FIVE THINGS ABOUT CANCELLED BRANDS

Having been called out on social media in recent days, amid widespread protests over racism in the U.S., two major consumer brands are rethinking their product presentations.

1 IT’S HIGH TIME

Pepsico Inc. will change the name and brand image of its Aunt Jemima pancake mix and syrup, dropping a mascot that has been criticized for a racist history. The logo of the more than 130-year-old brand features an African-american woman named after a character from 19th-century minstrel shows. The caricature is rooted in a stereotype of a friendly Black woman working as a servant or nanny for a white family.

2 CLOGGING THE PIPES

A Tiktok video called How To Make A Non Racist Breakfast by user @singkirbysing, in which a woman pours the pancake mix down the sink, got hundreds of thousands of views on Instagram after it was posted Tuesday.

3 BEING CONVERTED

Mars Inc. said it was evaluating possible changes to its Uncle Ben’s brand of packaged rice, which feature a white-haired African-american man named after a Texas rice farmer. “We don’t yet know what the exact changes or timing will be, but we are evaluating all possibilities,” a spokeswoman said. Mars said it had “a responsibility to take a stand in helping to put an end to racial bias and injustices” and that “one way we can do this is by evolving the Uncle Ben’s brand, including its visual brand identity.”

4 CHANGING FROM THE INSIDE

Pepsico also announced a set of initiatives worth more than $400 million over five years to support black communities and boost black representation at Pepsico.

5 NEW THIS FALL

“We recognize Aunt Jemima’s origins are based on a racial stereotype,” Kristin Kroepfl, vice-president and chief marketing officer of Pepsico-owned Quaker Foods North America, said in a statement. Quaker did not announce a new pancake-syrup name or logo, but said packages without the Aunt Jemima image would start appearing in the fourth quarter of 2020.