Pilgrims Choice returns to TV screens this month with a fresh burst of advertising, just as new figures reveal sales of the Cheddar brand shot up by nearly two thirds in the past year. Pilgrims Choice, which is supplied by North Downs Dairy, enjoyed growth of 60.8% to £64.1 million in the year to 7 September, according to data from TNS Worldpanel. This was more than five times the rate at which the whole category grew, which was 11.5% to £878m, and significantly faster than Pilgrims Choice’s two main rivals in the Cheddar category.
It means Pilgrims Choice was the fastest growing Top 5 cheese brand overall by value and the fastest growing Top 10 cheese brand by volume. Volume sales rose 55.7% to 11,800 tonnes.
“The growth we’ve seen for Pilgrims Choice has far exceeded that for the market, but it’s been no accident,” said Mike Davies, Managing Director of North Downs Dairy. “We’ve achieved this with a very carefully targeted £3m marketing investment – the biggest ever for the brand to date – including TV and press advertising, PR, a recipe booklet and a huge sampling campaign.”
This month, viewers of prime time terrestrial TV will get another chance to see the “Up To Scratch” advert, which first aired earlier this year and now returns for a two week run.
It features a Pilgrims Choice grader who goes in search of the ripest tomato and freshest bread to make the perfect cheese sandwich.
Developed by advertising agency WFCA, the ad will also highlight that all 400g packs of Pilgrims Choice now come with new recloseable stay-fresh packs.
Supporting the advertising campaign will be heavyweight in-store promotional activity across the country in Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Morrisons stores.
“We’re confident our astonishing rate of growth can be sustained,” said Davies. “This is a highly competitive market, but our blend of high quality, well-packaged products backed by a range of targeted marketing tools has proved to be a resounding success.”
Pilgrims Choice is a comprehensive range of Cheddars to suit all tastes, including Mild, Mature Everyday, Extra Mature, Farmhouse Mature, Farmhouse Lighter Mature, Vintage Farmhouse and Medium Probiotic.
Pilgrims Choice North Down Dairy
Tel: 01795 844444
www.pilgrimschoice.com
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