Co-op launches gender-neutral 'gingerbread person'

In a bid to promote gender equality, Co-op Food is planning to stock a ‘gingerbread person’ on its shelves this spring.

According to its website, the UK chain is adding the final touches to the soon-to-launch biscuit which will undergo a festive transformation come Christmas and a spooky overhaul to celebrate Halloween.

But the supermarket needs help coming up with a fitting name for its ‘gingerbread person’ and has asked customers to help out.

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By joining the company, members can suggest monikers and the Co-op will create a shortlist before putting it to the public’s final vote.

Though it’s not the first time a traditional gingerbread man has been brought into the 21st century, as Pret became the first food chain to introduce the genderless option.

The company is famous for Godfrey the gingerbread man and Annie the female version of the gingerbread. But back in August 2018, Pret decided to relabel the treats as gender-neutral ‘gingerbread biscuits’.

The company made the change after its chief executive, Clive Schlee, received a letter from a young customer asking why Pret didn’t sell ‘gingerbread girls’.

Inspired by the letter, they named a female skirt-wearing gingerbread biscuit Annie – after the little girl who wrote in.

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The chain later decided it would be more politically correct to simply refer to the treats as ‘gingerbread biscuits’.

But the decision was met with criticism online with one social media user declaring: “The world is going mad.”

What do you think?

To suggest a name for the new ‘gingerbread person’, head over to the Co-op website.

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