Philadelphia cream cheese serves burned-out diners at Feeladelphia restaurant

• Philadelphia cream cheese is opening a multisensory dining concept called Feeladelphia in partnership with Jeremiah Stone and Fabián Von Hauske Valtierra, head chefs and owners of Michelin-starred restaurants Contra and Wildair, per details shared with Marketing Dive.
• Feeladelphia will feature cheese-infused dishes named after feelings like “allure,” “curiosity” and “spontaneity” that seek to stimulate the senses. The restaurant will be open from July 14 to 16 with reservations available via OpenTable. The three-hour experience costs $35 per person, with proceeds donated to charity. 
• In addition to the restaurant, the Kraft Heinz brand will release “The Feeladelphia Experience: An Immersive Cookbook,” which includes edible pages, interactive scents and sonic experiences. The multisensory campaign looks to engage with consumers that are burned out and crave new experiences after more than two pandemic-shaped years.

Philadelphia cream cheese is looking to connect with consumers who are craving new experiences and actual feelings after spending more than two years on “autopilot” due to the effects of the pandemic. The Kraft Heinz brand is looking to be an antidote to monotonous work, repetitive family dinners and mindless TikTok scrolling with its multisensory campaign.

“Our brand platform, ‘You Don’t Just Taste It. You Feel It,’ was inspired by consumer narratives describing how Philadelphia cream cheese goes beyond incredible taste to stimulate the senses and evoke feeling in every bite,” said Keenan White, senior brand manager for Philadelphia, in a statement.

At the brand’s Feeladelphia dining concept, diners order feelings — not food — as each dish looks to stimulate the senses with a range of textures, temperatures, visuals and flavors. Named after feelings like “allure,” “curiosity” and “spontaneity,” the dishes are intended to demonstrate the versatility of Philadelphia cream cheese. The restaurant is a collaboration with chef-restaurateurs Stone and Von Hauske Valtierra, who bring serious dining bona fides to the experience via their recognition by Michelin. 

Along with the dining experience, consumers can purchase “The Feeladelphia Experience” cookbook, which continues the campaign’s multisensory approach by including edible pages, interactive scents and sonic elements. The cookbook will be available for pre-order via a microsite that will allow the brand to collect valuable first-party data. 

By keying in on feelings of emotional burn out, Philadelphia’s latest campaign follows recent efforts that look to address how consumers’ lives have been permanently affected by the pandemic. In June, Heineken developed a functional gadget called The Closer that closes work applications when cracking a beer, while Stella Artois launched a campaign focused on enriching the home dining experience. Both efforts looked to address the blurring of the work-life divide that remote work has exacerbated.

The pop-up restaurant tactic is in-line with a renewed growth in experiential marketing, which was scuttled early in the pandemic but has returned as consumers resumed pre-pandemic activities. For years, the multisensory approach has been adopted by a variety of marketers, including Mastercard, Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s and a variety of spirits brands looking to forge deeper emotional connections with consumers.