Jacob’s Mini Cheddars launches regionally-inspired range

pladis is celebrating flavours from across Great Britain with a new trio of limited-edition variants from its £73 million Jacob’s Mini Cheddars brand.

Building on the brand’s sustained popularity, the cheesy British flavours – Ploughman’s Cheshire Cheese, Strathdon Blue Cheese and Dragon’s Breath Chilli Cheddar – spotlight different regional cheeses from England, Scotland and Wales.

Each unique flavour has been carefully baked to take inspiration from best-loved regional cheeses, and varies in strength. From the pickly taste of ploughman’s and the sharp twang of blue cheese, all the way up to the heat of chilli cheddar, there’s an option to suit all tastebuds.

The launch comes hot on the heels of a £4.5 million marketing investment – which includes the brand’s first stint on TV in four years with its new ‘Welcome to Cheddar Town’ creative.

Both the cheesy British NPD and this targeted marketing investment will aim to increase penetration amongst younger shoppers, aged 25-45, to support incremental sales, on top of unlocking the potential to target alternative consumption occasions – such as lunchtime treat.

“We’re putting a lot of investment into Jacob’s Mini Cheddars this year to continue to grow the brand, enabling retailers to benefit from new sales opportunities – and we’re really excited to see our latest cheese flavour variants hit shelves,” says Christopher Owen, marketing controller at pladis UK&I.

“Jacob’s Mini Cheddars is already the second most popular brand in the crisps aisle and the second-fastest growing in terms of household penetration (now at 36%). We believe our continued focus on innovation will help accelerate further growth.

“By drawing inspiration from some of the most delicious cheeses from across Great Britain, we’re bringing our ‘Baked with Real Cheese’ message to life, while celebrating some of the best cheese flavours on offer. The result is a trio of snacks which really hit the spot when it comes to taste.

“The findings of strong consumer testing make us feel confident that the range will be well-received by shoppers and these new additions will give consumers, including our target younger audience, a moment of cheeky cheesy pleasure with every bite.”

The new range marks the fourth generation of limited-edition flavour variants for Jacob’s Mini Cheddars since 2017 – which, all-in-all, have contributed £18 million worth of sales to the brand.

“Not only has our flavour innovation worked wonders for the category in terms of fuelling growth, it has enabled us to build on and diversify our core portfolio by adding permanent SKUs to our range. In fact, Red Leicester – which was part of the original Choose You Cheese campaign – is now our second biggest flavour.”

The introduction of this new range will be accompanied by a total brand redesign, which will roll out across all Jacob’s Mini Cheddars packaging. This will include a refreshed brand logo, increased focus on its ‘baked with real cheese’ message, plus the addition of more warmth, modernity and food cues.

The new cheesy trio will also include a fun and novel logo update on the Strathdon Blue Cheese and Dragon’s Breath Chilli Cheddar packs, swapping ‘Mini Cheddars’ for ‘Wee Cheddars’ and ‘Cheddars Bach’ respectively, to clearly showcase the flavours’ regional roots.

The launch will also be supported by PR and paid social media activity, plus shopper marketing, including in-aisle POS and eye-catching secondary displays.

The new range launched into Tesco on 5 April and will roll-out across other major grocery retailers – as well as in convenience and wholesale – from 19 April. The three flavours will come in multipacks containing 6 individual 25g bags at an RRP of £1.79. Packaging will be recyclable through pladis’ partnership with Terracycle (www.terracycle.co.uk).

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