On Wednesday, Mars Inc. unveiled a new name and logo for one of its longtime staples. Uncle Ben’s Rice, as it’s been known for the past 70 years, will now be known as “Ben’s Original.” Mars says the new packaging will hit shelves next year.
According to apnews.com, Uncle Ben’s is the latest in a line of foods that are making changes in response to racial unrest concerning alleged police brutality. Quaker Oats announced in June that it would drop Aunt Jemima from syrup and pancake products, citing criticism that the branding was based on a black “mammy” character with subservient connotations.
Quaker Oats has made numerous changes to the branding of Aunt Jemima throughout the years, a brand that was first introduced in 1890 by Nancy Green, a former slave, nanny, and activist. The most recent change before June came during the company’s 100th anniversary, with all head-covering removed, revealing wavy, gray-streaked hair, gold-trimmed pearl earrings, and replacing her plain white collar with lace. At the time, the revised image was described as a move towards a more “sophisticated” depiction.
Quaker said packages without Aunt Jemima will start to appear in stores by the end of the year, although the company has not yet revealed the new logo or branding for the products.
Eskimo Joes will not change name or mascot
Eskimo Joes, the beloved bar and restaurant in Stillwater, Oklahoma, faced a petition in July of 2020 to rename their restaurants, citing that the brand used an ethnic slur and racist imagery to depict the restaurant’s main characters. It received over 6,800 signatures on change.org. A counter-petition also began, encouraging the restaurants to keep their name and branding. That petition received over 1,500 signatures.
The company posted on their Facebook Page that they were open to hearing from the public: “Everything we do is steeped in the tradition of unbeatable guest service, and we are always happy to hear feedback from our customers and community.” They posted a survey and invited the community to respond. In August, Eskimo Joe’s revealed the results of their survey. “The overwhelming majority – more than 90% – encouraged us to keep our branding of 45 years,” Eskimo Joe’s officials posted on social media. “They love Eskimo Joe and Buffy, who have always represented fun and excellent service while welcoming and respecting all people.”
Trader Joe’s will not rename its international foods
Also in July, California high school students launched a petition demanding grocery store chain Trader Joe’s to remove what they called “racist packaging” from their stores. The petition said that the company’s decision to label some of it’s exotic foods with a cultural modification of it’s name “belies a narrative of exoticism that perpetuates harmful stereotypes.” The petition cited using “Trader Ming’s” for chinese foods, “Arabian Joe’s” for middle eastern foods, and “Trader Jose” for mexican foods as examples.
Although a company spokesperson initially said that the grocery store chain was in the process of removing the culturally-specific branding before the petition even began circulating, the company later released a public statement confirming the opposite. “Decades ago, our Buying Team started using product names, like Trader Giotto’s, Trader José’s, Trader Ming’s, etc. We thought then—and still do—that this naming of products could be fun and show appreciation for other cultures.” Trader Joe’s has since confirmed that they will not be updating the naming or packaging of those products.
