The new name of Coon Cheese has finally been unveiled in the wake of a racism backlash.
The popular 86-year-old brand will be known as Cheer Cheese from July, Canadian owner Saputo Dairy Australia confirmed on Tuesday, sparking a divided reaction.
The decision to ditch its traditional but 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 as the word 'coon' is a slur against people of colour.
Cheer Cheese will start appearing on supermarket shelves from July
'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.'
Coon cheese has been much-loved by Australians for almost nine decades
The decision to rebrand Coon Cheese follows a long-running campaign by activists who claimed the name had racist connotations
The much-loved dairy product got its original name from American pioneering cheese processor Edward William Coon, who died in 1934.
He patented a 'ripening process' that was used to manufacture the original product in the 1920s.
The new name has divided the Australian public and sent social media into meltdown.
While some welcomed the change, it was overshadowed by outpouring of anger.
'Another company kowtowing to the Woke mob. I never even thought of racism when I enjoyed my Coon Cheese. I certainly won't be eating Cheer. What a joke!' one man tweeted.
Controversial media commentator Prue MacSween also weighed into the debate.
'Having my say on the latest cancel culture victim. Pretty cheesed off about it,' she tweeted.
MacSween later told Adelaide radio station FIVEaa: 'This is another iconic brand lost because of bullying by minorities with a socialist agenda. This is 85 years of history disrespected and denigrated. Coon is definitely going to be off my cheese board… it's my little private protest.'
Pioneering chef Peter Russell Clarke (pictured in an old ad) was the face of Coon cheese television ads in the 1980s. He was opposed to changing the name when it was first announced six months ago
Aboriginal activists have spent many years lobbying for Coon cheese to change its name. Pictured are two women in an old ad for Coon cheese
Many others threatened to boycott the product.
'What a deadset joke this is! It's been 'Coon' cheese for 85 years straight and is the damn surname of the founder. What a world this has become - filled with sensitive f**k out there! Ain't buying this damn cheese no more!' one man tweeted.
Another added: 'For 53 years mum and dads fridge always had Coon cheese as mine always had Coon cheese. When you change the name, we stop buying Coon cheese.'
Some Australians had mixed feelings.
'I'm indigenous and I still prefer Coon Cheese, it always has and always will be to me. It is sad that it had come to this. But we still need to come together as one,' one woman tweeted.
Mr Saputo told Sunrise the company just wanted to produce a cheese with a 'fully inclusive culture'.
'Coon is a brand that was known and I would say loved by some in Australia,' he said.
'But it was important for us to understand that name did not please other consumers and created a connotation that was not favourable.
'We decided to embark on this journey to rename that brand and come up with something that we thought would resonate well with all consumers without exclusion.'
Last year global food giant Nestle made a similar move to stamp out some of their Australian product names after they were deemed 'offensive'.
Redskins and Chicos lollies were changed to Red Ripper and Cheekies in the immediate aftermath of the Black Lives Matter protests.
Australian comedian Josh Thomas was among those who called for Coon Cheese to ditch its name.
'Hey Australia - are we still chill with this?,' Thomas tweeted at the time.
Pioneering Australian TV chef Peter Russell-Clarke, who was the face of the Coon cheese television ads in the 1980s slammed the changing of the name.
'I think it's ridiculous,' he told Daily Mail Australia last July.
'Are we going to change the name of the raccoon, do you think?
'Should we cut off the beaks of cockatoos to make sure the black beaks aren't offensive to the white of the cockatoo.'