Lactalis McLelland has dropped the word ‘Strong’ from its cheese brand Seriously Strong as part of a major relaunch, which has also seen it introduce a new medium cheddar recipe.
Revamped packs carrying ‘Seriously’ branding began rolling out this week, alongside a new medium cheddar (rsp: £3.90/350g).
The supplier has split the brand into two “clearly defined sub-ranges”, with the existing Seriously Strong recipe retained for the ‘Strong’ sub-range, comprising its extra mature and vintage variants.
The new ‘Creamy’ sub-range uses a new recipe and comprises the mature and the new medium variant, which Lactalis said would target consumers looking for “texture and versatility”, and would breathe new life into the struggling mild and medium maturity segments.
Lactalis hoped to see “strong single-digit growth” in sales as a result of the relaunch, said customer marketing manager Richard Fenn.
“The long term success of the cheddar category depends on us developing a deep understanding of consumers’ lives and their needs,” added Lactalis McLelland sales director Mike Chatters.
“There is widespread consumer confusion around maturity in the cheddar category. People are often unsure about what cheddar they are looking for and they tend to shop across the maturities. In fact, 59% of them buy three or more maturity levels,” he said. “The relaunch means we can play across the breadth of the category, and drive brand sales growth in the mild/medium maturity segment.”
The range’s packaging has also been improved, with new Velcro strips introduced to keep the cheese fresh, while Seriously blocks would also be packed in more consistent shelf-ready cartons, the supplier said. The brand’s largest ever media investment to promote the relaunch will be unveiled later this year.
This is not the first time the ‘Strong’ name has been dropped from the brand. Lactalis did the same in 2006 for a brief period as it marketed its products as ‘Seriously’, with Strong, Vintage and Lighter sub-ranges.
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