Hasbro is making a big change to one of its iconic toy lines.
The company is dropping “Mr.” from the Mr. Potato Head toy, The Associated Press reported.
The news was announced during a presentation to investors Thursday, Bloomberg reported.
Starting later this year, the boxes will just have Potato Head printed on them, dropping the gender-specific name, making it more neutral, the AP reported.
The name change isn’t the only adjustment being made on the nearly 70-year-old toy line.
The toys will be sold as a family kit starting this fall with two genderless adult potatoes and a baby tot, along with 42 accessories, Bloomberg reported. The “traditional” Mr. and Mrs. characters will still be part of the brand, Bloomberg reported; however, no details have been released.
“Culture has evolved,” Kimberly Boyd, a senior vice president and general manager at Hasbro, told Fast Company. “Kids want to be able to represent their own experiences. The way the brand currently exists — with the ‘Mr.’ and ‘Mrs.’ — is limiting when it comes both gender identity and family structure.”
Last year, Hasbro said it will be making products out of plant-based plastic and will use less plastic in packaging, Bloomberg reported.
Mr. Potato Head has been around for nearly 70 years, hitting store shelves in 1952. It was inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame in 2000.
Cox Media Group
