Wyke Farms, a 150-year-old cheese and dairy manufacturer in the UK announced its first-ever rebrand on 3 September. The new brand identity will feature redesigned packaging in an attempt to increase shelf impact.

Packaging was voted on by the Somerset dairy’s 5,000 Facebook fans earlier this summer. Successfully avoiding backlash that can plague companies after rebranding without customer input, polled fans chose a bold speech bubble design among three possible packaging options. The family-owned company will be unveiling its new identity this month.

“A strong brand has a good story behind it and that's certainly true of Wyke Farms,” Rich Clothier, MD of Wyke Farms says. “The speech bubble is on both the front and back of [the] pack to highlight our unique family farming story.”

Including a new website and the redesigned packaging, Wyke Farms will be promoting its rebrand with a £5 million advertising campaign and 37 sampling events in 2013 that are projected to attract over one million customers.

In mid-September, Wyke Farms cheeses will be pulled from the shelves at Morrison’s after the grocer determined Wyke was not competing as well as other brands. Wyke responded with a Facebook and Twitter campaign calling on fans to help keep Wyke’s cheddars in stock at the popular supermarket.

Wyke Farms is the largest independent dairy in the UK.

Communicate will be accepting entries in late autumn for the 2012 Transform Awards, celebrating the best in European rebranding.