Co-op has created a gender-neutral “gingerbread person” and has invited customers to come up with its name.
The supermarket has ditched the traditional “man” in favour of a non-binary version. Now all the smiling biscuit needs is a title.
From April 10 until May 1, customers will be able to submit their suggestions on the Co-op website.
"Our food team is adding the final touches to a new Co-op gingerbread person, but they've yet to come up with a name," the website explains.
"They'd like members to join in and suggest a fitting name for our new little biscuity friend.
"The plan is to give our new gingerbread fellow some seasonal costume refreshes - a distinctively Christmassy look for December and something rather spooky around Halloween, for example.
"So they'll need a name that works for any time of year and is gender neutral. Join in to suggest a name."
Responses to the competition have been mixed on social media.
“Ginger McGingerface?” one Twitter user wrote in an ironic nod to ‘Boaty McBoatface’ - the name chosen for an NERC underwater vehicle after a nationwide poll.
“ITS A GINGERBREAD MAN AND ALWAYS WILL BE FFS”, tweeted another.
Others suggested the move marked a positive step in progress towards a more equal society.
Food chain Pret-a-Manger already sells gingerbread treats, called Annie and Godfrey, under the universal title of “gingerbread biscuits”.
