Eskimo Pie Unveils New Branding After Pausing Production Due to Derogatory Name

Eric Todisco
·2 min read

Nestle Eskimo Pie

Eskimo Pie is rebranding after previously acknowledging its name and logo's insensitivity towards native arctic communities.

Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream announced last Friday that the popular chocolate-covered vanilla ice cream bar will now be called Edy's Pie, a nod to one of the company's founders, Joseph Edy.

"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," Elizabell Marquez, head of marketing for Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream, said in a statement to CNN.

Marquez also said that the Nestlé-owned company has "paused production" of the Eskimo Pie until the new brand rolls out, which Dreyer's expects to occur in early 2021.

Nestle Edy's Pie

Back in June, Dreyer's said it was planning to rebrand Eskimo Pie due to its “derogatory” product name following the nationwide racial justice protests due to the death of George Floyd.

“We are committed to being a part of the solution on racial equality, and recognize the term is derogatory,” Marquez said in a statement at the time. "This move is part of a larger review to ensure our company and brands reflect our people values.”

RELATED: Aunt Jemima to Undergo Rebrand in Step to 'Make Progress Toward Racial Equality'

While Eskimo Pie has been around for over a century, the ice cream is not as popular as it once was.

According to Restaurant Dive, Eskimo Pie was only the 19th most popular novelty ice cream brand in 2019 with 9.93 million consumers. In comparison, Klondike Bars was bought by 40.11 million Americans last year.

Dreyer's now joins other brands that are changing products' names and images that use racial stereotypes, such as Aunt Jemima, Uncle Ben's and Mrs. Butterworth's .

To help combat systemic racism, consider learning from or donating to these organizations:

• Campaign Zero (joincampaignzero.org) which works to end police brutality in America through research-proven strategies.

• ColorofChange.org works to make government more responsive to racial disparities.

• National Cares Mentoring Movement (caresmentoring.org) provides social and academic support to help black youth succeed in college and beyond.