Quaker Oats said Tuesday that its mix of pancakes and Aunt Jemima brand syrup will be renamed the Pearl Milling Company. Aunt Jemima’s products will continue to be sold until June, when the packaging will officially change.
Quaker Oats, a division of PepsiCo Inc., had announced last June that it would withdraw the Aunt Jemima brand, saying the character’s origins “are based on a racial stereotype.” Aunt Jemima’s smiling logo was inspired by the 19th-century “mom” minstrel character, a black woman who served her white masters. A former slave, Nancy Green, became the first face of pancake products in 1890.
Quaker Oats bought the Aunt Jemima brand in 1925 and had updated the logo over the years in an effort to eliminate negative stereotypes. But, according to the cultural calculation that followed last summer’s Black Lives Matter protests, Quaker decided to change the name completely. Other brands followed, such as Uncle Ben’s rice.
Quaker said the Pearl Milling Company was founded in 1888 in St. Louis. Joseph, Missouri, and was the initiator of the self-sufficient panel mix. While the brand will be new to the shelves, the boxes and bottles of syrup will still have Aunt Jemima’s familiar red packaging.
Quaker said he sought input from clients, employees and external cultural experts as he developed the new brand.
Quaker said he is also giving $ 1 million to groups that empower black women and girls as part of the Pearl Milling Company deployment.
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