Spot the cheese and collect £500
I was drinking my morning coffee last Saturday and reading the Grauniad (also known as the Guardian) when I came across Richard Clothier of Wyke Farm’s smiling visage peering out at me, from a field surrounded by cows. He managed to get a piece in the Guardian’s Saturday magazine about the two 20kg cheeses that went missing at the Yeovil Show earlier this year, and his £500 reward for anyone who helps find them. He also discussed his family business and what happens at a cheese show.
Now, I’ve no doubt the cheeses actually were stolen, as Mr Clothier is an honest man, and this is surely a case of making lemonade out of lemons. However, it is also a very good bit of marketing. Bad things happen, but in this case, the cheddar thieves may have done Wyke Farms a favour by allowing the Clothiers to tell their story to a wider public than normal. It’s gone viral, and that can be a very good thing for a brand.
In some ways, we have come a long way from when Wedginald, the West Country Cheddar, spent a year back in 2007 being caught on camera as he sat on a shelf at Westcombe Dairy in Somerset, all filmed live on cheddarvision.tv. I’m not sure if sales of West Country Cheddar increased, but I hope they did.
Both events have served to interest the public in what the rural economy does every day – provide food for everyone, no matter where they live in the country. The connect between the 20kg blocks and the 200g resealable packs that sit on supermarket shelves has to continue to be made, and Richard and his family helping to make it. It is a good job all around.
