ESKIMO PIE, AUNT JEMIMA, UNCLE BEN FACE NAME CHANGES

Black Lives Matter protests are triggering name changes in some long-used food products, notes Grumpy Editor.

Latest to retire its name is Eskimo Pie treats.  The brand, America's first chocolate-covered vanilla ice cream bar, goes back to 1920.

 

Other brands affected during the past week include Aunt Jemima, a fixture on breakfast tables for 131 years, and Uncle Ben’s rice, which goes back to 1937.

 

Eskimo Pie’s owner, Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream, says the name will be changed, with its marketing head explaining, “We are committed to being a part of the solution on racial equality, and recognize the term (Eskimo) is derogatory.”

 

Quaker Oats, a susidiary of PepsiCo, says it will retire its Aunt Jemima brand of pancake mixes, syrups and other products, pointing out it recognizes the character’s origins are “based on racial stereotype.” 

 

Mars, owner of Uncle Ben’s rice, says the brand will “evolve" in response to concerns about racial stereotyping.  The name originated from a black Texan farmer known as Uncle Ben.

 

 

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