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Velveeta

From polarizing product to unapologetic icon.

Velveeta Logo
Client
Kraft Heinz Company

Agency
Jones Knowles Ritchie

Project Type
Brand Transformation

Services Rendered
Brand & Design Strategy
Brand Architecture
Brand Identity & Packaging



Role
Group Strategy Director;
led strategy team & partnered with GCD/GBD

A note on creative:
La Dolce Velveeta campaign work led by Johannes Leonardo

The Challenge

For over 100 years, Velveeta’s totally unique product has divided opinion—hated by some but loved by others. Yet its brand was anything but unique—bland, unappetizing, and stuck in the 80s. After years of decline, a renewed love for comfort food during the Pandemic brought about huge sales surges. Kraft Heinz needed to act fast to make this turnaround stick, and give people a reason to keep coming back.

The Strategic Opportunity  

Despite the pandemic rekindling our love of comfort food, most brands were apologizing for their product’s lack of health benefits instead of celebrating what made them great. At the same time, we discovered something different about the Velveeta lover: for them, food, and life, was there to be enjoyed—their body an amusement park, not a temple. With this in mind, we saw an exciting opportunity for Velveeta to zig from the category, ignore the haters, and free the lovers to choose Velveeta; joyfully and unapologetically, along with everything else that brought them pleasure. Velveeta could wave goodbye to its dusty past and step into a bold, unapologetic new future. No longer just a product, Velveeta was a full-on vibe—it had swagger, and was dripping in exuberance.

The Execution

We centered Velveeta’s new identity around what made its product special—the drip. And while we retained what made the brand most recognizable, it felt wholly fresh. A new sensuous logo felt familiar, yet modern and delicious. The new brand voice was unapologetic and witty, and dripping graphics were enticing and eye-catching. The evolved packaging system now heroed the product, oozed with personality, and sung from the shelf. For the very first time, Velveeta felt like a brand; cohesive, expansive, and in category all of its own.

Results
  • AdAge 2022 Rebrand of the Year

  • Sustained growth post-pandemic: after dipping 1.1% in 2021, sales rose 3.2% through July 2023

  • “La Dolce Velveeta” campaign launched nationally, followed by provocative product innovations to reinforce brand attitude

Approach Highlights
  • Learn—stakeholder + R&D interviews; category semiotics; qual + quant consumer research; store visits; deep dive into semiotics of comfort and pleasure  

  • Build—brand & design strategy established, followed by portfolio architecture and creative territory development; packaging and brand world developed simultaneously; iterative testing 

  • Deploy—senior stakeholder + agency partner engagement and collaboration throughout; all strategy and creative work built into final brand guidelines

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