Trader Joe’s will rename products that have been criticized as racist, the company announced in a statement.
The popular supermarket chain has been criticized for its labeling of “international” food products, called “Trader José’s” or “Trader Ming’s”.
A petition circulated online, obtaining a few thousand signatures calling for the removal of “racist packaging.” Calling Chinese food products “Trader Ming’s,” the petition said, “belies a narrative of exoticism that perpetuates harmful stereotypes.”
“The Trader Joe brand is racist because it exoticizes other cultures: it features” Joe “as the default ‘normal’ and the other characters left out of it are ‘Arabian Joe’, ‘Trader José’ and ‘Trader Joe San “Says the request.
In response, the company made it clear that it will change the criticized products.
“While this approach to product naming may have originated in a lighthearted attempt at inclusion, we recognize that it may now have the opposite effect, one that is contrary to the welcoming and rewarding customer experience that we strive to create. days, “Kenyan friend -Daniel, the company’s public relations chief, said in a statement to the New York Times. Merchant Joe’s did not immediately respond to a request for comment from NBC News on Monday.
Friend-Daniel said the company decided to use only Trader Joe’s name on its package “several years ago” and is in the process of changing names deemed offensive.
Trader Joe’s ads come when Quaker Oats announced in June that it would change its brand name Aunt Jemima, saying the product was “based on a racial stereotype.” Uncle Ben’s, the rice product, also announced that it was undergoing a name and packaging change for the same reason.