Aunt Jemima-brand pancake mix and syrup is being replaced on store shelves with a new brand: Pearl Milling Co. The change came among criticism that the former name and imagery was racist.
In February 2021, the brand maker Quaker Oats announced the changeover would happen in June, as The Associated Press reported at the time:
Quaker Oats, a division of PepsiCo Inc., had announced last June that it would retire the Aunt Jemima brand, saying the character’s origins are “based on a racial stereotype.” The smiling Aunt Jemima logo was inspired by the 19th century “mammy” minstrel character, a Black woman content to serve her white masters. A former slave, Nancy Green, became the first face of the pancake products in 1890.
According to the Quaker Oats website, the company purchased the Aunt Jemima brand in 1925. But after the massive civil rights demonstrations in the spring and summer of 2020 following the murder of George Floyd, the company announced it would retire the name and imagery of the brand because "they do not reflect our core values."
The Pearl Milling Co. packaging retains the familiar red label of the former brand. An image can be seen in the tweet here: