Coon Cheese's biggest rival blasts its boss for 'taking years too long' to change the brand's 'racist' name to Cheer

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The controversial Coon cheese brand should have been renamed 'a long time ago', according to its biggest rival.

The popular 86-year-old brand will be relaunched as Cheer from July, its Canadian owner Saputo Dairy Australia confirmed recently, sparking a divided reaction. 

'Fortunately it had never been my decision to make, but if it had have been... I would have been thinking a long time ago that a brand transition would be a good idea,' said Barry Irvin, chairman of Bega Cheese, told the Herald Sun.

Mr Irvin said he had long felt 'uncomfortable' about the rival's traditional brand, even though he knew that its origin was 'not one of racism'.

The worldwide Black Lives Matter movement was a big factor in Saputo deciding to rebrand Coon cheese as the existing name was considered a racist slur

The cheese company's Canadian owner Saputo strongly backed the new name 'Cheer', but its rival Bega, was not impressed

'I had been thinking for a long time that it wasn't a good brand name for the era that we live in and hasn't been for some time, so I understand why they made that decision.' 

The replacement name 'Cheer', which is enthusiastically backed by Saputo, hasn't convinced Irvin.

'I'm not sure if it would have been the name I'd have chosen, but then again, I'm just the average consumer,' Mr Irvin said.

The decision to ditch its controversial name last year followed the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement worldwide. 

The owner announced its decision last year to 'retire' the name of Australia's best loved cheese because of its historical use as a racist slur. 

Aboriginal activists, including academic and former diplomat Dr Stephen Hagan, have spent the past two decades lobbying to have the brand name changed.

Barry Irvin (pictured), chairman of Bega cheese wouldn't have called Coon cheese 'Cheer'

'The name Cheer has the significance of pleasure and joy,' Saputo's chief executive Lino Saputo in a statement.

'It's nice when you take a picture you say cheese and when you give a toast you say cheers.'

Mr Saputo said it was a lengthy process to come up with a new name that reflected the brand.  

'We took some time to think about this, we wanted to do the proper due diligence and consulted with different focus groups and we narrowed it down to three to five names and resoundingly consumers thought this was the right reflection of what we're bringing for families,' he said.

The rebranded Cheer Cheese will appear on supermarket shelves from July. 

The owners spent more than six months deliberating over the new name.

'At Saputo, one of our basic principles as an organisation is to treat people with respect and without discrimination and we will not condone behaviour that goes against this,' Saputo said after announcing its decision last July.

'After thorough consideration, Saputo has decided to retire the Coon brand name.' 

Since the change was announced, collectors have spotted an opportunity.

An empty packet of 'vintage' Coon cheese is selling for $50 online, just over a week after the rebrand was announced. 

'No longer in circulation, you may have seen these about. Some people found theirs to be racist but I can assure you this one was named after its creator not under any bad motives. 

The asking price for 'vintage' Coon cheese packaging is $50 online, just over a week after the controversial label changed its name to Cheer following a backlash over racism

'Absolutely 100 per cent genuine. Can post or deliver within Perth for a fee.'

But the new packaging will not hit the shelves until July this year, so fans of the Coon brand can go to their local supermarket and buy a packet of 24 Tasty Slices for about $6 - rather than shelling out $50 for an empty packet.

Meanwhile, Bega is also in the news for buying out umbrella brand Lion Dairy and Drinks, which includes Dairy Farmers, Farmers Union, Yoplait, Big M and Daily Juice. 

The acquisition means the brands will return to Australia after almost a decade of international ownership.   

'Dairy Farmers and Farmers Union were founded before federation, some 120 years ago, and some dairy farming families that have supplied dairy farmers for that entire period of time,' Mr Irvin told A Current Affair.