Nigerian designer – Tosin reimagines Kellogg’s Coco Pops cereal for wannabe Black kids wanting to explore Mars someday.
A collaboration between Kellogg’s and Elon’s space exploration company (SpaceX)
Kellogg’s has always been a breakfast staple for homes on planet Earth but has yet to wiggle its way to other planets. Now, it’s officially made its way to the second most survivable planet. “Mars,” courtesy of SpaceX. For the first of its kind, Mar_tian Coco Pops “30% less sugar.” The new cereal box offering artfully blends Kellogg’s reduced-sugar Coco Pops and SpaceX’s mission to colonize Mars by 2038.
Wonderfully merged the distinct visual identities of the brand to create a design that represents them seamlessly. “Kellogg’s cares a lot about kids and the future, likewise SpaceX. They have really thoughtful branding and sweet, fun boxes”.
“Outside of branding, they care a lot about where they source their corn. They care a lot about quality. “So it felt like a good fit to me.”
CHALLENGE:
One of the first challenges was finding a common ground between the two brands.
“It was important to me to feel like both brands came through.” Kellogg’s has a vibrant, giant palette, but SpaceX is super specific.
SOLUTION:
I anchored the design with Mars reddish hues, providing a solid base for the concept.
Next came character creation. Beyond just mascots, I wanted a variety of distinct Black characters that captured the essence of the collab and kids could see themselves in. “Creating the characters took numerous iterations, experimenting with making them a tiny bit expressive and not just cold, still images.”
Every illustration was completely hand-drawn with pencil on plain paper, scanned, and taken to software.
I repurposed a smoothie cup lid to create the space helmet dome on the box, a design choice that not only allows the boxes to “breathe” on the Red Planet but also subtly nods to sustainability—a value deeply important to both Kellogg’s and SpaceX. Each dome can be detached and used as a portion control bowl , encouraging mindful eating in line with Kellogg’s commitment to healthy breakfast options. Designed as a playful, one-time-use feature, the dome adds an extra layer of fun to the experience without compromising the box’s integrity. Whether you use it to finish the box in one go or save it for a special moment, the dome bowl is a creative way to bring the adventure of Mars to your breakfast routine.
RESULT
While colonizing Mars has been a mission for scientists on earth for decades. It’s refreshing to see it cross over into the land of kids cereal. And whether we could make it to Mars someday or not, we can be grateful that Kellogg’s and SpaceX have taken us there already.






