During the peak of the Black Lives Matter protests last summer, PepsiCo made the decision to retire the controversial Aunt Jemima name from their pancake mix and syrup brand. As the news spread far and wide, Pepsi’s marketing team worked tirelessly to find the ideal replacement for the brand. Finally, they announced the new name: Pearl Milling Company.
Starting in June 2021, customers can expect to see the rebranded packaging on store shelves. Until then, products with the Aunt Jemima name will continue to be sold, but without the iconic character’s image on the packaging.
The new brand name, Pearl Milling Company, has deep roots in the company’s history. Established in 1888 in St. Joseph, Missouri, Pearl Milling Company produced the self-rising pancake mix that would later be branded as Aunt Jemima. Black women were employed to promote the pancake mix across the country through traveling sales presentations. In 1925, Quaker Oats Company acquired the Aunt Jemima brand and updated the image to a less offensive version. PepsiCo then purchased Quaker Oats Company in 2001.
PepsiCo and Quaker collaborated with consumers, employees, external cultural experts, subject-matter experts, and diverse agency partners to ensure that the new brand was developed with inclusivity in mind. The updated packaging retains the familiar red, yellow, and white colors of Aunt Jemima but removes the offensive image that sparked outrage nationwide. The design now features a vintage mill illustration and the tagline “New Name Same Great Taste – Aunt Jemima.”
Despite these changes, some critics have expressed dissatisfaction with the new name.
One Twitter user commented, “Pearl Milling Company syrup? My doesn’t that sound yummy, huh? The name Aunt Jemima made me hungry for pancakes. Pearl Milling Company sounds like something owned by a James Bond villain.” Another critic likened the name to a gravel mining company.
On the other hand, many individuals felt that the rebranding was long overdue.
One person said, “Whenever I see Aunt Jemima brand in the store or have to purchase it because it’s the only pancake mix available, it’s just. It should’ve been changed decades ago. It shouldn’t have existed in the first place.”
Although Aunt Jemima’s image underwent several redesigns over the years, including weight loss, it was not sufficient to overcome the brand’s racist history. James O’Rourke, a professor of management at the University of Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business, stated, “The reputation of that brand, now more than 130 years old, was built on a racial and cultural stereotype that is widely regarded as offensive.”
WATCH the video below for more details:
Source: AWM
Leave a Comment