The New Name For Goldfish Crackers Sounds Like An April Fool's Prank

The air is chilly and the pumpkins are spicing, so why does the latest announcement from the newly rebranded Campbell Company sound like something that would happen on April Fool's Day? The company announced today that, for a limited time, it is releasing Goldfish crackers, its iconic cheddar snacks, under a new name: "Chilean Sea Bass." Which we find ... interesting. Regardless of whether you're delighted by this change or confused, you won't see any of the bags in your grocery stores as they are only available online from October 23 through October 30. So think of it as a Halloween costume of sorts.

It's not uncommon for brands to release specialty-themed products. Many chain restaurants are getting in on the holiday fun by featuring limited-time festive fall menus. And this week, Dunkin' is running Potion Machhiato, Spider Donuts, and Halloween MUNCHKINS Bucket specials. What makes the Pepperidge Farm announcement a touch strange is this temporary name change has nothing to do with Halloween or any promotional holiday for that matter. According to the brand, it has to do with ... age?

According to Danielle Brown, the vice president of Goldfish, this name change is simply a temporary Goldfish glow-up. Brown told CNN, "We know Goldfish are a lunchbox icon, but the truth is, they're loved by snackers of all ages. So, as a playful reminder, we went ahead and gave our iconic cheddar cracker a new, fun, grown-up name." If the reasoning behind this name change has you scratching your head, you're not the only one. People on the internet are largely responding to this story with bewilderment, with one commenter even asking the Campbell Company to put cameras in grocery store aisles to catch perplexed expressions. Too bad it's only an online release, we'll just have to imagine everyone's face is as scrunched up in skepticism as ours.

It's clear the snack brand is trying something — what that something is, we can't be too sure. A temporary, gag-gift-worthy name change may or may not impact sales very much, but one thing is for sure, it's certainly a splashy attempt.