Violife, the UK’s leading plant-based cheese alternative brand, has today announced its sponsorship of Cheddar AFC to mark the launch of its Cheddar alternative, Cheddarton. With the help of the club’s Cheesemen and Cheesewoman, Violife is showing the nation just how easy it is to go plant-based - afterall, if the town of Cheddar can, so can anyone.
As part of the partnership, the players will sport an unbelievably cheesy new strip, featuring a world-first grated design and an upgraded plant-based version of the Club’s historic crest. They have also been promoted to ‘Cheesymen and Cheesywomen’ and will be encouraged to embrace more of a plant-based lifestyle.
The Cheddarton sponsorship campaign of Cheddar AFC has been developed in response to research* from Violife which reveals that two-fifths (41%) of Brits say they would miss cheese too much to go plant-based or vegan. It also identified that almost a quarter (23%) of all plant-based diets end due to the irresistibility of cheese.
To help explain the benefits of a plant-based diet, Violife has recruited ex-Lioness and committed vegan Karen Carney to work with the club to share her experience of switching to a plant-based diet in 2018, including helping her improve her performance on the pitch. Three-fifths (60%) of Brits polled prior to the campaign still believe that sportspeople need meat and dairy as part of their diet, so Karen is out to prove them wrong.
With a flavour profile that mirrors traditional cheddar, as well as melting, grating and crumbling like its dairy counterpart, Cheddarton makes the switch to plant-based in your favourite meals easier than ever before. Plus, with Violife’s delicious plant-based alternative-to-cheese range having less than half the carbon emissions and occupying two-thirds less of the land to produce when compared to dairy products**, you can have a glorious cheese-pull moment while something positive for the planet!
With over half (58%) of Brits rating cheddar as their favourite cheese, the Cheddarton campaign has been created and launched by integrated PR & social agency Good Relations to prove that if even the most committed of cheese fans - the people of Cheddar - can go plant-based whilst staying cheesy, anyone can. .
Jess Millner, Senior Brand Manager at Violife said “If the people of Cheddar can embrace Cheddarton and still stay cheesy, anyone can. We know that the idea of switching to a plant-based diet can seem like a big leap, and clearly many are worried about how they would feel without some of their favourite foods - so we’ve set out to demonstrate just how easy it can be, while communicating that you can make simple switches without having to sacrifice on taste or texture.”
Ollie Edwards, Deputy Executive Creative Director, at Good Relations said: “When Violife challenged us to show how plant-based cheddar has upped its game, we knew exactly who to turn to. If even ‘The Cheesemen’ could be tempted into adopting a plant-based lifestyle then we knew we had a chance of beating the world’s most famous cheese on home turf. Thankfully, both club and players had an appetite for change, and we hope it pays off for them on the pitch this season.”
