KRAFT NotCheese Slices undergo the ultimate taste test

One of the key factors for people to switch to plant-based food is for the taste, texture, and consistency to be as good as or better than the original. KRAFT NotCheese Slices employed some discerning taste testers to determine which cheese had them running to devour it first.

Food promotions need to capture people’s attention. More importantly, the idea, either on the screen or in real life, needs to convert that laugh, silliness, or talked about moment into actual product sales. For example, people might share that photo of the cola-cologne but does it make you grab that blue can to pair with that burger from the grill?

With the new KRAFT NotCheese Slices campaign, the creative take on a taste test has people stopping, watching, and hopefully making the food swap. It might not necessarily be singing a line from the children’s nursey rhyme about the mouse taking the cheese, but it is an image that people will remember.

Speaking to this promotional video, Dean Paradise, Executive Creative Director for GUT Miami said, “As part of our ongoing partnership with The Kraft Heinz Not Company joint venture, we developed the NotAnotherTest creative. The creative includes a series of tests where we use unexpected experts to put our products to the ultimate taste test. For KRAFT NotCheese Slices, we could have done the usual taste test with people who love cheese, but instead we tapped a group that was a little more unexpected... mice. With four times the power of smell than humans, there's no species who knows cheese better. We then combined the classic taste test with an obstacle course inspired by YouTube mouse maze videos and crowned the American Slice Mouse Champion.”

To be fair, there is a disclaimer that the mice’s opinion and obstacle course findings are not scientific, but the entertaining video will get people talking. Whether it will result in people purchasing the KRAFT NotCheese Slices for that burger, grilled cheese, or other dish remains to be seen. Still, the concept is a creative way to get people to recognize that the plant-based food is on the market.

Even though plant-based food has become more popular, some people are not quite ready to make that switch. Cheese has been a hard category to get right. It is more than capturing the flavor that people want. It is the melting factor, especially when combined with other foods, that has been key.

Will more consumers race to the store to make a purchase of KRAFT NotCheese Slices based on this fun promotion? Only time will tell. Luckily, the path from the refrigerated section to the checkout lane is not as precarious as the obstacles faced by the American Slice Mouse Champion.