Cheese Artistry UK: from 77 followers to a real community

Cheese Artistry UK: from 77 followers to a real community
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Case study · Food & Drink

Cheese Artistry UK had just 77 Instagram followers, and bigger rivals owned the space. We combined competitions, paid creator partnerships and premium recipe shoots, led by short-form video. In seven months it gained 2,289 followers, with an 8.9% engagement rate.

  • 2.9K% follower growth in 7 months
  • 2,289 new followers
  • 191.5K reach
  • 8.9% engagement rate
A toasted cheese sandwich made with Cheese Artistry UK cheese
  • Client Cheese Artistry UK
  • Sector Food, cheese
  • Services Social media strategy, content, creator partnerships, paid social
  • Audience Food lovers and home cooks
  • Channels Instagram

What did Cheese Artistry UK need?

Cheese Artistry UK makes premium cheese, but on Instagram it was almost invisible, with 77 followers.

  • Business objective: build a brand audience that supports sales.
  • Communication objective: grow an engaged Instagram community from near zero over seven months.

What was the insight?

People follow food accounts for ideas, not adverts. A premium cheese earns a follow when it shows people what to make with it.

The idea was recipes first, led by short-form video.

What did we do?

  • Premium recipe shoots. We shot recipes that showed the cheese at its best.
  • Short-form video. Video led the feed, because it reaches new people fastest.
  • Paid creator partnerships. Mid-tier food creators brought the brand to their audiences.
  • Competitions with targets. Giveaways were tied to follower targets to grow the community.

What did it achieve?

Results by stage of the AMEC evaluation framework, with the source for each figure.

Stage Measure Result Source
Outputs Reach 191.5K Instagram analytics
Out-takes Engagements 17K Instagram analytics
Out-takes Engagement rate 8.9% Instagram analytics
Out-takes New followers in seven months 2,289 (from 77) Instagram analytics

What did Cheese Artistry UK get from it?

A real community where there was almost none. The account grew by 2.9K% in seven months, with engagement well above typical brand levels.

What did we learn?

  • Lead with ideas. Recipes gave people a reason to follow and save.
  • Mid-tier creators work. They brought engaged audiences at a sensible cost.
  • What we would do differently. link social to sales with tracked links and codes from the start.