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Design Studio Flora Case  ∙  Mondarella

Rebranding & repositioning a plant-based cheese to strengthen shelf performance across 20+ SKUs

Lead agency: Very Good Looking
Logo design for Mondarella

Background and challenge

Background

Mondarella is an award winning plant-based cheese, sold in retail and foodservice Europe-wide. Operating in a crowded and highly competitive category, the brand needed a new identity to support differentiation and unlock further growth.
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A rebrand was supported by retailers, with the aim of improving shelf impact, clearly communicating natural ingredients, and repositioning Mondarella as joyful, youthful and accessible - beyond core vegan shoppers.

Credits  ∙  Lead Agency - Very Good Looking  ∙  Strategy: Eric Mirbach  ∙  Creative Direction: Tina Tenkmann  ∙  Full team below

Challenge

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Differentiate Mondarella on shelf
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Communicate key product benefits effectively, such as use of natural ingredients like almonds
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Appeal to omnivores, not just vegans
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Feel younger, fresher and more contemporary
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Signal value for money, while still looking bold, confident and high quality.
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Adapt to retail and foodservice requirements
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Build a cohesive system that could scale across 20+ SKUs, formats and use occasions
A loaded cheese toastie, brand photography for plant-based brand MondarellaMondarella's old packaging compared to the new vegan packaging designCore USPs of Mondarella's new vegan packaging designBrand photography design for plant-based cheese Mondarella, showing a stack of melty camemberts

Strategic approach

Strategy - Research

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Category and shelf benchmarking to identify opportunities for differentiation
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Foodservice benchmarking - from claims to information hierarchy
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Consumer testing (UK, Germany)
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Refining colour, layout, and messaging to strengthen on-shelf impact and clarity
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Aligning the website to the new positioning
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Repositioning away from premium cues, towards a joyful, down-to-earth visual language reflecting value for money
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Using bold colour strategically to stand out in a crowded category and signal accessibility
Branding  ∙  Brand Strategy  ∙  Packaging Design  ∙  Web Design  ∙  Social Media  ∙  Pitch Presentations  ∙  Consumer Benchmarking

Implementation

Key benefits, e.g. meltability, natural ingredients and pricing, were reinforced through:
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The “melty M” brand shape, applied on pack / on visuals
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Claims, icons, illustrations, and copy communicate the use of natural ingredients
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Playful product names i.e. Pastasan, signal use occasion and set an approachable tone
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Indulgent yet realistic food photography, showing achievable everyday use rather than aspirational scenarios
Mondarella vegan branding design: logo and pizza photoColour palette of Mondarella's new vegan brand identity
The colour palette was tested in the UK and Germany, consumers responded positively to vibrant palettes.
Key visual for plant-based brand Mondarella, highlighting the vegan packaging design for Pastasan.
Lidl LogoEdeka LogoKaufland Logo
A vegan cheese toastie, brand photography for Mondarella, a vegan cheese brandBack-of-pack packaging design for Pastasan and Classic Caprese from Mondarella, a vegan cheese.
Illustrations are used on the back of the pack for brand storytelling and on the front of pack for product benefits + claims
Natura Sacra vegan branding design packaging

Results & Outcome

#1

Final packaging designs ranked top in on-shelf comparison testing

86%

Purchase intent recorded among flexitarians

94%

Desirability in consumer testing - particularly among younger consumers

A cohesive brand system carried out across retail and foodservice with improved clarity of product benefits

Stronger differentiation across 20+ SKUs, and multiple awards won

The rebrand boosted Mondarella’s profile and helped secure its acquisition by Greenforce

Brand photography design for vegan cheese brand Mondarella,  showing a melty cheese sandwich Key visual graphic design for Mondarella, with the new vegan packaging for Soft Noir.
"100% plant-based" was used across channels and appeals to a broad consumer segment - boosting purchase intent by 20% v.s "vegan."
Social media posts featuring vegan branding, packaging, and illustrations3 branded illustrations for Mondarella, an almond, a hand holding cheese and a hand grating cheese.Photographs of the team members behind Mondarella's new vegan brandingPlant-based burger, showcasing Mondarella's new vegan brand identity
Eric Mirbach Profile Photo
Eric Mirbach  ∙  Project Lead Mondarella

With Mondarella products widely available across Germany, we knew a thorough rebranding had to be a group effort. We assembled a team of experts, including Sophie, whose design skills and industry insight made her an obvious choice. She worked closely with our creative lead, Tina Tenkmann, to roll out the packaging design across Mondarella’s portfolio and adapt the branding to digital outlets. We couldn’t have done it without her!

Better products don’t always get chosen
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Better conversion starts with reducing shopper hesitation
Sophie Shand

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Contact Sophie - Design Studio Flora

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