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Pearl Milling Company is the new name parent company PepsiCo came up with to rebrand its long-running, yet maligned, Aunt Jemima line of syrups and pancake mixes. (Click on the second image above to see the new brand.)
In 2020, condemnation in the media rose up over the Aunt Jemima logo - a cartoonishly smiling Black woman. It was decried as a stereotype being exploited to sell breakfast foods for the benefit of white business owners.
In response, in June 2020, PepsiCo announced it would maintain the flavors and recipes of Aunt Jemima products, but remove the offending logo.
In February, PepsiCo released the packaging for Aunt Jemimah’s replacement - Pearl Milling Company, honoring the business that created the original ready-made pancake mix in 1888.
PMC products will become available in local markets this summer, Pepsico said. Foods sold in the Aunt Jemima packaging, which is still on shelves but does not include a picture of Aunt Jemima, will be available until June.
The Pearl Milling Company packaging is similar to the Aunt Jemima brand, employing the same bright red and background and white font.
In tandem with the switch to Pearl Milling Company, PepsiCo has announced a $400 million, five-year investment to “uplift Black business and communities, and increase Black representation at PepsiCo” as well as a $1 million commitment to “empower and uplift Black girls and women” through grants. T
his is on top of the $5 million PepsiCo pledged to the Black community when it announced the logo change over the summer.
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