Kraft Peanut Butter launches children’s book for Transgender Awareness Week
Kraft Peanut Butter is aiming to help parents and kids talk about pronouns.
The brand has launched a limited-edition children’s book, His, Hers, Them & Theirs: Learning Pronouns with the Bears, in honour of Transgender Awareness Week. With the help from the brand’s bears, Crunchy and Smoothie, the book helps guide families through conversations about pronoun use and why they’re important.
“At Kraft Heinz Canada, diversity and inclusion are core tenets for us as an organization and it’s essential we’re contributing to a more inclusive, accepting space and driving progress through tangible action,” said Jacqueline Chao, brand manager, brand building & innovation, Kraft Heinz Canada, in an email interview with Canadian Grocer. “As a brand committed to nourishing connection for Canadians, Kraft Peanut Butter is a proud ally for the LGBTQ2S+ community and we felt there was still work that needed to be done.”
Kraft Peanut Butter enlisted transgender author Nick North and LGBTQ2S+ illustrator Paul Dotey to create a story that makes it easy for parents to talk to their kids about pronoun use and help families learn why these conversations are important in a way kids can follow along. By normalizing these conversations, Kraft Peanut Butter hopes to continue encouraging acceptance, inclusivity and safety while bringing communities together.
“Normalizing conversations around pronouns and educating the next generation helps create a deeper sense of community, but for parents, knowing where to start can be tricky, so we wanted to help with that,” said Chao.
Transgender Awareness Week aims to bring visibility to the community by educating others through stories, experiences and encouraging advocacy. The annual awareness week culminates in Transgender Day of Remembrance on Nov. 20, a day that honours the memory of transgender people whose lives were lost in acts of anti-transgender violence.
Starting Nov. 20, Canadians can purchase the book at KraftPeanutButter.ca. All proceeds of the storybook will go to supporting the transgender and LGBTQ2S+ communities. Kraft Peanut Butter will be making a $15,000 donation to further support Rainbow Railroad, a not-for-profit organization that helps LGBTQI+ people escape violence and persecution in their home countries.
Chao said the brand is looking to PR and social media to promote the book and its author, Nick North, as well as strategic influencer partnerships. It has also teamed up with drag duo Fay Slift and Fluffy Soufflé to do a live reading of the book on Instagram on Nov. 20.
“Using correct pronouns is important to affirm a person's identity and shows respect for who they are. For people who've never had to think much about their pronouns, they may not know why this is important and why continued advocacy for the Transgender and LGBTQ2SI+ communities are so needed,” said author Nick North, in a press release. “As an author and member of the Trans community, I'm thrilled to partner with Kraft Peanut Butter on this children's book to do just that. Providing the tools to educate and inspire the next generation is crucial for building an inclusive society for someone like me.”