Herriard-based artisan cheese business, Hampshire Cheese Company, has unveiled a brand new look for its Tunworth and Winslade cheeses to bring the brand more up to date.

The new, modern look is designed to give the brand – favoured by chefs like Raymond Blanc, Nigel Slater, Simon Rogan, Jamie Oliver and James Martin, among others – even greater appeal to a wider audience, as well as to improve brand recognition.

The new branding replaces the former heavy and dark logos, giving the Tunworth – a British Camembert – and the Winslade – a Vacherin/Camembert cross – a lighter, softer and greener image.

While the branding has changed, Hampshire Cheese Company’s aims and ethos remain the same: to produce the best soft cheeses in the UK, and to reach new audiences without losing the handmade artisan production methods which make their cheeses unique.

Of the redeveloped branding, Stacey says, “My team really enjoy producing something that people love eating and they are very proud of what we do. We have developed our business over the last 16 years and have a hugely talented team of cheesemakers. I’m proud to unveil our new and more modern look, which we hope will increase our brand recognition and open up the Hampshire Cheese Company to new audiences across the UK.”

Hampshire Cheese Company was founded by Stacey Hedges, who worked part-time as a cheesemonger while studying at university in her home city of Sydney, Australia. After working in restaurants and catering after graduating, she found herself in a career as a food stylist for Vogue Australia.

Stacey moved to London in 1987 where she worked for high-end catering companies across the city, before moving to Hampshire in 1997 with two young children – and with a third arriving in 2000. It was in 2002 that she began to play around with cheesemaking, taking several courses before officially launching Hampshire Cheese Company in 2005.

Beginning with just a small personal investment from Stacey and a DEFRA grant, Hampshire Cheese Company was initially supported by Neals Yard Dairy, who offered a great deal of support in maturing and selling the first batches of premium cheese, and who remain the brand’s biggest customer 16 years on. The business began to boom in 2006 when their Tunworth was awarded the Supreme Champion Cheese at the British Cheese Awards – a rare feat for such a new cheesemaker, and the first of many awards over the years.

The Tunworth – a soft, white-rinded cheese with an earthy fragrance and a nutlike and sweet flavour – has been praised by top chefs over the years. Simon Rogan, who holds two Michelin stars at L’Enclume restaurant in Cumbria, says, “Tunworth is a staple ingredient in my kitchen. For me it showcases how far we have come in this country as producers of cheese, and it’s important to me to champion the best of British like this.”

In 2013, Hampshire Cheese Company launched their Winslade: a second soft, mould-ripened cheese based on a Vacherin Mont D’Or recipe. With its soft and spoonable texture and its rich and buttery flavour, the Winslade has also won a whole host of awards – including Best New Cheese at the British Cheese Awards in the year it was launched.

To find out more about the Hampshire cheese company Tunworth and Winslade fans will love, visit their website: https://hampshirecheesecompany.co.uk/