Enhancing the Strathisla Visitor Experience through branded Packaging excellence

Introduction

Strathisla Distillery, located in the heart of Speyside, is more than just Scotland’s oldest working distillery—it’s the beating heart of the Chivas Regal brand and one of the most photographed brand homes in the world. As visitor numbers continued to grow and the Distillery expanded its premium experiences, including its sought-after Cask Experience tour, Strathisla identified an opportunity to elevate its brand presentation within the Visitor Centre.

To strengthen the connection between guests and the brand, Strathisla needed premium packaging that reflected the craftsmanship, heritage, and modern luxury synonymous with Chivas Regal. They turned to Kudos Giftwrap, a trusted partner in branded packaging solutions, to help bring this vision to life.

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The Challenge

Strathisla’s challenge was twofold. Firstly, they wanted to maintain and grow the average spend per customer in their Visitor Centre by enhancing the perceived value of purchases. Secondly, they sought to elevate the brand experience by creating packaging that reflected the distillery’s refreshed visual identity.

The distillery’s leadership team recognised that every touchpoint mattered, from the bottles sold to the bags they were carried home in. Visitors who participated in premium experiences, such as the Cask Experience, were not just buying whisky, they were buying a story, a memory, and a tangible piece of the brand to take home.

However, the existing packaging no longer reflected the contemporary elegance of the newly refined Strathisla branding. They needed something distinctive, packaging that would both honour Strathisla’s heritage and mirror its modern brand direction.

Project objectives

The project’s primary objective was to create a cohesive range of branded packaging that elevated the overall visitor experience at the Strathisla Brand Home. Specifically, the goals were to:

• Develop luxury packaging that aligned with Strathisla’s new visual identity and premium positioning.

• Enhance perceived value to help maintain and increase average customer spend within the Visitor Centre.

• Deliver bespoke packaging for the exclusive Cask Experience, offering guests a meaningful and memorable takeaway.

• Ensure the design-to-delivery process was efficient, enabling Strathisla to implement the new packaging faster than internal brand processes would allow.

These objectives guided every stage of the collaboration, ensuring that design, functionality, and brand storytelling came together seamlessly.

The Solution: A Partnership Rooted in Design and Detail

Kudos Giftwrap worked closely with the Strathisla Brand Home team to understand not only their packaging requirements but also their brand philosophy. The goal was to create packaging that enhanced the customer experience and reinforced Strathisla’s position as a luxury brand destination.

Kudos supplied a full suite of bespoke packaging elements, including:

• Boxes for glassware – designed to protect delicate branded items while presenting them with elegance.

• Bottle bags – both single and double-bottle formats, tailored to different purchase types.

• Premium tissue paper – used for wrapping and presentation, adding a tactile and visual layer of luxury to the unboxing experience.

Every item was designed to align seamlessly with the Strathisla brand aesthetic, ensuring that visitors’ first and last impressions of the distillery matched its reputation as the Home of Chivas.

Designing the Strathisla Cask Experience Bag 

A particular highlight of the collaboration was the development of a bespoke Strathisla-branded bag for guests participating in the exclusive Cask Experience tour. This tour allows visitors to hand-fill their own bottle straight from the cask, creating a deeply personal connection to the brand. Strathisla wanted the packaging for this unique experience to be equally memorable.

The Kudos design team worked from early-stage visuals, interpreting the new Strathisla visual identity into tangible packaging concepts. This included integrating one of the brand’s most distinctive new elements, the concealed hot pink detail, into the design. Subtle yet striking, this feature offered a luxurious surprise within an otherwise understated and elegant exterior.

The design also incorporated the iconic Strathisla peaks, a symbol recognised worldwide as the defining silhouette of the distillery. This careful blend of heritage and modernity created a product that truly encapsulated the brand’s evolution.

Through a collaborative process, Kudos translated digital design concepts into high-quality finished products, moving from on-screen visuals to production-ready prototypes in record time. The result was a luxury branded bag that became an essential part of the visitor journey, an item guests were proud to carry and keep as a memento of their experience.

Accelerated Delivery and Execution

One of the key advantages of working with Kudos was their ability to move quickly from concept to delivery. By managing design, production, and logistics in-house, Kudos enabled Strathisla to implement new branded packaging far faster than if the project had been handled solely by internal brand teams.

This agility meant the new packaging was in place and ready for use well ahead of schedule, supporting ongoing retail and visitor experience goals without delay.

The Outcome

The collaboration between Kudos Giftwrap and Strathisla Distillery resulted in a transformative improvement in Visitor experience and brand presentation.

Key outcomes included:

• Enhanced Brand Cohesion: Every element of the visitor journey, from the Cask Experience to retail purchases, now reflects the same premium aesthetic and attention to detail.

• Luxury Branded Packaging: The new bags and presentation materials perfectly coordinate with Strathisla’s updated brand identity, creating a consistent and memorable Guest experience.

• Increased Customer Satisfaction and Average spend: By elevating the perceived value of purchased items, the new packaging contributed to maintaining and growing average spend per visitor through the till.

• Operational efficiency: Kudos’ design-to-delivery process saved valuable time, enabling Strathisla to roll out packaging updates quickly and efficiently.

• Recognition Within the Group: Strathisla’s continued focus on premium experience—supported by standout packaging—has helped the distillery secure a Top 5 position within the Chivas Group.

Today, the Strathisla Brand Home stands as a leading example of how thoughtful, brand-aligned packaging can enrich the customer experience and reinforce brand identity at every touchpoint.

Testimonial

[Insert Testimonial Placeholder – Russell Dent, Strathisla Brand Home].

Find out more

We would like to thank the team at Strathisla for being a pleasure to work with throughout the project, and we look forward to a long and mutually productive business relationship. If you would like to find out more about our Bespoke packaging design and fulfilment services, please call one of our experienced designers today on 01923 220055.

Image Source: Strathisla