Dr. Praeger's has made veggie burgers since 1994, when two cardiac surgeons set out to build food their patients would actually want to eat. That heritage is the reason the Grillhouse Cheddar Burger was a real design problem. It is the brand's first burger made with real cheddar, a meat-free patty with steakhouse-style seasoning, four vegetables, and 20 grams of protein. The job was to make vegetables crave-able without losing the trust the brand is built on.

The tension was baked into the brief. Dr. Praeger's current lineup reads soft and white, which stands out for the wrong reason in a Whole Foods frozen set that runs loud and bright. A line extension cannot look like a different brand, and it cannot disappear into the case either. The pack had to hold family resemblance and still stop a shopper through freezer glass.Manufactur kept the recognizable Dr. Praeger's assets and rebuilt the hierarchy around flavor. We cleaned up the layout, scaled the logo down so it endorses rather than dominates, and pushed the product name up to a large "GRILLHOUSE CHEDDAR" lockup that reads across the aisle. We made it flavor-forward with cheese cues: a hero burger with melting cheddar and cheddar chunk graphics that say cheeseburger before you read a word. The 20g protein claim became an even more prominent badge tom capitalized on consumers' increased interest. We explored the full range, from safe iterations to versions that pushed the brand harder than it had gone before, then landed on a direction that stays tight to the existing product family while moving it forward. The system was designed to work in two formats, horizontal for Whole Foods and vertical for retailers like Kroger and Ralph's.

The result is a pack that looks like the next chapter of Dr. Praeger's, not a standalone product. It broadens the appeal beyond strictly-veggie shoppers and shows that better-for-you and indulgent can share one box. The Grillhouse line launched at Whole Foods Market on November 3, 2025.