Nestlé Has Finally Settled on New Names for "Red Skins" and "Chicos"

No one likes sweets with salty history.

Earlier today, Nestlé confirmed the new names for two of their classic Aussie lollies (thank goodness). 

In an announcement made this morning, Nestlé detailed that Allen’s Red Skins will be changed to "Red Ripper" and Allen’s Chicos will now be known as "Cheekies".

New names for Nestle confectionery. 🍬

Red Skins to become Red Rippers

Chicos rebadged as Cheekies. pic.twitter.com/Eo3xtVpGr8

— Jamie Travers (@JamieTravers) November 16, 2020

This decision has been a long time coming, as the confectionary company announced back in June that they were changing the names due to “overtones which are out of step with the company’s values.”

Essentially, earlier in the year when the Black Lives Matter movement was in huge global focus, a lot of brands and individuals were taking a step back to reconsider what things they might still be doing to potentially contribute to systematic division and racism.

These two lollies came into question because both names can be considered a racial slur against two specific groups of people: Red Skins negatively referring to Native Americans, and Chico as offensive slang towards Latin Americans.

You can learn more about why these terms are not okay here.

Initially, there was some backlash online from people who didn’t understand how the name change would benefit the Black Lives Matter movement, but it’s all about normalisation and representation.

To put it simply, when we regularly use offensive slurs in our everyday language, it then normalises that word and makes people feel like it’s okay to use it, even if it’s not intended to be offensive. This is damaging to marginalised groups who still experience systematic racism and discrimination because it makes it normal for them to still be represented in a negative way.

So, it’s not about political correctness, it’s about literal racism, which no one wants. Basically, the choice to change the names of the lollies is definitely a step in the right direction.

Nestlé General Manager of Confectionary Chris O’Donnell hopes that Australians will understand and back the change.

"Nestlé has an unwavering commitment to upholding respect for our friends, neighbours and colleagues," he said.

"We hope Australians will support the evolution of these two much-loved lollies—while the names are new, the lollies themselves remain unchanged.

"We will keep pack changes simple to help lolly lovers find their favourites easily."

There have also been calls made on social media for the brand Coon Cheese to change their name, for pretty much the same reasons. The term ‘coon’ is a slur that references people of black heritage, specifically African, African American and Indigenous Australian people.

Hey Australia - are we still chill with this? pic.twitter.com/3pY2wyZ3IY

— Josh Thomas (@JoshThomas87) June 14, 2020

While they have stated their intent to adjust the name, the brand still hasn’t made any changes.

"After thorough consideration, Saputo has decided to retire the COON® brand name. We are working to develop a new brand name that will honour the brand-affinity felt by our valued consumers while aligning with current attitudes and perspectives," said the company in a statement.

"At Saputo, one of our basic principles as an organisation is to treat people with respect and without discrimination and we will not condone behaviour that goes against this.

"We believe we all share in the responsibility to eliminate racism in all its forms and we feel this is an important step we must take to uphold this commitment."

The new branding of Red Rippers and Cheekies will be available in early 2021.

Header Image: Nestlé