ABOUT

The UK is a cheese-loving nation. But when it comes to what goes in the trolley, consumers tend to shop on autopilot and the category is dominated by own label and dulled by price wars.

Our challenge was to shift Pilgrims Choice from a largely promotional buy to a brand of preference. To break through the beige and command visibility on shelf, we needed to build brand distinctiveness and amplify Pilgrims Choice as the boldly flavoured, adventurous cheese brand that flavour-first food lovers were craving.

Despite often being swayed by discounts or comforted by the familiar, our research unearthed a powerful emotional unlock for consumers. Shoppers described a deep, almost nostalgic connection to cheese – not just as an ingredient, but as a reflection of their taste. They wanted to feel the flavours, textures, and quality before opening the pack.

That insight served as a jumping off point for the creative platform ‘Dare to be Different’, with shoppers seeing Pilgrims Choice as the most flavoursome of all the mainstream cheeses in market.

Pilgrims Choice isn’t your average cheddar, so we had permission to reimagine the brand and reflect its unique character through a new visual brand identity. Articulating flavour through rich visual textures and vivid appetite-stirring photography, our new design language bursts with taste appeal and is just as expressive as the products themselves.

Taking a flavour-forward approach to the packaging redesign, paying special attention to brand architecture and hierarchy, our new innovation platform delivers consistent frameworks for sub-brands and limited edition products to support future brand growth. Additional tools including Brand Guidelines, Tone of Voice Guidelines, and initial activation assets across shopper, retail, social and digital communications help Pilgrims Choice and its agency partners bring the brand to life further.

From shelf to social, Pilgrims Choice now delivers on punchy flavour communication and bold aesthetic impact, reflecting the quality, texture, and variety that we know cheese lovers crave.