Food Brands Step Up to Change Their Racially Insensitive Names: Aunt Jemima, Uncle Ben’s and More

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Food Brands Step Up to Change Their Racially Insensitive Names: Aunt Jemima, Uncle Ben's and More

A welcome change. In the wake of Black Lives Matter protests across the globe following the deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and countless others, several food companies and brands have announced they will be changing their names. Aunt Jemima, which is owned by Quaker Foods, a subsidiary of PepsiCo, was the first brand to confirm a moniker update on Wednesday, June 17. Currently, the 130-year-old brand features a Black woman named Aunt Jemima, who was originally dressed as a minstrel character, on its packaging. Aunt Jemima's picture has actually changed multiple times over the course of the brand's history. In fact, in recent years, Quaker Foods removed the "mammy" kerchief from the character following growing criticism that the brand perpetuated a racist stereotype that stemmed from slavery. Now, Quaker Foods intends to do away with the image and name entirely as part of a concerted effort by the company "to make progress toward racial equality." Consumers will begin to see the brand's revamp in October, and a new name will be announced at a later date, following the first phase of packaging changes. "We recognize Aunt Jemima's origins are based on a racial stereotype," Kristin Kroepfl, vice president and chief marketing officer of Quaker Foods North America, said in a press release in June 2020. "As we work to make progress toward racial equality through several initiatives, we also must take a hard look at our portfolio of brands and ensure they reflect our values and meet our consumers' expectations." [jwplayer DX8u35te-l3ahXupL] Kroepfl also noted that Quaker Foods has worked to "update" the brand in an effort to be "appropriate and respectful" but the company now realizes those changes didn't go far enough. The company's decision was met with an overwhelming amount of support from consumers. "After 130 years, it is officially time to pour one out for Aunt Jemima," host Trevor Noah said during a clip from Wednesday's episode of The Daily Show as he poured syrup on the floor. "Aunt Jemima, from the beginning, was a classic slave 'mammy' stereotype who got her name from an old blackface minstrel character." After Quaker Foods announced Aunt Jemima's forthcoming name change, a handful of other food brands with other problematic monikers confirmed they would be taking similar steps. Scroll down to see more food brands that have announced they will change their racially insensitive names. [podcast_block]

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Red Skins and Chicos

Allen’s, the Australian company that sells both candies, which are made by Nestlé, announced the impending name change in a post on its Facebook page. "This decision acknowledges the need to keep creating smiles, ensuring that nothing we do marginalizes our friends, neighbors and colleagues, or is out of step with our values,” the statement read. “We appreciate the comments we have received on the need for change.” The statement also noted that new names for the treats have not yet been finalized.

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Eskimo Pie Ice Cream Bars

Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream, which is owned by Nestlé USA, announced that its Eskimo Pie ice cream bars will be getting a new brand name after determining that the previous moniker was no longer suitable. "We are committed to being a part of the solution on racial equality, and recognize the term is derogatory,” Elizabell Marquez, Nestlé USA's head of marketing, said in a statement obtained by Fox Business. "This move is part of a larger review to ensure our company and brands reflect our people values." 

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Aunt Jemima

"We acknowledge the brand has not progressed enough to appropriately reflect the confidence, warmth and dignity that we would like it to stand for today," Quaker Foods said in a statement announcing the change. "We are starting by removing the image and changing the name. We will continue the conversation by gathering diverse perspectives from both our organization and the Black community to further evolve the brand and make it one everyone can be proud to have in their pantry."

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Uncle Ben's

The rice brand, which features an older black man smiling on the box, will "evolve" to include a different image, according to parent company Mars Food. "We recognize that now is the right time to evolve the Uncle Ben’s brand, including its visual brand identity, which we will do,” said Caroline Sherman, a spokeswoman for Mars, in a statement. Though Mars is unclear on exactly when the packaging will be revamped, the corporation is "evaluating all possibilities."

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Mrs. Butterworth's

"The Mrs. Butterworth's brand, including its syrup packaging, is intended to evoke the images of a loving grandmother. We stand in solidarity with our Black and Brown communities and we can see that our packaging may be interpreted in a way that is wholly inconsistent with our values," Conagra Brands, the maker of the popular food said in a statement. "We understand that our actions help play an important role in eliminating racial bias and as a result, we have begun a complete brand and packaging review on Mrs. Butterworth's."

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Cream of Wheat

The porridge box currently shows a beaming black man in a white chef’s uniform and has not been altered much since the product's debut in the late 19th century. Additionally, the character was named “Rastus,” a pejorative term for black men, and he was once depicted as a barely literate cook. "We understand there are concerns regarding the chef image, and we are committed to evaluating our packaging and will proactively take steps to ensure that we and our brands do not inadvertently contribute to systemic racism," B&G Foods Inc., Cream of Wheat's parent company, said in a statement.

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Sambo's

The last Sambo’s in the United States, which is located in Santa Barbara, California, announced a forthcoming name change to a to-be-determined moniker. For now, employees have covered the sign outside with a peace symbol, an ampersand and the word “love.”

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Thug Kitchen

The cookbook and vegan recipe website said it would alter its name following years of criticism. The brand's creators, Matt Holloway and Michelle Davis, issued a statement on their website titled "We're Changing," in which they explained that the moniker was initially intended to signal the brand's grit. "Over the years, as our critics pointed out the racist connotations of two white people using the word 'thug,' we tried to contextualize it by talking about our backgrounds and our beliefs. We realize, however, that whatever our original intention, our use of it reflected our privilege and ignored the reality that the word is assigned to black people in an attempt to dehumanize them," the statement read. "That’s f--ked up and not at all what we want to stand for. We apologize. We recognize we need to do better."