Fall, a season filled with pumpkin spice, falling leaves, candles and all things cozy-core. But it's also big game season and big games call for big snacks. Game days are inundated by pantry snack advertising. As a result, 63% of "game day" snackers choose bland options like chips, pretzels and crackers.
Farm Rich is waging war on sad snacking. Our hero in the battle: the mozzarella stick.
We faced a number of key questions; How can a mozzarella stick rise above the rest to command attention and get in a shopper’s cart? How can they be seen as a fall snack, not just one for game day? How could we use the mozzarella stick cheese pull magic in a fresh way and command power on social?
The central social strategy was rooted in a simple cultural insight: fall and winter are defined by a craving for warmth, nostalgia, and a little indulgence.
To truly lean into this, we moved away from mass production and instead embraced the ultimate symbol of cozy nostalgia: each scarf was hand-crocheted by a Midwestern grandma. We capitalized on fans' obsession with viral cheese-pull content by transforming a freezer snack into a handmade, "must-have" accessory. This human element made the product naturally "talkable" and gave media outlets a memorable hook that went well beyond a typical product launch.
The intent of the promotion wasn’t just for coverage, but to spark a cultural conversation by blending food-related nostalgia with the quirky "gastrofashion" trend.
Our goal was to transform a fleeting cultural obsession—the iconic cheese pull—into something tangible, wearable, and endlessly repeatable.
In the fall, consumers seek comfort in two primary forms: the food they eat and the clothes they wear. That insight sparked The Mozzarella Stick Scarf—a literal embodiment of comfort food. We set out to turn a beloved snack into a high-fashion, sensory accessory that was equal parts wonderfully absurd and perfectly suited for peak autumn.
The cheese pull had captivated fans for years, but its magic lasted only as long as the snack itself. One stretch and it disappeared. We saw an opportunity to extend that moment—physically recreating the anticipation, elasticity, and satisfaction at a dramatically larger scale. The goal wasn’t to reference the cheese pull. It was to engineer it.
Our plan was to design the experience itself to function exactly like mozzarella—stretchy, surprising, and repeatable. We exaggerated the size of the familiar brown “cheese stick” and hid a custom-constructed scarf inside. Influencers received what looked like an oversized snack cylinder. When opened, it revealed a five- to six-foot “cheese pull” they could stretch, admire, and then tuck back in to relive again and again.
At the heart of the design was the “cheese” pull itself. A gentle tug on the scarf’s sides revealed a hidden core of stretchy fibers engineered to deliver a satisfying pull every time—minus the actual cheese. We prototyped multiple constructions to achieve the right elasticity, durability, and drape. The stretch needed to feel authentic. The reveal had to feel effortless. And the scarf still had to function as a cozy, wearable accessory.
Influencer strategy brought it to life. We seeded scarves with key fashion, food, and lifestyle creators known for seasonal “Fall Outfit” reveals. Their content began as typical autumn styling videos before surprising audiences with the dramatic cheese pull. The unexpected twist generated authentic reactions, viral-ready moments, and organic conversation across platforms.
You couldn’t buy the scarf. These custom, hand-made pieces were available exclusively through a social giveaway, positioning ownership as a badge of honor for devoted fans. By limiting access, we shifted the scarf from product to prize—turning it into a coveted, limited-edition moment of seasonal joy.
The biggest challenge was balancing absurdity with aspiration. It couldn’t feel gimmicky. By elevating craftsmanship, refining the reveal, and making the experience interactive and exclusive, we created something that felt both playful and premium.
What makes this work unique is that we didn’t just tap into culture—we engineered cultural behavior. Instead of posting about the cheese pull, creators could live inside it. We transformed a disappearing snack moment into a physical, repeatable, and shareable experience—stretchy, satisfying, and designed to last far beyond the last bite.
The public's reaction was immediate. Delighted fans flooded the comments, with one calling it "the most beautiful scarf I've ever seen!". Others described practical uses, like, "I'd wear this every day walking the dogs when it's cold!" or another who claimed they would wear it to the grocery store as a "constant reminder that I do not have enough cheese sticks in my freezer". The real indication of the campaign's success was the DIY content it inspired. Since demand far outpaced supply, online crafters began requesting crochet patterns and sharing their own handmade versions of the scarf—the ultimate form of brand flattery.
The momentum began with an influencer’s initial unboxing post that garnered 330,000 views, 27,000 likes, and 11,000 shares, effectively getting the campaign off the ground with the product's visual appeal. We then hit a fever pitch when another influencer’s content went viral, amassing 11.3 million views, 750,000 likes, and 250,000 shares—becoming that creator’s most successful post to date.
The effectiveness of this strategy was undeniable:
