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Twitter Claims ‘Aunt Karen’ as Potential New Syrup Name

June 17, 2020

Aunt Jemima, the breakfast brand under Quaker Oats and owned by PepsiCo, will receive a new name and logo amid racist backlash, and Twitter has been QUICK to offer some new name suggestions.

The brand, founded in 1889, is built on the stereotype of the Black female slave who cooks for the white family. PepsiCo said this week that removing the image and name is part of an effort by the company “to make progress toward racial equality.” 

Naturally, this topic started trending on social media, and people started discussing the brand’s racist history about who exactly Aunt Jamima was inspired by.

How To Make A Non Racist Breakfast. #BlackLivesMatter #AllBlackLivesMatter #BlackWomenLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/WY6irZwWtJ

— KIRBY (@singkirbysing) June 15, 2020

In response to the brand’s statement and no news of an official name yet, Twitter then took it upon themselves to help out the brand, and offered a new suggestion: Aunt Karen.

For those of you who don’t know, a “Karen” is a term for an entitled white woman who makes a scene out of every situation. There have been a lot of examples online recently of their viral outbursts, and Karens have quickly become one of Twitter’s biggest memes.

That phrase “Aunt Karen” has exploded online as a result of Pepsi Co’s statement, and the responses have been all over the board. Some people are all for the name, with one Twitter user saying, “Soon to hit the shelves, Aunt Karen Syrup. She will destroy the joy of breakfast forever.”

And others think the taste of the syrup would be, well, salty. Another person wrote, “As part of the rebranding of Aunt Jemima to Aunt Karen, they’re also changing the formula from sweet to bitter and salty.”

As part of the rebranding of Aunt Jemima to Aunt Karen, they're also changing the formula from sweet to bitter and salty.

— Cornelius Rockefeller (@fartbagels) June 17, 2020

We hope that this rebrand will bring forth change as the new product is set to hit shelves later this year. PepsiCo has also decided to make change by donating $5 million to organizations over the next five years “to create meaningful, ongoing support and engagement in the Black community.”