Online petition calls on Trader Joe’s to remove ‘racist branding’ from stores

An online petition calling on Trader Joe’s to remove its “racist branding and packaging” from its stores has gathered more than 1,500 signatures as of Sunday.

The Change.org petition created two weeks ago requests the grocery store chain to follow other food companies’ moves to adjust their branding and packaging to avoid racial stereotypes. 

The petition specifically calls out the international food items that are named Trader Ming’s, Trader José, Trader Giotto’s, Arabian Joe and Trader Joe San. 

“We demand that Trader Joe’s remove racist branding and packaging from its stores,” the petition reads. “The grocery chain labels some of its ethnic foods with modifications of ‘Joe’ that belies a narrative of exoticism that perpetuates harmful stereotypes.”

Briones Bedell, 17, a rising high school senior, told The New York Times that the products are “racist because they exoticize other cultures” and “present ‘Joe’ as the default normal.”  

“There’s an abundance of products in their stores, and I think it’s still important — the petition remains important — because Trader Joe’s lacks the urgency needed in the current climate to remedy the issue,” she said.

A Trader Joe’s spokesperson told the Times that the company has already decided to remove the names and rebrand its international foods with Trader Joe’s name.

“While this approach to product naming may have been rooted in a lighthearted attempt at inclusiveness, we recognize that it may now have the opposite effect — one that is contrary to the welcoming, rewarding customer experience we strive to create every day,” Kenya Friend-Daniel told the newspaper. “With this in mind, we made the decision several years ago to use only the Trader Joe’s name on our products moving forward.”

Friend-Daniel did not say exactly when the rebranding would be finished but said the company hopes it’s “very soon.”

“Packaging for a number of the products has already been changed, but there’s a small number of products in which the packaging is still going through the process,” she said, according to the Times. 

The petition requesting the changes at Trader Joe’s comes after the nationwide protests over George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis police custody sparked several companies to announce brand changes. 

Quaker Oats last month declared it would no longer use the Aunt Jemima name and character for pancake mix and syrup. The company that sells Mrs. Butterworth’s products also announced a “complete brand and packaging review” in June. 

Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream, which owns Eskimo Pies, also said it plans to change its “derogatory” name.