes still sell online for seriously big money, too. But it wasn't just themed pastries this time, because Pop-Tarts went full breakfast cereal, packing miniature figurines into each box, with three different figures to collect. A year later the collab continued, with collectible pencil toppers as free prizes inside specially marked boxes of otherwise ordinary Pop-Tarts.
The original "Pokémon" Pop-Tarts from 2000, however, gained cult status. Multiple fans have even created petitions to bring them back to store shelves. While those petitions haven't been a success, they show the enduring popularity of this product and the "Pokémon" brand.
Robots (The Movie And The Pop-Tarts) Were Sorely Underrated
Thanks to the popularity of Pixar in the 1990s, the new millennium saw a slew of CGI-animated movies arrive in theaters. It saw all-time classics and franchises like "Shrek" and "Minions" get their start, but there were plenty of underrated, less popular animated features that came and went, too. In 2005 it was "Robots," the mostly-forgotten Dreamworks animated movie from the makers of "Ice Age," about class struggle in a society of automatons.
"Robots" never did get a sequel, and never earned the box office bucks or the popularity of "Ice Age," but it deserved better. That said, it did get one thing many animated movies never do: a Pop-Tart. It was a really good one, too, with "Robo-Berry" filling and a metal-like blue frosting. What set it apart from so many other Pop-Tart collabs, though, was its look and feel. Most tie-in Pop-Tarts use shaped sugar pieces that vaguely resemble the theme of the brand, but the "Robots" Pop-Tarts went a different route.
In their case, instead of sprinkles shaped like the characters that probably wouldn't have looked very good, they go for shapes like metal gears and nuts, which makes for a simple but elegant visual. Not only that but boxes also included one of three different promotional CD-ROMs that included a variety of kid's games and activities, including a digital robot builder and more.
Pop-Tarts Teamed With Depop To Bring Fashion To The Breakfast Table
You might be thinking by now that Pop-Tarts only does collaborations with kids' brands based on popular cartoons and movies. That's not always the case, though, and in 2022 the company took part in one of the most left-field collabs you're likely to ever see. That's right, Kellogg's and the social e-commerce site Depop, known for shady sellers and shadier buyers, partnered up. This time, though, it wasn't a line of Pop-Tarts, but a line of clothing.
Inspired by Pop-Tarts, Depop made available a special menu of clothing and accessories items themed after flavors like Brown Sugar Cinnamon, S'Mores, and Blueberry. Each of the five available flavors was also hand-picked by some of Depop's high-profile creators. Unfortunately, being "inspired by Pop-Tarts" amounted to some shirts, pants, and dresses that shared little in common with Pop-Tarts other than a vaguely similar color scheme. Strangest of all, however, was their price structure, as every item in the collection was priced at the same cost as a box of Pop-Tarts you'd find in your grocery aisle.
In the end, no matter how much the clothing itself lacked brand connectivity, it's hard to get more creative than pricing all of your products at just $3.59 because it's the same price as a popular breakfast snack.
Crocs Got Crazy With Pop-Tarts And Edible Charms
Who doesn't love a pair of Crocs? Well, a lot of people actually. The polarizing footwear has a love/hate relationship with the masses, but there's clearly some universal appeal to the kids and adults who adore them. Part of the attraction for some is the variety of rubber charms called Jibbitz that can be purchased to adorn a pair of Crocs, and in 2023 the company got in bed with Pop-Tarts to make a line of charms for all to enjoy.
Cleverly named "Croc-Tarts," these specially produced, limited edition Jibbitz came in a number of 3D-shaped designs, from logos to phrases and even a Pop-Tart or two. But that's not all, because the collab goes both ways, and the whole package includes a box of Unfrosted Pop-Tarts. To make them sweeter, the kit includes miniature edible gummy Crocs, and some edible glue to stick them to your pastries, enabling you to adorn and accessorize your Pop-Tart in the same way you would your Crocs. The kit, which of course also included a pair of Crocs to use your Pop-Tarts Jibbitz on, was sold exclusively on the official Croc-Tarts website.
A Classic Nascar Pop-Tarts Collab Took Them To The Finish Line
Though every single entry on this list so far has been a collaboration in the current millennium, Pop-Tarts had been doing brand team-ups for years before, they just weren't so common. In the 1990s, Pop-Tarts and NASCAR worked on a pastry that celebrated the fast-paced sport loved by scores of fans in America's heartland. Though they were more branded on the box than the snack itself -- there was no Andretti-Berry, for example -- the packaging featured full-color images of popular NASCAR driver Terry Labonte.
That wasn't the last NASCAR Pop-Tart, though. Many years later, in 2008, Kellogg's put out Pop-Tarts as part of its "printed fun" series of pastries, with full-color photos of drivers like Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jeff Gordon. They included printed graphics of their well-known cars and even recreations of the drivers' signatures printed on the frosting. They might not win any awards for originality in their flavors, but choosing to partner with NASCAR was a good choice because its fans have made these Pop-Tarts legendary: In 2016, they sat at the center of a viral news story involving a fan who was attempting to sell a single Jeff Gordon Pop-Tart for $10,000.
Don't Have A Cow, Man - Have Simpsons Pop-Tarts Instead
If Pop-Tarts is going to be collaborating with popular animated TV shows they'd be all but required to work with "The Simpsons," the biggest cartoon of all time, with 35 seasons and counting. By some accounts, these limited edition pastries were first seen circulating in 1998, but we can find no concrete evidence of how accurate that assessment is. Information is hard to find on these rare "Simpsons" treasures to say the least, but what we do know is that they were about as sweet and colorful as the cartoon itself.
With a bright yellow frosting, the "Simpsons" Pop-Tarts looked just like the characters. But it was the contrasting bright red wild strawberry filling and vibrant sugar sprinkles that gave it personality. More than mere vague shapes, a close look reveals the sprinkles take the silhouette of various characters from the show. This includes Homer's head, Marge's iconic blue hair, Maggie and Lisa's little pineapple-shaped domes, and Bart's spikey noggin, too. It's a gloriously technicolor treat that almost looks like a cartoon itself. And the fact that Pop-Tarts have played a part in several episodes of "The Simpsons" makes this treat even more fun.
Pop-Tarts Turned Up The Heat With Taijin
If you want creative collaborations, look no further than Pop-Tarts' team-up with Tajin, the renowned hot sauce brand. They might not seem like the most likely pairing, but in a truly out-there idea, the collab saw the release of a line of Tajin branded flavor mixing kits alongside the pastry, offering a creative way of letting snackers mix and match different spicy flavors with Pop-Tarts. The kit included bottles of Tajin Hot Sauce and a selection of Pop-Tarts in ordinary flavors like Frosted Strawberry, Frosted Wild Berry, and Peach Cobbler. The kit even included a guide to each flavor and various recommended pairings as if it were a wine-and-cheese event.
The collaboration was indeed a creative one, but not all fans were convinced. In the comment section of the company's Instagram page when they announced the collab, opinion was divided, with some believing strongly that hot sauce has no place on a Pop-Tart.
Pop-Tarts Went To The Dreamhouse To Visit Barbie
In 2023, Greta Gerwig's "Barbie" movie stormed cinemas with a $162 million opening weekend en route to becoming the highest-grossing film of the year. Unfortunately, there was no "Barbie" tie-in Pop-Tart to coincide with it. But in the weeks leading up to the movie's release, an outpouring of fan support arose behind the hopes that Kellogg's might re-release the "Barbie" Pop-Tarts that were created for the release of the 2005 cartoon adventure, "Barbie: Fairytopia." Those Pop-Tarts were part of the "printed fun" series and had images of characters from the animated movie.
With a big new "Barbie" movie on the way more recently, though, fans began posting on social media expressing hopes that we might get an updated version of those 2005 Pop-Tarts. Some fans even posited that those original "Fairytopia" graphics -- which also included edible glitter -- could be replaced with images of stars Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling. Sadly, it never happened, robbing it of a chance to be one of the best "Barbie"-themed movie foods. But the enthusiasm of fans for a re-release proves just how great those "Barbie" Pop-Tarts were. It is also a testament to Kellogg's creativity when it comes to collaborations, as they consistently seem to nail just what fans and snack lovers will respond to.
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