Cream of Wheat

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Cream of Wheat logo.png

Cream of Wheat is an American brand of farina, a type of breakfast porridge mix made from wheat semolina. It resembles grits but has a finer texture due to the use of ground wheat kernels rather than ground corn. Wheat millers in Grand Forks, North Dakota, were the first to make history in the United States in 1893. The commodity made its debut in Chicago, Illinois, at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition. Cream of Wheat was a Nabisco brand made by Kraft Foods until January 2007. B&G Foods purchased the name and all marketing rights to the cereal in January 2007. "Cream of Wheat" is a trademark that has been registered.[1]

Rastus.jpg

Racial Issue

B&G Foods, of Parsippany, NJ, announced that the Cream of Wheat brand and packaging, which includes a black chef, would be reviewed immediately. In 1893, at the World's Columbia Exposition in Chicago, the breakfast porridge blend made its debut.

Since its introduction in the late 1800s, the porridge tin, which features a beaming black man in a white chef's uniform, has remained largely unchanged. The character was once portrayed as a barely literate cook who didn't know what vitamins were, and he was assigned the name "Rastus," a derogatory word for black men.[2]

Cream-of-wheat-advertisement-december-1921.jpg

Rebranding

B&G Foods said, "We acknowledge there are questions about the Chef picture, and we are committed to reviewing our packaging and taking constructive action to ensuring that we and our brands do not unwittingly lead to structural racism." “B&G Foods unequivocally condemns all manifestations of discrimination and injustice.”[3]

A decision has been taken, more than three months after Cream of Wheat's parent firm, B&G Foods, announced it was "initiating an urgent review" of the brand's packaging, a decision has been made – the chef will be removed.

In a statement to USA TODAY, B&G Foods said, "For years, the logo of an African-American chef appeared on our Cream of Wheat packaging." “While evidence suggests the picture is based on a real Chicago chef called Frank White, it reminds certain customers of previous offensive depictions. As a result, the chef image will be removed from all Cream of Wheat packaging."[4]

Background

The branding announcements, according to experts, was a product of the Black Lives Matters marches in response to the police killings of George Floyd and other African Americans. This not only impacted to Cream of Wheat but also to several brands such as Aunt Jemima, Uncle Ben's, and Mrs. Butterworth's.

External Link

Read B&G Foods Inc. official statement here.

References

  1. Cream of Wheat. Retrieved December 26, 2020.
  2. Cramer, Maria.After Aunt Jemima, Reviews Underway for Uncle Ben, Mrs. Butterworth and Cream of Wheat, nytimes.com, 17 June 2020. Retrived December 26, 2020.
  3. Watrous, Monica.Mrs. Butterworth’s, Uncle Ben’s among brands to eliminate racial stereotypes, foodbusinessnews.net, 18 June 2020. Retrieved December 26, 2020.
  4. Tyko, Kelly. Cream of Wheat to remove Black chef from the box as it updates imagery in wake of calls for racial equality, usatoday.com, 26 September 2020. Retrieved December 26, 2020.