Retailers got in on the joke yesterday with a variety of April Fool’s pranks. Thornton’s posted on Instagram about debuting a dill pickle donut, accompanied by a photo of a vanilla donut with pickle slices on top.
Friendly Express posted on Instagram that it is “always thinking outside the pumps. Fuel your home with our limited-edition candle collection, coming soon!” The retailer joked it was releasing new candle scents such as “Pit Stop Peace,” “Pizza Paradise” and “Eau de Gasoline.”
Parker’s Kitchen posted a video on LinkedIn encouraging followers to “Swipe right on Tender, the new dating app from Parker’s Kitchen,” that helps customers weed out dates based on food preferences, with a video featuring potential suitors saying things like: “If you don’t use Parker’s dipping sauces, you’re not my type.”
Sheetz posted a note on LinkedIn saying: “After lotz of deliberation, we are saddened to announce that we will be removing totz from our menu (again). Please direct any questions to our Tot Retention Manager.”
7-Eleven released a mystery April Fool’s donut, which “promises to spark curiosity and excitement. Built as a Bismark-style donut, what's inside remains a closely guarded secret. One bite could reveal a sweet treat or an unexpected flavor twist,” the retailer said. The LTO is available for the entire month of April.
Food manufacturers also got in on the fun yesterday, using April Fool’s Day to release creative, yet very real, new products. Sour Punch candy announced its new maple bacon flavored Sour Punch Bites— “sweet, savory and sour bites [that] are the real deal,” American Licorice Company said in a press release.
The company said the new Bacon Bites item announcement was inspired by the brand's release of similarly unique flavors on April Fool’s Day in years past. In 2022, Sour Punch announced Sour Cream & Onion flavored Bites—an item which was never released, but which drew a great amount of attention from consumers.
In 2023, the brand came back with Sour Punch Pickle Roulette Straws, “an all-green pack of sweet and sour fruit-flavors like lime, green apple and watermelon with random pickle flavored straws hiding among them. The item was meant for a limited time only release, but consumers' overwhelmingly positive reactions to the fun, playability of this delicious candy encouraged the brand to make both Pickle Roulette Straws and Bites a permanent part of the Sour Punch brand family.”
PorkRinds.com and Dio Candle launched a special-edition line of pork rind-scented candles, the company said in a press release sent to NACS. “Available nationwide, starting today, this special edition collaboration brings four iconic scents to pork rind and candle lovers alike: Sweet BBQ, Hot Honey, Spicy Dill and Pineapple Ancho Chile.”