Coles to change biscuit name after racism claims

  • October 27, 2009
  • James Ferre

Coles has said that it will change the name of its private label biscuit product Creole Creams amid assertions that the name is racist.

A University of Queensland academic yesterday advised that the word Creole has been used as a racist way to describe a person of mixed European and African ancestry.

“The word Creole comes from a period when people’s humanity was measured by the amount of white blood they had in their bloodstream. This is the same kind of thought that underpinned horrific regimes like the Nazis,” Deputy Director of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies Unit at the University of Queensland, Sam Watson, told brisbanetimes.com.au.

The company said that the You’ll Love Coles product was based on the Creole cuisine style that originated in Louisiana, America and they were unaware of the racist connotations. Coles added that the Oreo-esque product had been on the shelves for three years without a single complaint, but they will change the name during the packaging redesign process that will see all ‘You’ll Love Coles’ products rebranded as simply ‘Coles’.


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