'Aunt Jemima' Name, Logo Replaced with Pearl Milling Company
'Aunt Jemima' We're Now Pearl Milling Company ... Check Out Logo!!!
It's an historic day for all Americans ... who love pancakes -- "Aunt Jemima" is officially out, and Pearl Milling Company is in.
PepsiCo -- the parent company of the syrup giant -- announced Tuesday it is "starting a new day with Pearl Milling Company ... rooted in the brand's historic beginnings and its mission to create moments that matter at the breakfast table."
That's a lot of corporate-speak for ... we scrapped "Aunt Jemima" and created a new logo that's still tied to history, but without the stereotyped image of a Black woman with a headscarf in the kitchen.
PepsiCo filed to trademark the new logo on February 1. You'll recall, last summer the company said Jemima had to go after it took a look at all its brands to "ensure they reflect our values and meet our consumers' expectations."
It's a reckoning several companies had in the wake of George Floyd's death, and a national outcry for racial equality.
The previous logo had been a staple for more than 130 years, but PepsiCo admitted, "While the Aunt Jemima brand was updated over the years in a manner intended to remove racial stereotypes, it has not progressed enough to appropriately reflect the dignity, respect and warmth that we stand for today."
The character, of course, was based on an 1800s "mammy" -- a black servant in a white household. The "Aunt Jemima" figure was portrayed by a real-life woman named Nancy Green ... who'd actually been born into slavery.
PepsiCo says the Pearl Milling Company name is a nod to the 19th-century company that created the original ready-made pancake mix. Its new logo uses the same color scheme -- red, white and yellow -- as the previous logo.
