Plastic flavoured gum? Beer branded protein powder? The April 1st gags that (almost) had us fooled

Meal kits for space travel​

Recipe box company Gousto almost fooled us with the development of propriety vacuum sealing technology designed to keep meals fresh in the ‘most extreme of circumstances’.

The technology was specifically created and tested for space travel and deep-sea diving. For Gousto, the development represents the first step in providing delicious meals at times when food is most needed as fuel.

“With this technology, astronauts can slurp up cosmic spaghetti among the planets, while deep sea divers take a classic cheeseburger from their packs to enjoy ocean-side. However far from home you are, taste the comfort of home-cooked with classic recipes like Sausage and Mash,” ​noted Gousto.

‘Plastic Bag’ or ‘Credit Card’ flavoured chewing gum?​

A social campaign launched by plastic-free chewing gum brand Milliways has got tongues wagging. On 1 April, the plastic-free operator announced a fake range of

‘Plasti Chews’ would soon be hitting retail.

The spoof range aims to ‘satisfy plastic cravings’ with its new line of flavours: Plastic Bag, Credit Card, and Plastic Straw.

Although tongue-in-cheek, the April Fool’s campaign carries a much more serious message: the company claims that most big brand gum contains up to two straws’ worth of plastic in every piece, made from the same plastic polymers found in credit cards, plastic bags and straws.

“Many of us use tote bags for our weekly shop and reusable cups for our coffee, and yet don’t realise that the gum we’re chewing on is made from single-use plastic,” ​said head of brand and marketing Rosie Goddard.

“Our aim was to highlight the bizarre nature of chewing on plastic with a fun and memorable campaign that shows just how ludicrous it is that the gum industry is yet to go plastic-free in its recipe.”​

In reality, Milliways’ plastic-free chewing gum range includes four flavours: Peppermint, Mighty Mint, Bubblemint and Watermelon.

KitKat expands from two fingers to five…​

“Gimme five!” screams Nestlé in its April Fool’s release for a ‘new look’ KitKat, boasting four wafer fingers are a thumb.

“You heard us right, the classic 4-finger bar has been given a thumbs up, literally, with the addition of a KitKat thumb!” ​

To mark the NPD milestone, Nestlé said it was changing its iconic tagline from ‘Have a Break, have a KitKat’ to ‘Take five! Take a KitKat’.

It did make us smirk to learn that initial taste testing confirmed the bar tastes the same as the 4-finger version, with the main difference being that it takes people slightly longer to eat, helping them to take five out of their day.

The fictional James Crisp, who serves as Chief Waferologist at KitKat, said he was ‘ready to take five’ after the intense development period that delivered the KitKat five-finger bar. “I’m proud of what a great product the team has created and I’m keen to hear what chocolate fans make of the new design.”​

Dating app for big spoons and little spoons​

Over in the US, cereal brand Magic Spoon is ‘rolling out’ a new dating app for its followers on social media, just in time for 1 April.

The ‘inclusive’ app, coined ‘Spoon: A Dating App for Breakfast Lovers’, is designed for big spoons, little spoons, and everyone else.

What is ‘no prank’, suggests the cereal brand, is its commitment to making high protein, keto-friendly, gluten and grain-free cereal.

No weigh!​

Perhaps our favourite April Fool’s Day prank this year was AB InBev’s ‘launch’ of a Heineken 0.0 protein powder. According to Heineken, ‘the weight is over’.