GLENGOYNE DISTILLERY

A DECADE OF DESIGN EFFECTIVENESS

SERVICES →
Brand experience, Brand home, Brand strategy, Consumer journey, Consumer research, Creative strategy, Spatial design, Storytelling,

Glengoyne is a small distillery with the capacity to produce just over one million litres of alcohol per year and employs 56 staff on–site. It is also one of the most-loved Scotch whisky distilleries in the world.

Over the course of a decade, we worked with the Glengoyne Team to completely reimagine the visitor experience at the distillery. We were in it for the long haul.

The Glengoyne retail area

GLENGOYNE FIRST BRIEFED US IN 2008. THE DISTILLERY HAD ALREADY OFFERED TOURS FOR YEARS.

They say don’t fix it if it’s not broken. But as Glengoyne has such a small footprint with a fully working distillery, the experience for both visitors and staff, although profitable, was cumbersome. Never mind health and safety considerations and the predictability of footfall in a rural spot — it was an everyday hindrance.

Glengoyne whisky distillery brand home still
The Glengoyne team understood the importance of the visitor experience to create brand advocacy, while also understanding that production of the whisky could not be compromised.
Glengoyne whisky distillery brand home
The Glengoyne self fill area
The Glengoyne retail area

The initial request was to review the tour process and enhance the visitor flow through the site. 

Almost immediately the Glengoyne team began to see positive results and made the decision to actively manage the visitor experience and reinvest in further design developments to continue this trend.

DBA Gold Award Winner
Glengoyne whisky distillery brand home building exterior

First up was the retail shop. We established a clearer journey through the product range and an ambience that encourages guests to linger. 

Next, we added more structure to the journey through the production spaces and created engaging content along the guest journey – Warehouse No. 1, featuring a display where the maturation process’ effect on the spirit is visually explained being a key example.

A backlit wall of bottles showing the various stages of maturation
A metal gate in the maturation area with casks of Glengoyne whisky behind it
Due to the back-to-front nature of the site, we repurposed a cottage to house the ticketing and welcome at the entrance to the site.
And finally, as tour numbers increased (a victim of our own success) we revisited the visitor centre to accommodate increasing tour sizes and visitor numbers while also creating flexibility for events.
Glengoyne whisky distillery brand home
The gate at Glengoyne distillery with the text "You are now entering Glengoyne time" painted on it in large lettering

THE RESULTS:

DBA Gold Award Winner 

NO.1 Best Tour in Scotland 

+117% Visitors 

+81% Visitor Spend 

+68% Retail Sales 

 

Glengoyne whisky distillery brand home backdrop

Glengoyne whisky distillery brand home building exterior

Casks behind a black metal gate
Glengoyne whisky distillery brand home guest experience

Over the course of a decade, the aim remained consistent – deliver an unparalleled premium visitor experience and increase revenues through spend per head. 

Both of these were realised through the effectiveness of the design changes, all while maintaining the character of the brand and the historical site.