The PepsiCo Inc. unit that sells Aunt Jemima products said it would retire the brand because of its origins in racist imagery of black people, while Mars Inc. said it was considering changing its Uncle Ben’s brand.
The owners of the supermarket staples, much as the owners of classic films like “Gone With the Wind” and popular police TV shows, are rethinking their products and marketing as the world confronts racial disparities following the brutal murder of George Floyd.
PepsiCo’s packaged-foods unit said Wednesday it would remove imagery of the black woman from the Aunt Jemima brand’s pancake mixes, syrups and other products, and change its name. The company didn’t disclose the new name, but said packaging changes will appear throughout the fourth quarter.
Mars announced it is considering changing the Uncle Ben’s brand and its imagery, which features a white-haired black man. “We don’t yet know what the exact changes or timing will be, but we are evaluating all possibilities,” the closely held food giant said.
The Aunt Jemima brand dates back to 1889. It was inspired by a popular song, “Old Aunt Jemima,” typically performed in minstrel shows by a white man in blackface.
Readers things are slowly changing and we are being finally heard. Let’s keep the volume up.
