Squad Bowls Are For Eating Cereal With Your Whole Squad

Cinnamon Toast Crunch, the greatest cereal of all time, brings us Squad Bowls, possibly the most ridiculous breakfast invention of all time. Yes, that includes the Selfie Spoon the brand introduced the year before. Apparently, eating cereal by yourself was a problem somebody decided to solve by attaching a bunch of bowls together.

Squad Bowls were exactly what they sounded like: connected cereal bowls designed for you and your closest friends to eat breakfast together. The 2016 promotion offered configurations for groups of three, four, five or six. Everybody got a bowl, but nobody got much personal space. Nothing says friendship like coordinating your spoon movements before you’ve had coffee.

The idea played off the #squadgoals craze, with Cinnamon Toast Crunch turning a social-media joke into an actual breakfast accessory. It followed the brand’s equally strange Selfie Spoon, which combined a cereal spoon with a selfie stick. Apparently, ordinary cereal equipment just wasn’t dramatic enough.

The joke made sense in the era of #squadgoals, when nearly anything could become an excuse for a group photo. The campaign leaned into that idea rather than pretending the bowls were a practical kitchen essential. A three-person set already sounded chaotic; a six-person version practically required a seating chart. No word on who was supposed to wash the whole thing afterward. Maybe that was another team-building exercise.

And who are these people with five friends available for a group breakfast? I only have one friend, and he’s not even the same species. I’m talking about my dog, Einstein. He’s my beast friend. That’s mainly because I’m the lady who gives him a place to live, food, water and belly rubs. So when it comes to being my bud, he doesn’t really have a choice. Those belly rubs aren’t free! Just kidding. Those are actually free. It’s the rest of the stuff that costs money.

This wasn’t just a made-up gag in a commercial. Contemporary coverage described handcrafted porcelain sets with regular promotional prices from $59.99 to $119.99. For a limited period, the first ten daily orders could get one for 99 cents. Those were 2016 campaign terms, not current prices or a promise that Squad Bowls are still available.

The limited-time 99-cent offer was tied to the first ten orders placed each day, starting at 10 a.m. Eastern, and the advertised promotion expired on April 17, 2016. That meant a bargain-hunting squad needed more than matching pajamas and a willingness to share breakfast. It also needed excellent timing. Everyone else faced the regular price for what was, essentially, an elaborate way to make a simple bowl of cereal a group project.

As for actually using one, imagine trying to pass the milk, move the bowls or leave the table without disturbing the entire squad. The concept is funnier the longer you think about it, which was probably the point. Cereal for six sounds great until somebody wants seconds and everybody else has to scoot over.

What makes Squad Bowls memorable is that the connected bowls were not just a Photoshop joke. The brand advertised actual sets, in multiple sizes, as part of its 2016 promotion. That distinguishes this oddity from the usual internet novelty that exists only in a picture. It also explains why the old promotion should be treated as a piece of cereal history, not a current shopping offer. If you want to recreate the mood today, regular bowls and an unusually cooperative group of friends will have to do.

Thanks to Kendall for sending in the tip. You get an internet gold star and all the Cinnamon Toast Crunch you can stomach!