2025 might go down as the year April Fools' finally lost the plot.

What used to be a day for harmless pranks has become a full-blown content strategy. Thanks to AI, 'authentic' social media, and the never-ending hunt for viral moments, brands are firmly planting this event into the social calendars.

Today’s episode highlights the 5 best of April Fools’ 2025 from food & beverage brands, I’m calling it…

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The Top 5 best April Fools’ pranks for 2025

Countdown to 1!

5. Sour Patch Kids and the ‘unhinged’ trend

“We cannot stand by and be called ‘not sour’ in our comments. You don’t appreciate our sour, so we’re taking it back” - they announced as they posted an image of their new pack design.

This is a classic tension-building tactic - take away something beloved to trigger outrage and conversation. It’s a playful way to drive community, forcing people to declare how much they actually love the product and demand it back.

The manufactured ‘comeback’ moment feels like a win for the audience, and the brand captures the buzz throughout the whole stunt. Even though we all know it’s not real, there’s something dramatic and jarring about seeing a brand be so flippant with their logo on social media that gets consumers engaged.

But the real discovery here is how insane Sour Patch Kids social really is. They post these disgusting recipe videos that go wildly viral - like ranch sauce + their sweets that got over 28 million views. Unhinged.

4. Heineken launches a moisturiser

The press release claims this is a real launch - “limited-edition drop blurs the lines between beer and beauty, taking the signature ultra-smooth taste of Heineken® Silver and turning it into an unexpected creation”. Side note - why talk like this? No one talks like this and it’s so hard to understand.

Apparently launching in Cambodia and Taiwan. They’re light on details about when and how this will actually launch (spidey sense is tingling - is this actually real) but claim it started as a joke but was too good not to bring to life.

I love the commitment to the cause here. The effort signal is strong enough that whether they actually make this or not kinda doesn’t matter - I just like the intention that it’s more than a quick mockup for a few likes.

3. Olipop & Hidden Valley Ranch

Maybe they took inspo from Sour Patch Kids viral vid? Healthy soda brand Olipop teamed up with salad dressing brand Hidden Valley to fake out their audiences with a collaboration.

They went to the effort of producing finished mockups and sending out packs to influencers to drive conversations. But then dropped the ol’ “April Fools” in the last line of their announcement post.

There was a quick follow-up post with a swag-bag giveaway - offering up a mini-apology for their earlier prank.

The formula of unexpected combo + brand collaboration + real photos puts this into the ‘yeah, not bad’ bucket, but there’s still something a bit shit about the “ahh gotcha” moment of April Fools that feels kinda lame.

2. A $19 strawberry from Welch’s

Off the back of Erewhon’s now-infamous $19 strawberry going viral, Welch’s jumped in with their own take - a “premium” Welch’s strawberry fruit snack.

They dropped a lo-fi, UGC-style video complete with a fake product mockup, leaning into the Erewhon. Given the original strawberry story only blew up a few weeks ago, this is a smart, timely move to ride the wave.

What I like about this is it strikes a sweet spot. It’s not as self-important as launching a whole fake skincare range, but it’s also not mean-spirited - they’re not dangling something consumers actually want, only to pull it away. It’s just a light, culturally aware wink that doesn’t take itself too seriously.

1. Dunkin’ Donuts non-prank

This is the winner of April Fools’ 2025.

A zero-budget execution — literally a screenshot from Apple Notes. A giveaway that’s actually worth something. And a perfectly timed "we get you" nod as you scroll past yet another fake product drop. It’s simple, self-aware, and delivers real value without the usual April Fools' fuss. That’s why, for me, Dunkin’ quietly walked away as the real winner this year.

Which leads nicely to the next point…

The real winners?

April Fools’ jokes are like bumper stickers. They’re at their best when you avoid them altogether.

It’s so easy for brands to slip into cringe-territory that the smartest brands just stay quiet for this lame event. Remember, no one cares about your thing as much as you do, so whatever you “think” is funny, is probably weird and confusing to your audience.

The definitive ‘do not do this’ list.

Here’s a quick list of things you should DEFINITELY avoid doing for April Fools’ if I haven’t convinced you to avoid it altogether.

AI graphics

Just don’t. People can sniff it a mile away. There’s no better way to make your joke fall flat than using an AI render because it immediately screams ‘fake’. What’s the point?

Things people actually want

It makes no sense why a brand would ‘fake’ launch a flavour that people might like. This Matcha milkshake is a shining example. It’s confusing, annoying and literally makes no sense. Same goes for Jatz chocolate biscuits - why are chocolate biscuits a joke?

Half-assed ideas

If you’re gonna do it, do it right. Put some effort into understanding what your audience cares about, what’s trending or relevant right now, or what’s the total opposite of expected from your brand. And if you can’t land on something that everyone nods along to as ‘a good idea’, then just don’t do it!

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