The quirky brand, which is known for its tongue-in-cheek advertising and drinks labelling, decided to promote its new range of Innocent nut milks with a seasonal addition,'Conker Milk', and announced this via its social media channels.
Tweeting last week, Innocent introduced this new dairy-free drink with the hashtag #conkermilk and the resulting backlash was swift.
Many people assumed this was a real product, but in fact, eating conkers (rather than sweet chestnuts) can be dangerous.
One twitter user quote tweeted Innocent's original post saying: "Firstly, you can’t milk a conker.
"Most importantly, a horse chestnut (often called a conker) is NOT edible. It’s poisonous & can cause paralysis or death if eaten.
"Sweet chestnuts used below BUT calling it Conker Milk in a bid to be clever about “conkering milk” is reckless."
Another added: "The amount of praise & likes their post received was horrific. It really highlights the disconnect from nature when people can’t recognise poison."
Innocent tweeted an apology and video telling followers not to eat conkers.
DO NOT EAT CONKERS
The product featured in this advert is not real.
PLEASE DO NOT EAT OR MILK CONKERS pic.twitter.com/dIumpBVjYI
— innocent drinks (@innocent) October 18, 2019
The brand is urging people to try their range of other nut milks, rather than the fictional 'conker milk'.
