Black-owned syrup brand sees sales jump after Aunt Jemima’s retirement

Black-owned Michele Foods sells its syrups in major grocery stores, including Kroger and Publix, but the company’s small size kept it from making the types of marketing investments that could substantially move the sales needle. The company has used social media posts to compare its ingredients to those in Aunt Jemima-branded products. When PepsiCo announced that it was retiring the Jemima brand name and image, Michele Foods saw its sales take off. Traffic to its site had grown so much that it caused a crash.