The Black Lives Matter protests have taken a stance against racism and police brutality, but they’ve also encouraged the world to stop and critically analyse undercurrents of racism in everyday life. One former MP has taken that one step further by accusing everyone’s favourite childhood breakfast cereal Coco Pops of being racist.
According to multiple reports, former Labour politician Fiona Onasanya has written to Kellogg’s via email and social media asking for answers about the popular chocolate-flavoured cereal.
“@KelloggsUK, as you are yet to reply to my email – Coco Pops and Rice Krispies have the same composition (except for the fact that CP’s are brown and chocolate flavoured),” she tweeted. “So I was wondering why Rice Krispies have three white boys representing the brand and Coco Pops have a monkey.”
Kellogg’s eventually responded to Onasanya, explaining via Daily Mail UK, “the monkey mascot that appears on both white and milk chocolate Coco Pops, was created in the 1980s to highlight the playful personality of the brand.”
Kellogg’s also noted that they feature “a range of characters” on their cereal boxes, “Including tigers, giraffes, crocodiles, elves and a narwhal.”
“We do not tolerate discrimination and believe that people of all races, genders, backgrounds, sexual orientation, religions, capabilities and beliefs should be treated with the utmost dignity and respect,” the brand added.
Speaking of brands speaking amidst Black Lives Matter protests, hear about some of the more tone deaf statements below:
A number of Twitter users also responded to Onansanya’s Coco Pops query with theories of their own.
One wrote, “the cacao tree from which cocoa beans and hence cocoa powder is derived is native to the Amazon Basin where there are monkeys.”
Others pointed out the fact that the monkey is also featured on the white chocolate Coco Pops packaging, and that the “three white boys” on the Rice Krispies boxes are actually elves.
It’s not the first time food products have come under fire for racist undertones. This week, there was a call for Australian cheese brand Coon and Margaret River’s Colonial Brewing company to be renamed.
The Black Lives Matter protests are empowering people to speak out against racist acts, however, in the case of Coco Pops – the packaging design appears to be a harmless marketing decision.
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