After receiving numerous complaints (and petition signatures) protesting its logo, Yum! Brands' fledging new fast-casual chain Banh Shop will swap its Communist-like star for something else. The exclamatory Yum! Brands (aka the parent company of KFC, Taco Bell, and Pizza Hut) confirmed today it will change the logo for its test location of Banh Shop, a "Saigon street food restaurant" that opened earlier this month in Dallas. The fast-casual concept, which Yum! may take nationwide, serves a Vietnamese menu of banh mi, noodle salads, and "wok'ed" bowls.
But soon after its debut, the president of the Vietnamese-American Community of Greater Dallas started an online petition about Banh's combination of Vietnamese food and the red star. "We are hurt and offended by your chosen logo, a red star, which is a symbol of communism and will offend thousands of South Vietnamese refugees in my community," Thanh Cung wrote. "The heavy majority of Vietnamese living in the Dallas area are political and religious refugees who fled Vietnam when North Vietnamese communist rule started in 1975."
Although the petition only netted 130 signatures, the resulting media coverage led Yum! to apologize in an email sent directly to the organization. According to CNBC, Yum! VP Jonathan Blum wrote that "it was never our intent to offend anyone, but we see we have made a mistake and in hindsight, we should have recognized this logo could be offensive." A new logo design is currently in the works, and Blum says Yum! will work with the organization to craft new, less-offensive branding.
· Yum Axes Banh Shop Logo After Communism Uproar [CNBC]
· All Yum! Brands Coverage on Eater [-E-]