One of America’s favorite cookies has gotten a makeover — and it’s aimed squarely at Gen Z.
Chips Ahoy has released one of its largest cross-brand collaborations in partnership with Netflix’s “Stranger Things,” which returns for its final season on November 26.
The inky black soft chew cookies evoke the show’s dark aesthetic, with an ’80s-themed package that would fit perfectly in Winona Ryder’s kitchen.
“Stranger Things,” a cultural touchstone since its 2016 debut, has been a particular hit with Gen Z viewers, despite many of them having been born long after the era of hair metal and satanic panic.
Chris Park, Mondelez International’s Director of Savory Revenue Growth Management, was the project lead on the “Stranger Things” collaboration in his former role as Director of Chips Ahoy Innovation.
“From our brand point of view, we really want new ways to connect with our consumers, especially that Gen Z audience, and what better way to do that than with “Stranger Things”?” Park told Business Insider. “Partnerships, I think, are one of the biggest things that we can do to be part of the cultural conversation.”
A snack industry re-shaped for Gen Z’s tastes
Branding experts told Business Insider in September that good cross-brand partnerships can be hard to pull off — especially when targeting Gen Z customers, because of their demand for well-integrated authenticity from marketing campaigns — but, when done well, can offer both brands a chance at viral sales, to shape the social conversation around their products, and potentially expand their audience.
That’s what Chips Ahoy, and its parent company Mondelēz, are after, as the snack giant aims to capture consumers’ attention at a time when they’re snacking less, cutting down on processed foods, and have more options than ever.
The “Stranger Things” cookie features a strawberry center in a nod to the color scheme in the “upside down” parallel dimension, where much of the show takes place. It’s also the first time Chips Ahoy has experimented with a fruit flavor — itself an intentional nod toward Gen Z.
“Some of the trends that we see are that, especially with Gen Z, they love to try snacks with new flavors, whether that’s something trending or that they’ve tried at restaurants,” Park said. “Certain combinations are a very appealing flavor package to them. The cinnamon bun cookie we launched this year is a good example of that strategy — so is the strawberry and chocolate.”
New flavors for new generations
Chips Ahoy debuted in 1963 under the Nabisco brand, which was acquired by Mondelēz in 2000. In the years since, the company has experimented with flavors like red velvet, s’mores, and confetti cake. Going forward, Park said they aim to be bolder with their flavor combinations, hoping to capitalize on viral trends like Dubai chocolate, or black sesame and matcha, which Yelp on November 18 identified as increasingly popular in its 2026 trend forecast.
And Chips Ahoy isn’t the only snack brand leaning hard into Gen Z’s tastes. Oreo, which is also owned by Mondelēz, launched its Reese’s-Oreo product line in September, targeting the younger demographic after the flavor combination gained popularity on TikTok, according to Michelle Deignan, the brand’s VP of Marketing, who spoke to Business Insider at the time.
However, expanding the variety of flavors available comes with operational challenges for a company the size of Chips Ahoy, as it needs to scale up the millions, or even billions, of cookies for any given flavor launch. As a result, Park said the company is actively working to streamline its innovation process for future product line-ups, even if that means limited-time runs or regional drops.
“As a company, we want to look at ways to be faster and to really meet those trends quickly, whether and even if it’s more on a smaller scale that gives consumers and our fans a chance to experience our product with those fast-moving trends,” Park said. “That’s something we’re really, really looking at.”
Park said Chips Ahoy has to balance staying true to its iconic legacy while modernizing its offerings to keep up with changing tastes in the snack industry. It could be an uphill battle — Business Insider reported in July that Mondelēz’s sales volume in the US fell during the company’s second quarter due to changes in consumer snacking behavior — but Park said it’s one the brand is going all-in on.
“Whether it’s new flavors, other innovations that will come next year, new partners, new limited editions that will eventually make their way into the market — we as a brand are really diving into becoming even more relevant with our audience,” Park said.
