Cracker Barrel ends partnership with Prophet after failed rebrand backlash
Founder of XX-XY Athletics Jennifer Sey analyzes why customers rejected the pitch to change the restaurant chain’s logo on ‘The Evening Edit.’
Cracker Barrel is ending its partnership with Prophet, the consulting firm behind its failed rebrand.
The chain faced intense backlash after unveiling a new logo and redesigned stores that longtime fans said stripped away what they loved most about the brand.
Cracker Barrel’s restaurants, long known for their kitschy Americana decor, were recast in a style critics called drab and soulless.
The uproar grew after the company dropped its iconic logo of an elderly man leaning on a barrel.
CRACKER BARREL ANTI-WOKE CRITICS SLAMMED AS UNINTELLIGENT BY BOSTON GLOBE FOOD CRITIC
A Cracker Barrel Country Store restaurant in Nashville (Zak Bennett for Fox News Digital / Fox News)
A March press release said Prophet was hired to redesign Cracker Barrel restaurants and lead a new brand marketing campaign.
At the time, the company said, “In collaboration with Cracker Barrel, they are focused on shaping a new brand vision that will enhance market share while preserving the company’s unique heritage. This new strategy will inform brand communication, restaurant redesigns, brand marketing campaigns and a redefined employee value proposition.”
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CBRL | CRACKER BARREL OLD COUNTRY STORE INC. | 44.19 | +0.81 | +1.87% |
Separately, Prophet CEO Michael Dunn pledged $4 million in 2020 for the firm’s DEI initiatives, saying the company would “bring in Black team members across every level of the firm,” hire a DEI-specific recruiter and provide $4 million in pro bono work to social justice organizations, according to a 2020 blog post.
Fox News Digital found no evidence that Prophet’s DEI commitments were connected to Cracker Barrel’s rebranding.
Diners at a Cracker Barrel Country Store restaurant in Fishkill, N.Y. (Richard Beetham for Fox News Digital / Fox News)
EXCLUSIVE VIDEO: CRACKER BARREL CEO DODGES QUESTIONS AFTER LOGO FLIP-FLOP
In August, the brand unveiled its new logo, which dropped the illustration of a man, “Uncle Herschel,” resting his arm on top of a wooden barrel, a folksy image that has embodied the brand’s Southern hospitality for the last 56 years. Some interpreted the change as an appeal to the woke movement.
The logo change sparked backlash that wiped over $140 million off the chain’s market value at the height of the crisis as customer outrage and investor unease fueled what became the steepest losing streak in months. Shares are down over 7% year-to-date.
President Donald Trump even weighed in, calling on the chain to return to its roots.
View of the entrance of the Cracker Barrel Old Country Store in Mount Arlington, N.J. (Gregory Walton/AFP via Getty Images / Getty Images)
“Cracker Barrel should go back to the old logo, admit a mistake based on…
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