I bought this German box of ‘Katzenzungen‘ chocolates recently simply for its tacky, kitsch and ridiculously enjoyable portrait of five young kittens. I am personally drawn to confectionery tins, boxes and posters with animal subject matter and certainly anything a little bit daft.
The box contains two rows of thinly molded ‘cats tongues’ confections, marbled with creamy white and milk chocolate. The shape of the chocolates are inspired by their namesakes – the tongues of cats – and have also been adapted into finely sweet, lightly baked French biscuits of the same name ‘langues de chat’.
But personal aesthetic affection aside, I also looked into the history of the brand Sarotti and discovered something unexpectedly divisive about the life of its mascot, the ‘Mohr‘ (see top left of the box).
Berlin-based Sarotti confectionery was founded in 1852 by father and son Heinrich and Louis Neumann who offered a range of sweet treats such as marzipans and liquors in their oriental-themed decadent shop. Twenty years later ‘Felix & Sarotti’ was bought by fellow confectioner Hugo Hoffman who began to sell his own lines under the name ‘Sarotti‘. During Hoffmann’s ownership the shop relocated to Mohrenstrasse in central Berlin.
Translated to ‘Street of the Moors‘, the place name originates from the term ‘moor‘ or ‘mohr‘ – an archaic word used to refer to black men and women in a derogatory sense, since the term was also used to describe a ‘dumb’ and ‘simple’ person. Mohrenstrasse became the German place name for an area in Berlin that housed North African and Caribbean slaves first brought to the country in the 17th century.
In 1918, Sarotti’s former trademark of a bear and bees was replaced by three black-faced ‘mohrs‘, dressed in Arabian-style turbans and slippers carrying trays in order to celebrate the company’s 50th anniversary.
86 years later, now owned by the Stollwerk brand (after several decades under the Swiss-based Nestlé) the black Soretti Mohren are transformed into a gold-toned Magier – a magician or mage – and it is this version which you can see on my contemporary box of Katzenzungen juggling the stars.
The Sarotti Mohr, despite being a well-recognized mascot of a well-loved German chocolatier, is a prime example of how the image of black Africans was often romanticized and mixed with fantastical imagery of what was thought to be exotic and mystic. Despite the allure of these foreign colonial subjects, North and West Africans were also depicted as subservient (in this case carrying a tray, suggesting the work of a servant), and primitive compared to the white 19th and 20th century colonizers.
Sarotti were [are] not the only companies to fantasize the imagery and reality of African nations under empiric rule; religious Quaker British brands Cadbury, Fry and Rowntree also used similar portrayals of fictionalized and white-washed versions of African life in promoting their own chocolate products.
Images such as these attempted to publicly strengthen the links between the colonies and the motherland, suggesting cooperation, unity and strength within the greater empires of European nations such as Germany and Britain. However, despite ‘good’ intentions (in terms of a colonial world view), depictions of black Africans were screwed with derogation and racist imagery.
In more recent years, companies have been making efforts to readdress sensitive imagery used in their brands. In 2020 ‘Uncle Ben’ disappeared from Mars’ packet rice (founded in 1943) and is now rebranded as ‘Ben’s Original’.
Quaker Oats’ American pancake brand ‘Aunt Jemima’ made bolder changes – removing all trace of slavery connotations by rebranding as ‘Pearl Milling Company’ (a former name of the company that later developed into the ‘Aunt Jemima’ brand). In both instances the companies made these adaptions in order to ‘make progress towards racial equality’.
This is not to say whoever has enjoyed Sarotti chocolate, Uncle Ben’s rice or Aunt Jemima pancakes also inhibits racist views. Nor do I want to belittle the social and emotional impact long-lasting brands such as these have on communities and individuals growing up. But times change, and depictions such as the black-faced, dwarf-sized serving Sarotti Mohrs have no relevant place – rebranding has come late to these brands, but it is welcome.
Do you think the subtle change of skin tone of the chocolate-bearing Mohr goes far enough in addressing the changes in contemporary society however? At risk of removing the association of the mascot completely from the confectioner’s history, and consumer memory, should the exotic-looking ‘Magier‘ be redeveloped further?
I certainly did not expect to discover the controversial history of a chocolatier’s mascot when this tasty box of German chocolates first caught my eye. I enjoyed every bite. But it just goes to show how elements of a colonial, slavery-inclusive past can slip past our daily observations. Some connotations of racism have been long intertwined in the products we have experienced for generations, and marketing changes or social commentary can disrupt the fond memories and relationships we have to certain products. It’s ok to enjoy these sentimental attachments, but we must understand the context in which some brands were developed, and recognise that for some they do not accurately or fairly represent society as they should.
The British Candy Connoisseur 