First Milk is looking to harness significant amounts of pester power in the dairy aisle this summer, when it launches a new brand of kids' cheese in partnership with Kung Fu Panda and Shrek-maker Dreamworks.
Dairy Maniacs Cheddar Stix the first kids' cheese made from real Cheddar, rather than processed cheese, it claims are six individually wrapped 20g portions of mild British Cheddar featuring Dreamworks characters both on packs and sticks.
The brand goes into Sainsbury's, Asda, Morrisons, The Co-operative and Booths on 1 June, with listings in Tesco expected to follow shortly.
The first character to appear on the packaging will be Kung Fu Panda, to coincide with the release of Kung Fu Panda 2 on 10 June, but First Milk is hoping to refresh packs to tie in with new Dreamworks releases later in the year.
To further boost the brand's appeal to children, it will offer toys and other collectible items such as lunchboxes with purchases of Cheddar Stix, either through on-pack codes or by adding them directly to the packs.
The launch would inject some much needed fun to the category, said First Milk commercial director Richard Hollingdale.
By striking a licensing deal with Dreamworks, First Milk had gained access to some of the most popular kids' cartoon franchises, ensuring maximum shelf stand-out, he added.
Although the Dairy Maniacs brand would initially be used on kids' cheese, First Milk ultimately hoped to "stretch" the brand across a number of categories, including yoghurt shots and flavoured milk, Hollingdale said.
The cheese lunchbox and snacking sector is worth £250m a year, up 5.3% year-on-year in value, and about 65% of British households buy children's cheese [Kantar Worldpanel 52w/e 20 February 2011].
Earlier this year, Dairy Crest registered a trademark for the name Chedds and a mouse character, sparking speculation that it, too, could launch a kids' cheese.
Dairy Maniacs Cheddar Stix the first kids' cheese made from real Cheddar, rather than processed cheese, it claims are six individually wrapped 20g portions of mild British Cheddar featuring Dreamworks characters both on packs and sticks.
The brand goes into Sainsbury's, Asda, Morrisons, The Co-operative and Booths on 1 June, with listings in Tesco expected to follow shortly.
The first character to appear on the packaging will be Kung Fu Panda, to coincide with the release of Kung Fu Panda 2 on 10 June, but First Milk is hoping to refresh packs to tie in with new Dreamworks releases later in the year.
To further boost the brand's appeal to children, it will offer toys and other collectible items such as lunchboxes with purchases of Cheddar Stix, either through on-pack codes or by adding them directly to the packs.
The launch would inject some much needed fun to the category, said First Milk commercial director Richard Hollingdale.
By striking a licensing deal with Dreamworks, First Milk had gained access to some of the most popular kids' cartoon franchises, ensuring maximum shelf stand-out, he added.
Although the Dairy Maniacs brand would initially be used on kids' cheese, First Milk ultimately hoped to "stretch" the brand across a number of categories, including yoghurt shots and flavoured milk, Hollingdale said.
The cheese lunchbox and snacking sector is worth £250m a year, up 5.3% year-on-year in value, and about 65% of British households buy children's cheese [Kantar Worldpanel 52w/e 20 February 2011].
Earlier this year, Dairy Crest registered a trademark for the name Chedds and a mouse character, sparking speculation that it, too, could launch a kids' cheese.
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