Some of the hottest pop culture brands are crushing on a most unexpected item — a mini waffle maker.
It’s not just any waffle maker. This particular brand of the kitchen appliance is a bona fide social media star.
Since its debut about 15 years ago, the Dash mini waffle maker, which cooks 4-inch snack-sized waffles, has sold more than 23 million units to date and boasts a viral hashtag — #dashminiwafflemaker — which has racked up more than 32 million views on social media. The multimaker version of the device (with removable and interchangeable plates) features fun templates to create a variety of shapes, such as hearts, tiaras, dinosaurs, skulls and Christmas trees, on the breakfast treat.
Evan Dash and his wife Rachel, cofounders of StoreBound, spotted an opportunity and took a risk when they decided to reinvent the wheel with classic kitchen appliances, including a waffle maker.
It worked.
Today, the Dash brand of kitchen counter appliances (one of several home-focused brands owned by StoreBound) generates more than $1 billion in total sales and is sold in large retailers, including Walmart, Target and on Amazon. (In 2020, StoreBound was partially acquired by French conglomerate Groupe SEB.)
“Rachel and I figured out two things before we launched the business: “One, nobody was talking to young consumers about kitchen appliances, and nobody was understanding social media. Two, nobody was talking to retailers the right way about thinking outside the box in this category,” Dash, StoreBound’s CEO, said in an interview with Bagable.com.
Their instinct was right on the nose. It helped that both were retail industry veterans with a keen eye on evolving consumer behavior. Evan was previously a senior executive with Macy’s home goods business and Rachel was formerly a buyer for Bed, Bath & Beyond.
“Millennial consumers didn’t want what’s on their parents’ countertops, which were the legacy brands of appliances,” he said. Younger shoppers were seeking out kitchenware that was fun, cool, and not clunky, he said.
So Dash stepped in with its own line of mini colorful appliances that were playful, affordable and a bit sassy.
Said Rachel, “They’re space-saving products for the home and they cater to different groups of people. Yes, it predominantly younger consumers but also people who are living alone, maybe in their first apartments, or are empty nesters.”
The brand’s mini waffle maker, priced at $10 to $15, is arguably its most popular product. There’s also a bright red mini rice cooker, egg cookers in soft pastel shades, popcorn makers, air fryers, toasters, blenders, ice cream makers, a portable “Brew2Go” cold brew system, even a cotton candy maker and shaved ice and slushy maker.
“Our sweet spot is $9.99, $19.99, and $29.99, but we do have a $300 blender,” said Dash. A few larger-sized appliances also compete for attention in Dash’s product portfolio, such as an over-sized countertop griddle and an over-sized skillet.
Product innovation is one way the company is trying to keep younger shoppers engaged with the brand. The business also regularly produces social media and marketing content at its in-house studio located in its New York City headquarters.
“When we set up the business in 2010, we knew that content was going to be incredibly important. We set ourselves up like a marketing agency as well as a product development company,” said Dash.
“The product piece came easy to us. The heavier lift was the content development. As long as we’re selling a product, we feel like there’s a responsibility to continue creating useful content for users of it,” he said. “We set up the studio and today we have videographers, photographers, food stylists, editors on our team and we do it ourselves.”
Peanuts & Disney come knocking
Dash’s mini waffle maker is becoming a hot commodity in more ways than one.
While it clearly has a robust fanbase with consumers, the brand has mostly avoided licensing deals for its mini kitchen appliance — until now.
“At the time when we started, we thought we would need to license a brand in order to resonate with the consumer in this category. But it came as a surprise to us that our brand took off on its own from the beginning,” said Dash. “We launched on social media on Instagram at a time when social media was becoming an important way to engage with consumers. Almost not having a licensed heritage brand was a positive because younger consumers were discovering us on their own.”
Fast forward 2025, Dash has landed licensing collaborations with some of the most iconic pop culture and entertainment brands.
In January, the brand unveiled a collaboration with Spangler Candy, maker of Sweethearts candies, for an exclusive line of Dash x Sweethearts mini waffle makers that cook waffles with the sayings “I LUV U,” “XOXO,” “CUTIE PIE” and “BESTIE” on them.
Then came the PEEPS x Dash Easter waffle maker in February that created the iconic bunny and chick on the waffles, paired with PEEPS x Dash-branded egg cookers. In August, the brand launched a playful Peanuts x Dash collection, featuring Snoopy and Woodstock from Charles M. Schulz's classic comic strip “Peanuts.”
“We felt these brands are the right partnerships for Dash because their values are our values , and vice versa,” said Dash. “They like the authenticity of our approach to helping families enjoy homemade meals in the kitchen, and they also like our popularity on social media.”
Next up, the brand has teased a Disney collab coming later this year.
“Disney is a powerhouse in terms of content,” Dash said. “We’ll do something with the fan favorites and also limited-edition drops.”