Uncle Ben’s rice will soon switch its name to Ben’s Original, and drop the logo depicting a fictitious bow-tied Black rice farmer, after brand owner Mars Food admitted its packaging had “overtones of servitude.” The revamped Ben’s products will hit shelves in 2021, according to CNN. Mars reportedly surveyed thousands of consumers over the summer, and many told them that “uncle” was a pejorative term and the logo made them feel deeply uncomfortable. “For some, it clearly had overtones of servitude, and that is not the brand that we want to represent,” said Fiona Dawson, global president of Mars Food. “There’s no place for anything in this world that hints at social injustice.” Mars announced plans to “evolve” the Uncle Ben’s brand hours after Quaker Oats said it would retire Aunt Jemima from packaging on its brand of syrup earlier this year.
