Cracker Barrel sticks to old logo after social media backlash

[WASHINGTON] Cracker Barrel said on Tuesday that it will stick with its decades-old logo, scrapping plans for a new one following social media backlash, including from US President Donald Trump.

“We thank our guests for sharing your voices and love for Cracker Barrel. We said we would listen, and we have. Our new logo is going away and our ‘Old Timer’ will remain,” the company said in an X post.

Trump became the latest public figure to weigh in on Cracker Barrel’s decision to change its logo — which has become the latest flashpoint on social media — and sent the company into damage-control mode.

“Congratulations ‘Cracker Barrel’ on changing your logo back to what it was. All of your fans very much appreciate it,” Trump said on Truth Social after the company’s reversal.

The chain’s brief change in logo — removing the long-standing image of an overall-clad man known as “Uncle Herschel” leaning against a barrel — is the most recent in a series of dustups where an unexpected response has blindsided retail chains.

Anheuser-Busch’s Bud Light sales slumped after it sent a can of Bud Light to a transgender influencer in 2023, and this summer, an American Eagle Outfitters ad campaign featuring actress Sydney Sweeney sparked backlash for that ad’s use of the phrase “good jeans” as a play on genetics.

Trump on Tuesday joined a chorus of conservatives, including Donald Trump Jr., who criticised the restaurant chain’s new logo that simply displays the chain’s name against a barrel-shaped yellow silhouette, removing “Uncle Herschel” in an ongoing effort to revamp its brands.

“Cracker Barrel should go back to the old logo, admit a mistake based on customer response (the ultimate Poll), and manage the company better than ever before,” he wrote on his social media platform. “Have a major News Conference today. Make Cracker Barrel a WINNER again.”

The company, in a Monday post on its website, had said its fans have shown them “that we could’ve done a better job sharing who we are and who we’ll always be.”

“While our logo and remodels may be making headlines, our bigger focus is still where it belongs … in the kitchen and on your plate,” said the Lebanon, Tennessee-based chain, which opened its first store in 1969.

Cracker Barrel’s shares slumped after the backlash last week, wiping out year-to-date gains, but were up 7 per cent in extended trading on Tuesday after the company, with a market value of US$1.29 billion, scrapped the new logo.

The stock has lost more than half its value in the last three years as the company’s sales have struggled to recover in the post-Covid pandemic period.

The stock swings wildly at times, as it has a high level of short interest. The company also has a relatively small number of outstanding shares. REUTERS