The restaurant company made the announcement in a social media post after even President Trump had weighed in on the controversy
Cracker Barrel Old Country Store has made the decision to switch back to its old familiar logo following a week of intensifying backlash over its modernized rebranding. The family-dining company made the announcement in a social media post on Tuesday evening thanking guests for their feedback and confirming, “Our new logo is going away and our ‘Old Timer’ will remain.”
Last week, when Cracker Barrel changed its logo to remove the “Old Timer” figure and barrel and quietly unveiled a new simplified logo, the Lebanon, Tenn.-based company was one year into a strategic transformation plan under CEO Julie Masino. The turnaround plan had been working so far, with traffic and sales on the upswing, but after a video of one of the company’s rebranded and modernized stores went viral, the brand’s new direction fell under more scrutiny.
The new logo only intensified the backlash against Cracker Barrel’s rebrand, with critics accusing the company of erasing its Southern heritage, and others calling the changes “woke.” After stock shares tumbled more than 10%, even the president weighed in, with Trump urging the company on social media website Truth Social to restore its old logo to “make Cracker Barrel a winner again.”
At first, Cracker Barrel defended the new design in a media statement last week, stating that the new logo “works across digital platforms” and is even more “rooted in the iconic barrel shape and word mark that started it all.” However, as criticism mounted, the company appeared to have a change of heart. On Aug. 25, Cracker Barrel released a statement admitting it “could have done a better job sharing who we are and who we’ll always be,” though did not share at the time how the company would be moving forward.
Less than two days later, the company made the decision to scrap the new logo completely, stating that Cracker Barrel has “always been – and always will be – about serving up delicious food, warm welcomes, and the kind of country hospitality that feels like family.”
The company did not elaborate on whether Cracker Barrel’s other rebranding plans — including the similarly controversial store redesigns — will continue.
Contact Joanna at joanna.fantozzi@informa.com
Source https://www.nrn.com/family-dining/cracker-barrel-switches-back-to-old-logo-after-backlash
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