Aunt Jemima is now Pearl Milling Co.
The PepsiCo Inc. unit that sells Aunt Jemima pancake products unveiled the new name on Tuesday, officially retiring a brand that had come under criticism for its origins in racist imagery of Black people.
Pearl Milling Co. was the creator of the original self-rising pancake mix, first marketed as “Self-Rising Pancake Flour” before it was trademarked in 1890 under the Aunt Jemima brand.
The new packaging, which will appear in June, will retain much of the current colors and design. The company had already dropped the image of a Black woman from its bottles and boxes.
“Our changes are in line with PepsiCo’s journey toward racial equality, and the evolution will help carry the 130-year-old brand into the future,” PepsiCo said.
