“How dare they do this to our national lolly”: This pineapple is not fineapple
There are two things that are important when selecting your next sweet treat: taste and truth.
Though the latter may apply more to the unfortunate souls in New Zealand who have been forced to confront the truth about a beloved national snack. One popular confectionary brand - which clearly is not at “the pineapple of politeness” - has been exposed for lying about their “handmade” products.
Potter Brothers Pineapple Chews are a lolly staple, and even managed to take the crown in a taste test between New Zealand’s primary pineapple parties. The Spin Off judges were so impressed with the treats that they placed them above Pascall Pineapple Lumps, who had led the competition for years beforehand.
The win, however, did not pack a fruit punch for one New Zealand resident, who had some suspicions about the validity of the company’s chews.
Two years prior, Courtnay Adele had recorded her discovery that Potter Brothers Pineapple Chews did not appear to be the lovingly homemade confections that they claimed to be.
In the clip - posted to TikTok with the caption “How dare they do this to our national lolly” - Courtnay explained that she’s someone who likes to nibble the chocolate coating from her lollies, and after demonstrating, it was clear to see that there was “a layer of chocolate over another layer of chocolate.”
She went on from there to surmise that the packet - which contained more air than it did food - did not have 100% handmade treats, and instead they were just “normal pineapple lump[s] that this company has just covered with their own chocolate”.
The prickly affair wasn’t to end there, with the Potter Brothers’ win leaving a sour taste in Courtnay’s mouth, and forcing her to revisit the scandal.
As she told news.com.au, “after Potter Brothers were ranked at number one, I went and got a new bag to see if they were still doing the same thing I had discovered years earlier.
“The bag I got was definitely still recoated pineapple lumps, so I commented on the original story and it started getting some traction.”
People shared her dismay, with even those who don’t like the lollies jumping in to demand answers, and Courtnay eventually shared an update with her followers, stressing that the issue was in the company’s marketing.
With the internet riled up over Pineapplegate, and local TV news stations picking up the story, the company felt it necessary to issue a statement addressing the scandal.
“When we started, we were young, excitable, and naive,” Stuff.co.nz reported a statement to read, “and didn’t consider how the use of some words in our content may not be appropriate.
“We stress that this was not intentional and these are learnings that have been taken to heart in recent times.”
And since the news first broke, references to the lollies’ ‘handmade’ nature have been removed from the company’s website, while the packaging now reads “Small Batch Made in New Zealand”.
Courtnay, for one, has no intentions of sticking around to find out if that’s true, telling her followers that “I won’t be buying them again. I’ll stick with the OG pineapple lumps.”
Images: TikTok