Benecol soft cheese spreads

Source: Benecol

Soft Cheese Original is set to be followed by Chives and Garlic variants

Health-orientated brand Benecol has made its debut in cheese with a trio of soft spread.

Targeting lunchtime and snacking occasions, the new range promises to lower cholesterol while delivering on taste. This would avoid the “feeling of guilt” consumers often have when eating soft cheese, Benecol said.

Each pack contains 8g of stanols – a plant-based extract that is widely believed to lower cholesterol. The NPD is also free from artificial colouring, flavours and preservatives, gluten and lactose.

The first variant, Soft Cheese Original, went on sale in Morrisons last week (rsp: £2.85/160g). It is set to be followed by Chives and Garlic, which will become available at other multiples in coming months.

“Soft cheese is a lunchtime and snacking staple and our new range provides customers with a product that is proven to help lower cholesterol without compromising on great taste,” claimed Sneahmoyee Banerjee, brand & category activation manager at Benecol owner Raisio.

The new range would “increase our consumer offer and bring innovative healthy solutions to the cholesterol lowering category” she added.

It is the first new launch by Benecol since it added limited-edition yoghurt drinks to mark its 25th anniversary last October.

In 2020, it also revamped its packaging to highlight its health credentials after a pre-Covid slump in sales.

While value sales of its spreads remained flat in 2020, its drinking yoghurts fell by 6.9% (£3.1m) to £42m [Nielsen 52 w/e 5 September 2020].