Adams Foods is giving Pilgrims Choice a £5m overhaul in a bid to reposition it as ‘the choosiest cheese company’ and boost sales.

The relaunch campaign will focus on turning Pilgrims Choice’s status as a cheese trader rather than manufacturer into a unique selling point - stressing to consumers that Pilgrims Choice is free to choose the best cheese from third-party producers.

From this month, the Pilgrims Choice range will sport new packaging featuring an embossed gold crest saying Choosiest Cheese Company.

Pack colours will change, with extra mature moving from red to black, mature from blue to red and Vintage from black to purple, and packs will get a brown paper look and feel.

The brand is also introducing prominent taste descriptors highlighting the “wonderfully strong and punchy” flavours of its extra mature and lighter extra mature Cheddars and the “superbly smooth and rich” profile of its mature and lighter mature cheeses.

“We really wanted to appeal to a foodie or cheese appreciator,” said Pilgrims Choice marketing controller Hannah Jenkins.

The current front of pack flash, “Cheddar hand selected by our expert graders”, would change to “hand selected by our experts” in a bid to appeal to shoppers with more consumer-friendly language, Jenkins added.

There will be a national TV campaign to support the relaunch, with details to be announced over the coming months.

Research commissioned by Pilgrims Choice suggested the idea of a “picky” cheese company went down well with consumers. It presented “a rationale we haven’t really told anyone about in the past,” said Jenkins, adding: “Our point of difference will be that we’re choosing the best cheese. Being free to choose is key.”

The new packaging rolls out to stores from this month, as does the brand’s new lighter extra mature variant.

Pilgrims Choice’s Xtreme variant will be discontinued.

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