NEW YORK - The owner of Eskimo Pie is changing its name and marketing of the nearly century-old chocolate-covered ice cream bar, the latest brand to reckon with racially charged logos and marketing.
“We are committed to being a part of the solution on racial equality, and recognize the term is derogatory,” Elizabell Marquez, head of marketing for its parent, Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream, the U.S. subsidiary for Froneri, said in a statement. “This move is part of a larger review to ensure our company and brands reflect our people values.”
The treat was patented by Christian Kent Nelson of Ohio and his business partner Russell C. Stover in 1922, according to Smithsonian Magazine.
Eskimo Pie joins a growing list of brands that are rethinking their marketing in the wake of the Black Lives Matter protests in recent weeks triggered by the death of George Floyd. Quaker Oats announced Wednesday that it would retire the Aunt Jemima brand, saying the company recognizes the character’s origins are “based on a racial stereotype.”
Other companies are reviewing their names or logos. Geechie Boy Mill, a family-owned operation in South Carolina that makes locally grown and milled white grits, said Wednesday that it was “listening and reviewing our overall branding,” though no decisions had been made. Geechie is a dialect spoken mainly by the descendants of African American slaves who settled on the Ogeechee River in Georgia, according to Merriam-Webster.com.
Mars Inc. said it’s also reviewing its Uncle Ben’s rice brand. B&G Foods Inc., which makes Cream of Wheat hot cereal, also said this past week it was initiating “an immediate review” of its packaging. A smiling black chef holding a bowl of cereal has appeared on Cream of Wheat packaging and in ads since at least 1918, according to the company’s website.
Chicago-based Conagra Brands, which makes Mrs. Butterworth’s syrup, said its bottles — which are shaped like a matronly woman — are intended to evoke a “loving grandmother.” But the company said it could understand that the packaging could be misinterpreted. Critics have long claimed that the bottle’s design is rooted in the “mammy” stereotype.