The Aunt Jemima name and brand are being retired, having nurtured a racial stereotype since 1889.
The 131 year old “Aunt Jemima” brand is being terminated by PepsiCo, owners of Quaker Oats, and the pancake mix and syrup will be given a new name.
Kristin Kroepfl, vice president and chief marketing officer of Quaker Foods North America, said:
“We recognize Aunt Jemima’s origins are based on a racial stereotype. While work has been done over the years to update the brand in a manner intended to be appropriate and respectful, we realize those changes are not enough.”
The domain name AuntJemima.com was registered in 1997. It is highly unlikely that Quaker Oats will be dropping it altogether, as it’s a valuable digital asset with established traffic.
Once the Aunt Jemima brand is fully retired and the new brand is developed, the domain AuntJemima.com will most likely become a URL forwarder to the new domain name.
To anyone owning an “Aunt Jemima” domain currently: turn off its automatic renewal and let it drop.
