A horrified shopper has branded Sainsbury's 'big daddy' steak sexist and 'wildly inappropriate' and demanded they rename it - only for a fellow customer to suggest they call it 'Karen'. Rose Robinson nipped into Sainsbury's to grab a few bits when she spotted their 'big daddy beef rump steak' on the shelves.
The 38-year-old claims she was stopped in her tracks by the meats' 'sexist and misogynistic' name and felt completely 'bewildered' as to the supermarket's thought process behind it. The mum-of-three deemed involving gender when marketing generic food items 'wrong and unnecessary', as there are other ways its super-sized nature could have been hammered home.
The admin administrator claims she approached staff in store to offer some feedback on the 'out of place' branding before later giving the term a quick Google.
Rose was stunned to discover that 'big daddy' actually had sexual connotations and was used to describe someone who was 'good with his wood'.
The shopper was so enraged she claims she then reactivated a dormant Facebook account to give Sainsbury's a piece of her mind in a bid to urge them to 'rethink and do better'.
She claims she didn't hear a peep from the supermarket but her post ruffled a stranger's feathers, as they commented suggesting they should change the 'daddy' to 'Karen' to suit her.
But the mum said she was the 'least Karen-like' person that she knows but was compelled to speak out on this occasion given the beef's bold branding just didn't sit right with her.
Sainsbury's said they strive to be an inclusive retailer and that customer feedback is important to them so they 'regularly review ranges in line with this'.
However they pointed out that the name is also used by other supermarkets too.
Rose, of Norwich, Norfolk, said: "A 'big daddy' steak is still on the shelves in Sainsbury's supermarket in 2023, it just felt wrong and unnecessary.
"I got home and thought 'oh gosh, have I overreacted?' and looked up 'big daddy' in the urban dictionary to try and gauge a common understanding of the term and it doesn't even just relate to a masculine power boss, there's actually a sexual prowess meaning to it.
"One of the terms, forgive me for speaking freely, that came up on the top of the Google search was referencing someone who is 'good with his wood'.
"I just felt that it was unnecessary. There's so many ways it could have been named that would have equally communicated the super-sized nature of this particular product.
"It just felt wildly inappropriate and I just wasn't comfortable with it.
"I was shocked and just a bit disappointed that in this day and age it was possible for it to make it through whatever channel it had to have made through to get onto the shelves.
"'Supersized steak' would have achieved the exact same [impact], there's marketing executives that are paid good amounts of money to come up with a good name for a product. It doesn't have to be something that's so negative and potentially sexist and misogynistic in nature.
"I've had the obvious Karen comment from someone who obviously feels that that's appropriate or funny, I'm not sure.
"It's dismissive, it's an implication that I'm just causing a fuss about nothing. Karen nowadays is commonly accepted as a term for someone who gets easily offended by things when there's much bigger issues in the world.
"I'm the least Karen-like person I know, honestly. It's come from someone on the internet that doesn't know the first thing about me."
After stumbling on the steak, Rose said she approached the customer service desk, not to make a complaint, but to offer some feedback on its branding.
She claims that one staff member ironically said that they're not allowed to say 'ladies and gentlemen' over the tannoy for fear of offending someone.
She was then advised to complete an online feedback form but posted on Facebook to Sainsbury's last Thursday night, and claims she hasn't heard back.
Rose said: "I don't actually use Facebook, I reactivated a dormant account because I was so wound up by it.
"I just felt like I wanted to do something to bring it to the attention of someone in Sainsbury's that was able to address it, ironically I don't think they even noticed it.
"I think the lack of response has certainly made me feel again, a little bit disappointed. I'm shocked and horrified that I'm probably the only person that has brought it to their attention and I really don't feel like that's an overreaction on my part.
"'Big daddy' - it says it all doesn't it? My understanding is that it was called that to emphasise its supersized nature and it just felt like it was probably marketed more towards appealing to a man, than a woman. It certainly didn't appeal to me.
"I just feel like anything that's sold as a generic food type, with reference to a gender, is just not necessary. We all eat - male, female, or whatever you identify as nowadays. I just don't think that gender needs to come anywhere into the playing field when marketing food.
"I was just really shocked. I'm not someone that's normally a huge campaigner or activist but it just struck me as completely out of place and just didn't feel right in this day and age.
"It just feels like a bit of an undercurrent and that it contributes to a bigger picture that is problematic.
"Small things on their own like this might not be world-changing but lots of small little moments or influences create a bigger picture, and if you take away those like a 'big daddy' steak, hopefully that will change the bigger picture and the landscape would look very different if there was no sexist language used with any food.
"Even if I was going to be buying steak, I certainly wouldn't have bought that one, as principle.
"I think it should just be renamed. I'm not saying they should pull the ones there, food waste is a huge issue among many other things, but I certainly think that the packaging that's made from this point forward should perhaps be renamed."
A Sainsbury’s spokesperson said: "We strive to be a truly inclusive retailer where people love to work and shop. Customer feedback is important to us and we regularly review ranges in line with this."
