Saints and Sinners of 2025
Credit: Alpha Perspective
Rejoice (or repent). It’s time for Sister Mary’s second annual saints and sinners: our unapologetic take on the brands that earned devotion - and those that didn’t, in 2025.
01 / cultural relevance
saints: right on time
In response to the egg crisis of 2025, The Ordinary - known for their no frills affordable skincare - stocked bodega shelves with our favorite food staple for $10 less than anywhere else in NYC.
At a time when everyone and their mother is on Ozempic, Nestle launched Vital Pursuit - frozen meals formulated for GLP1 needs. Its design still brings the indulgence even if you’re only able to stomach a bite.
sinners: missed the boat
Good idea but didn’t the world lose our sourdough obsession in like, March 2021 when their Covid-crazed starter died after you forgot to feed it (or was that just me?)
By the time Jarritos launched their NFTs in summer 2025, the world had already realized how lame and BS they are.
02 / Brand extensions
saints: simple reframes from the heart
Everyone hopped on the pickle juice bandwagon, but Claussen was the only one that really earned it.
David’s attention-getting randomness moving from bars to fish brilliantly sets themselves up to own any/everything protein. The world is their oyster (or cod or whatever they do next).
sinners: identity crises
The beauty of Waffle House is its UN-bougieness... so its entry into ready-to-drink with cold brew feels off...
Sometimes it’s water, sometimes it’s cannabis-infused seltzer - it’s not beer, but what ARE they??
03 / naming
saints: flipping taboos
For anyone who's said that 'Preparation H is for my eye bags!,’ Norms makes hemorrhoids the tiniest bit fun.
Men never want to talk about health issues, amirite? But even when it comes to a sensitive topic like fertility, they’ll be pumped to be part of the Swimclub.
sinners: making good sound bad
Born from an overly complex acronym ("Shield People Optimally Outdoors Guard Everyone"), Spooge’s wordplay takes the mind to a dirtier place than sun protection... 💦😩
Sometimes a name can lead with the problem... but in this case, it sounds like this functional drink will make you feel like shit.
04 / targeting
saints: inviting the olds in
Lipton Hard Iced Tea’s ‘Don’t Retire the Party’ campaign encourages cross-generational crews. We want to party with Larry the Retired Rizzler too.
Dove’s ‘Made with TMI’ line is designed for menopausal skin shifts, and just as importantly, to prepare women for the changes menopause brings to their skin.
sinners: cashing in on the youths
Rini managed to take the tween Sephora boom to a new low. Why a toddler needs a skincare regimen remains entirely unclear.
67 Water is serving full Steve Buscemi meme energy. “SIX-SEVEN, Y’ALL.”
05 / new brands
saints: freshly familiar
Loisa feels like it’s straight from Abuelita’s kitchen, but cool enough for yours.
Learning from skincare packaging made for shelfies, Cocolab succeeds where others have failed and FINALLY gives us oral care that’s cute enough to show off.
sinners: blatant ripoffs
It’s like Coolside saw what Vacation did and were just like, “yeah let’s do that!”
When Gen Z Water did it a few years ago, it was a self-aware parody. But Fhirst just co-opted the Gen Z Y2K aesthetic without adding any point of view.
06 / collabs
saints: thoughtful mash-ups
"Once you pop, you can’t stop” gets a Hot Ones upgrade — shifting from snackable addiction to a spice-fuelled endurance test, daring you to keep going like the celebs.
So often these buzzy collabs sound like they’d be actually disgusting together... but Campbells Chunky soup with Pabst vibes on every level.
sinners: over extending confusion
Let me get this straight... Erewhon only serves the most absolutely elite CA zip codes... but every midwest yoga mom should be wearing their Lululemon merch?
Future marketing students will study Liquid Death’s offbeat tactics, but this random assortment is what spaghetti on a wall looks like.
07/ innovations
saints: smart twists on classics
One Trick Pony took the pain out of natural peanut butter with upside-down jars with no stirring required - what else will they have up their sleeves?
Johnny Pops just blew our minds with their new freeze dried ice pops that never melt. A huge move out of the freezer aisle and beyond summertime treats that somehow makes total sense.
sinners: adding stuff we don’t need to things we love
Dr. Glitter touts themselves as “the world’s first glitter supplements,” but In a world with way too many fun supplement options already, the sparkle isn’t shining.
Bangers’ caffeine-infused energy chips seem antithetical - after binging a bag, lounging on the couch seems like a better option.
08 / re-brands
saints: bold moves
We’re kinda in love with Cracker Barrel’s refreshed pack system - dialing up the taste appeal to 11 with a retro vibe in all the right ways.
When every other 'better for you' candy copied their original breakthrough style, Gigantic leaned into making good feel a little bad, with cigarette-inspired cartons, provoking you to ‘have a little thrill’ in every bite.
sinners: apologetically new
Yes, we’re saying Cracker Barrel is both a saint and a sinner. We’re not MAD that you went back on good work just because some bots called you out...we’re just disappointed.
Vuum is one of like a billion functional drinks, whose original sleek metallic aesthetic actually popped... but their redesign puts claims over brand (when they didn’t have all that much equity to begin with!!).
09 / AI
saints: in the context of reality
There’s a time, place and use for AI, but Heineken knows nothing can replace drinking an actual bottle of beer with actual people - an incredibly timely response to someone else on this page 👀
Sheba cat food created an AI platform to find cats related to Egyptian kings - creating real-life engagement, content, and affirmation that cats are jerks who think they rule your home.
sinners: trying to take over humans
Even after paying $1.8m for the friend.com domain, the world (or at least NYC subway riders) still quickly spotted the difference between a human and a creepy necklace.
AIGin is, you guessed it, a gin created with AI. But we’ve all been pretty happy with the human-made version for like... centuries now.
10 / Activation
saints: makes you want to engage
Deodorant brand billie leans into their odor-blocking prowess and elevated scents with street-level scratch & sniff billboards that got everyone passing by to sniff the pits.
For condiment purists, nothing is worse than being forced to put off-brand ketchup on the fries you just got. With the Heinz Verified platform, you can make sure the restaurant serves the good stuff before you order.
sinners: immediate disengage
To celebrate Cerave’s 25th birthday, they created pop-ups that... tell you about their 25 year history, which is the equivalent of throwing yourself a surprise party and making everyone share one thing they like about you.
Ecover leaned into the insight that is the struggle and joy of dishwasher Tetris... by making you play regular tetris with a stock image of a dishwasher behind it. They could have at LEAST made the pieces dish shaped!
Let’s hail our saints and repent for our sins as we move into 2025...
And let us know who else is on your saint or sinner list!
halo@sistermary.nyc
