Coon Cheese Rebrand Cheer Has Started Rolling Out In Australia

The rebranded version of Coon Cheese has started rolling out at Australian supermarkets.

The newly named Cheer Cheese underwent an overhaul in 2020 after the brand admitted it was time for a new future.

Activist Stephen Hagan had been campaigning for the name to change for decades due to his belief it was problematic towards Indigenous people.

Saputo Dairy Australia, who owns the iconic cheese brand, eventually agreed with that sentiment at the height of the Black Lives Matter movement resurgence.

Now, after the brand has had time to get all the labelling right, packets of Cheer Cheese have landed in supermarkets and Mr Hagan couldn't be happier.

"It's satisfying to see the new brand in the shelves after my 21-year public fight against this grossly offensive brand name for a yellow piece of cheese,'' he said according to The Australian.

"I do acknowledge the great work done by Saputo to make good on their promise to replace Coon with Cheer as the new brand for their popular cheese."

The brand announced last year it would be switching things up after 85 years, even though the company was named after American creator Edward William Coon, who patented a method for the fast maturation of cheese through high temperature and humidity, which has subsequently been dubbed 'Cooning'.

Mr Hagan has questioned the veracity of the origins of the company name and reckons that might have been fudged a little bit.

"I am disappointed the narrative of the reason behind the change has not included the deceit of saying it was named after Edward William Coon following his 1926 patent," he said.

"I co-authored an e-book earlier this year - Coon: More Holes Than Swiss Cheese - that details the history of the origin of Coon cheese that debunks Saputo's published position.

"It is strange however, that the old history that was on Saputo's website is slowly being erased. It's a bit like the erasing of the physical ugliness of the block of cheese in supermarkets and food outlets today."

Saputo Dairy said the rebrand won't be hitting shelves until July, however shoppers have already mentioned seeing both labels while having a browse at the supermarket.

Stephen said he has found some in Townsville and there's no doubt they'll soon be everywhere in the cheese aisle.

Featured Image Credit: Saputo Dairy

Topics: Australia

Stewart Perrie

Stewart Perrie is a Trending Journalist at LADbible. His first job was as a newsreader and journalist at the award winning Sydney radio station, Macquarie Radio. He was solely responsible for the content broadcast on multiple stations across Australia when the MH17, Germanwings and AirAsia disasters unfolded. Stewart has covered the conflict in Syria for LADbible, interviewing a doctor on the front line, and has contributed to the hugely successful UOKM8 campaign.

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