Coon Cheese Into Cheer Cheese

This post is taken from IZULAT blog repost here.

Coon Cheese will no longer be seen on market shelves after facing backlash from anti-racist people saying the name “coon” is a racial slur for black people. The company who own the cheese product- Saputo Dairy Australia- will change the name of the cheese product from Coon Cheese into Cheer Cheese but with unchanged recipe.

“Coon Cheese is to be rebranded in Australia to Cheer after a campaign by activists against the word's racist connotations. The well-known brand, which has been around for more than 80 years, will disappear from shelves in July. The cheese is owned by Canada's Saputo Dairy Australia which announced last year it would "retire" the name.”(BBC)

“Coon, which has operated for 85 years, takes its name from pioneering American cheese processor Edward William Coon. However, the word is also a racial slur used against people of colour. There have long been calls to ditch the name, but the controversy reached a tipping point in 2020 as the Black Lives Matter movement swept around the world.”(7News)

“Saputo Dairy Australia, which owns the brand, confirmed it was changing the name in July last year following calls led by academic Stephen Hagan for a rebranding."I said that the cheese brand was offensive, I said that it demeans people of colour," Dr Hagan told the ABC at the time…….. Today, Saputo Dairy Australia announced the name was being changed to Cheer Cheese, with the rebranded packaging to hit supermarket shelves across the country by July. "Treating people with respect and without discrimination is one of our basic principles, and it is imperative that we continue to uphold this in everything we do," Saputo chief executive Lino A Saputo said. "Our decision to change the name of Australia's much-loved cheese reinforces this commitment to build a culture of acceptance, inclusion and respect where everyone feels a sense of belonging." The company's commercial director, Cam Bruce, said the packaging would be similar to the current branding and the recipe would remain unchanged.”(ABC)

The rebranding or the renaming and the new name was brought by consumer research wherein the new name emerge because their consumers have that feeling while enjoying the cheese product.

“"Cheer Cheese will continue to be made locally in Victoria from Australian milk, supporting local dairy farmers," he said. He said the name was decided on after consumer research. "Through our research, consumers endorsed this name," Mr Bruce said. "They told us the name connects them to how they feel when enjoying the cheese in their everyday life. "We trust that our valued consumers, as well as those that are new to our products, will embrace the new name and what we stand for."”(ABC)

The main point : The known cheese brand Coon Cheese will change its name into Cheer Cheese after an ant-racist campaign against the word “coon” which is a word of racist slur for black people.