When Philadelphia smashed the Avocado: The Ultimate Brunch Showdown

Client: Mondelez / Philadelphia

When inflation bites, shoppers trade down. For Philadelphia, that created the ultimate commercial dilemma: increase retail price, but still deliver +3% unit growth in one of the UK's most price-sensitive FMCG categories. Discounting wasn't an option. Instead, we needed to grow demand.

Our answer was to stop selling cream cheese and start owning brunch. While nine in ten UK adults embrace brunch, only one in ten include Philadelphia. The problem wasn't the product-it was the occasion. Brunch decisions aren't made in the cheese aisle, so why was Philadelphia only showing up there? That insight sparked The Philly Deli: a category-first retail partnership with New York Bakery Co., the UK's number one bagel brand. By combining shopper data, precision media and connected retail activation, we inspired brunch shoppers before store, influenced them on the journey and reunited bagels and cream cheese at the point of purchase through co-branded cross-aisle displays and retail media. The result was more than a campaign; it was a new consumption occasion. Despite rising prices and intense own-label competition, Philadelphia delivered +4.3% volume growth, outperforming a category growing just +1.1%. The campaign generated enough incremental volume for 1.29 million brunch bagels, while strengthening Philadelphia's association with brunch (+4pts) and overall brand consideration (+11pts). Rather than buying growth through discounting, Philly Deli earned it by creating a brand-new reason to buy.