Shattering the parmesan ceiling

This comes via Melissa Jacobs, a friend of the Olson Zaltman family.

Even packaging and product form can reshape a consumer experience. Do you like parmesan cheese?  Sure, but do you ever snack on it?  I love parmesan cheese.  But you’re not really supposed to snack on it, are you? 

I do, on occasion, but when I do, I make sure no one is around. Snacking on a chunk of cheese from a block of parmesan, which is usually an ingredient or a topping for pasta, feels like the behavior of a savage. A rat would do that, or a fly, or a ravenous dog. Respectable people just…don’t.  Or at least that has always been my belief.

But BelGioioso Cheese has erased that stigma with its snackable parmesan wedges.  You don’t have to saw a piece off a giant block. It’s all right there in a smiley little pack.

In addition to the closeted parmesan freaks, there is also appeal to the Keto community, which is always looking for savory, protein-rich snacks.

As Melissa Jacobs offered in her LinkedIn post: “BelGioioso is changing perception of their cheese through packaging AND messaging. They're not changing the cheese. They're changing how both current and potential customers see it.  How many other products are sitting in our stores, waiting for someone to imagine them in a completely new context?”