Aunt Jemima Set to Change Their Brand Name and Image Due to Racial Stereotype
In the midst of the Black Lives Matter movement, Aunt Jemima will no longer be found on store shelves. The Quaker Oats Company has been receiving large amounts of criticism throughout the Black Lives Matter movement. The famous pancake and syrup brand, Aunt Jemima, will soon be pulling their products off the shelves, and replacing them with a whole new look. The brand will be cutting their image of a Black smiling woman off their label, as well as receiving a new name.
In a press release, Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer of Quaker Foods North America, Kristin Kroepfl, said, “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.”
“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,” said Kroepfl.
Even Uncle Ben’s has decided to change their branding in light of Aunt Jemima changing theirs.
Uncle Ben’s announces plan to change branding of the rice, a move that follows a similar announcement from the company that owns Aunt Jemima’s syrup. https://t.co/U83iI34NdA
— NBC News (@NBCNews) June 17, 2020
Former slave Nancy Green was the original woman to represent the pancake mix. In 2015, Riché Richardson wrote a piece for the New York Times, “Can We Please, Finally, Get Rid of ‘Aunt Jemima’?” In it, Richardson states, “This Aunt Jemima logo was an outgrowth of Old South plantation nostalgia and romance grounded in an idea about the ‘mammy,’ a devoted and submissive servant who eagerly nurtured the children of her white master and mistress while neglecting her own.”
Though the brand’s new name has not yet been released, the company says that its new imageless packaging “will begin to appear throughout Q4 of 2020.”
Kudos to brands like Aunt Jemima take the initiative to progress the image of Black people and their community.
