Jacob’s Mini Cheddars launches regionally-inspired variants

Snacking major pladis has launched a new trio of limited-edition variants from its £73 million Jacob’s Mini Cheddars brand.

The range celebrates flavours from across Britain with Ploughman’s Cheshire Cheese, Strathdon Blue Cheese and Dragon’s Breath Chilli Cheddar highlighting different regional cheeses from England, Scotland and Wales.

And, the playful name change for two of the new cheesy variants pays homage to the products’ Scottish and Welsh roots.

The launch comes hot on the heels of a£4.5 million marketing investment– which includes the brand’s first stint on TV in four years with its new ‘Welcome to Cheddar Town’ creative.

“We’re putting a lot of investment into Jacob’s Mini Cheddars this year to continue to grow the brand, enabling retailers to benefit from new sales opportunities – and we’re really excited to see our latest cheese flavour variants hit shelves,” Christopher Owen, marketing controller at pladis UK&I, said.

“Jacob’s Mini Cheddars is already the second most popular brand in the crisps aisle and the second-fastest growing in terms of household penetration (now at 36%). We believe our continued focus on innovation will help accelerate further growth.”

The new range marks the fourth generation of limited-edition flavour variants for Jacob’s Mini Cheddars since 2017 – which, all-in-all, have contributed £18 million worth of sales to the brand.

“The findings of strong consumer testing make us feel confident that the range will be well-received by shoppers and these new additions will give consumers, including our target younger audience, a moment of cheeky cheesy pleasure with every bite,” Owen added.

The introduction of this new range will be accompanied by a total brand redesign, which will roll out across all Jacob’s Mini Cheddars packaging. This will include a refreshed brand logo, increased focus on its ‘baked with real cheese’ message, plus the addition of more warmth, modernity and food cues.

The new cheesy trio will also include a fun and novel logo update on the Strathdon Blue Cheese and Dragon’s Breath Chilli Cheddar packs, swapping ‘Mini Cheddars’ for ‘Wee Cheddars’ and ‘Cheddars Bach’ respectively, to clearly showcase the flavours’ regional roots.

The launch will also be supported by PR and paid social media activity, plus shopper marketing, including in-aisle POS and eye-catching secondary displays.

Launched into Tesco on 5 April, the new range will roll-out across other major grocery retailers – as well as in convenience and wholesale – from 19 April. The three flavours will come in multipacks containing 6 individual 25g bags at an RRP of £1.79.