Uncle Ben's becomes Ben's Original
In the wake of the «Black Lives Matter» debate, the food company Mars is renaming its Uncle Ben's rice brand.
Mars announced changes to Uncle Ben's back in mid-2020 as part of the widespread debate on racism. The 70-year-old rice brand features the dark-skinned namesake as its logo. At the time of slavery, African-Americans in the southern states were not addressed as "Mister", but as "Uncle". Similarly, women were addressed as "Aunt" - the reason why the Pepsi Group has also announced the renaming of its US breakfast brand Aunt Jemima.
Time to say goodbye to the Uncle Ben's brand. For the relaunch under the name Ben's Original next year, the company wants to afford redesigned packaging. The rice will go on sale in the redesigned packaging in 2021.
