Fact Check: Is Quaker Oats bringing back Aunt Jemima to syrup bottles in 2025? Viral rumor debunked

On October 20, rumors started floating on the internet that Quaker Oats is bringing back its Aunt Jemima branding to syrup bottles and pancake mixes. The claim first made rounds on Facebook, after the profile America's Last Line of Defense posted that the company would bring back the old branding in 2025, claiming that the boycott against the new branding worked.

This rumor also circulated on X, as several users posted about Quaker Oats reviving its original branding.

"BOYCOTTS WORK!!! QUAKER HAS ANNOUNCED AUNT JEMIMA WILL BE BACK ON SYRUP BOTTLES IN 2025: 'Our CUSTOMERS HAVE SPOKEN,'" the posts on X and Facebook read.

However, the fact-checking website Snopes.com has debunked this claim. The website branded the post as satire, adding that the Facebook page, America's Last Line of Defense, calls itself a "network of trolleys" with a disclaimer in its bio that reads, "Nothing on this page is real."

Furthermore, there is no evidence that Quaker Oats is bringing back Aunt Jemima. There is no official word from the company or PepsiCo, the parent company, that suggests the rebrand. Also, no mainstream media outlet has reported about the alleged rebranding.

In 2021, PepsiCo rebranded Aunt Jemima as Pearl Milling Company in light of the 2020 protests about racial injustice following George Floyd's death. Many claimed the brand and logo were racially insensitive as its history was rooted in racial stereotypes.

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Exploring Aunt Jemima's history and rebranding

Founded in 1888, Pearl Milling Company launched its pancake mix under the name Aunt Jemima, derived from an 1875 minstrel song called Old Aunt Jemima. The brand's logo was that of a "mammy," an older Black woman who served her white owners.

The original logo showed the Black woman wearing a headscarf synonymous with her "mammy" design. Later, redesigns saw the headscarf turned into a headband, which was then completely omitted in the newest version. The latest logo iteration saw the character wearing pearl earrings and a lace collar.

However, the product saw a steady decline among the Black community due to its racist connotations. In 2001, PepsiCo purchased Quaker Oats and decided to keep the older branding, until the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests.

In June 2020, PepsiCo announced via Quaker Foods North America that the company had decided to retire the branding. Kristin Kroepfl, vice president and chief marketing officer of Quaker Foods North America, said in a statement:

"We recognize Aunt Jemima's origins are based on a racial stereotype. As we work to make progress toward racial equality through several initiatives, we also must take a hard look at our portfolio of brands and ensure they reflect our values and meet our consumers' expectations."

In February 2021, PepsiCo introduced the rebrand under the name Pearl Milling Company. While the products would retain the original red packaging, the name and logo were replaced with Pearl Milling Company.

The family of Lillian Richard, one of the brand ambassadors who portrayed Jemima since the 1920s, said in an interview that the company went ahead with the rebranding without consulting the families. Richard's niece, Vera Harris, claimed the rebrand felt like an erasure of history.

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During the same time as the Jemima rebrand, Mars Food also announced a rebrand for its Uncle Ben's rice range, after being accused of racial stereotyping. The rebrand saw the products being sold under the name Ben's Originals. The company also removed the logo of the bow-tie-wearing Black man from the packaging.