Monsieur Gustav: Giving A Friendly, Everyday Face To Cheeses

Rethinking the cheese category, Monsieur Gustav is a brand that brings cheeses to casual foodies. With packaging designed by lg2, the colorful, simplistic graphics create a cheerful and unpretentious aesthetic. Completely different from other brands on the market, this casual cheese brand is ideal for relaxed and easy get-togethers.

For some, fine cheeses are synonymous with enjoyment and sophistication. In recent years, a whole new base of consumers has discovered the category, driving sales up across the country. These new consumers have different expectations and needs than long-time fine cheese enthusiasts. For dairy cooperative Agropur, a major player in the fine cheese category, it was the perfect opportunity to rethink its product ecosystem, consolidate its assets, strengthen its ties to this new clientele and build loyalty in the category.

Our task was to create a portfolio strategy and a brand-new, original identity that would reflect this distinctive family of products. We set out to enable consumers to make informed decisions when it comes to purchasing fine cheeses instead of trying them on a whim.

The first step was to optimize Agropur’s fine cheese portfolio. Over the years, the cooperative has made and distributed hundreds of fine cheese products. This situation resulted in a disparate portfolio, out of step with how new fine cheese lovers consume the product and offering too much choices to consumers. Given all this, embracing the idea of streamlining and regrouping many Agropur products under a single brand came naturally.

The competition on category shelves is fierce, so we had to make sure that the new brand would stand out. This prompted us to move away from the traditional fine cheese territory, dominated by religious and classic references.

We were convinced that consumers were ready for a brand that broke established codes, as was the case for craft beer drinkers a few years ago. Fine cheese fans were primed for a more modern, simple and accessible brand. A refreshing tone would also allow us to grow our clientele by attracting consumers who might initially feel a little intimidated by this refined category.

To achieve this objective, we created a character to assume the role of matchmaker between flavourful fine cheeses and their new fans. Meet Monsieur Gustav, the brand’s new face. A generous and fun-loving foodie, he is presented as a messenger and guide who democratizes the often complex world of fine cheeses.

We chose a colourful, no-frills style that marks a clean break with the category’s more classic graphic codes. A simplified packaging was critical to maximizing our communication with our target consumer. We completely redid the information hierarchy, and the rich, flexible brand platform now connects Agropur to its consumers clearly and efficiently, from the products’ packaging to POS advertising and content.

However you slice it, Agropur has accomplished a small revolution in the fine cheese world, and we’re looking forward to following the adventures of Monsieur Gustav in the coming years. The launch has been a clear success: In less than three months, Monsieur Gustav has cracked Canada’s top 3 in the fine cheese category, tied with its two main, well-established competitors, Castello and Alexis de Portneuf.