WASHINGTON – PepsiCo has renamed the Aunt Jemima brand of pancake syrup and batter, fulfilling a promise made last year amid widespread protests in the United States against racism.
The new brand will be called Pearl Milling Company – after the business founded in 1888 that created the mix that became Aunt Jemima – and will hit store shelves in June, PepsiCo said yesterday.
The food and beverage giant in June last year announced it will end the Aunt Jemima line, which is adorned with the face of a black woman.
The decision came amid nationwide protests following the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Those sparked a wider reckoning around racism in American society, which has a long history of racist caricatures of African Americans.
“Quaker worked with consumers, employees, external cultural and subject-matter experts, as well as diverse agency partners to gather broad perspectives and ensure that the new brand is developed with inclusivity in mind,” PepsiCo said in announcing the name change.
Mars made a similar decision, rebranding its Uncle Ben’s brand of rice decorated by an elderly black man in a bow tie to Ben’s Original. – AFP, February 10, 2021
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