The makers of Eskimo Pie announced last week that the chocolate-covered ice cream bar will change its name to Edy’s Pie starting in 2021. Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream, which owns the brand, first announced it planned to change the name in June.
The ice cream bar has been trademarked as Eskimo Pie for 100 years but will be rebranded to move away from the racially insensitive term, according to the company.
Elizabell Marquez, head of marketing for Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream, told Daily Mail that the name change reflects the growing call for racial inclusivity.
“We are committed to being a part of the solution on racial equality, and recognize the term is derogatory,” Marquez said.
The company has paused production and sales of the dessert until the new brand rolls out. Eskimo Pie is the latest in a list of brands, including Uncle Ben’s and Aunt Jemima, that have undergone name changes to move away from offensive branding.
While the company never caught significant flack for its former name, it’s gaining attention on social media for the decision to rebrand. After the initial announcement in June, people tweeted that the change was necessary but long overdue.
Older, conservative white folks who grew up eating the ice cream, however, said after Monday’s announcement they disliked the name Edy’s Pie and that the original brand was never a problem—even though the term Eskimo is considered a slur by the Inuit community.
“Another imbellic [sic] #VirtureSingalling company seeing a problem that isn’t there,” one Twitter user said. “Klondike bars are still Klondike bars!”
“Next these politically liberal companies will be taking the name ‘Italian’ off of spaghetti sauce, ‘Mexican’ off of Mexican restaurants, ’French’ off French bread,” wrote another user.
While older conservatives seem critical about the name change, the company said that “the move is a part of a larger review to ensure our company and brands reflect our people values,” according to a statement released in June.
“Our mission at Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream is to bring joy to everyday life with ice cream and we look forward to our Edy’s Pie ice cream bars continuing to do just that,” Marquez said in the statement.
The Daily Dot has reached out to members of the Inuit community for comment and is awaiting a response.
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*First Published: Oct 12, 2020, 1:50 pm
Angelica Arinze
Angelica Arinze is an editorial intern for the Daily Dot and a third-year journalism student at the University of Texas at Austin. She is the director of the Daily Texan’s diversity and inclusion board and involved with the National Association of Black Journalists and BlackPrint, UT’s Black interest publication.
