Adnams Southwold.
Adnams Southwold has been brewers, distillers, wine merchants, retailers, publicans, and hoteliers for 150 years. Impressively, the brand has retained its independent spirit and curiosity. Always looking to innovate and with a genuine passion for caring for the environment and local communities, Adnam’s award-winning beers and spirits are also sustainably produced.
THE CHALLENGE
Creating a cohesive brand hub on Shopify Plus.
Adnams Southwold wanted a website that reflected its personality and heritage while delivering a modern, top-quality user experience. Key objectives included:
- A distinctive, visually compelling design aligned with the brand’s rebrand.
- A subscription model integrated with a third-party loyalty programme.
- A multi-channel hub showcasing the breadth of the business, including brewing, distilling, retail, hospitality, events, and experiences.
The challenge was to create a platform that unified these elements while giving the team control to manage and evolve the site independently.
THE SOLUTION
Distinctive design that elevates the brand.
Following Adnams’ rebrand, we translated its new visual identity into a streamlined, sophisticated Shopify Plus theme. Built using Online Store 2.0, we used the ‘sections everywhere’ functionality more than 20 times, giving maximum flexibility across the site. The result is a design that feels premium, modern, and recognisably Adnams, while allowing the team to update and experiment in-house.
Multi-channel integration.
The new site serves as a central hub for the entire Adnams Southwold business. It integrates ecommerce with accommodation, events, experiences, and trade information. The homepage presents a full overview of the business rather than prioritising online sales, with components such as the “Keep Exploring Adnams” slider and a fully customisable hero banner that highlights different areas of the brand.
Flexible ecommerce with in-house control.
A key part of the project was ensuring the online shop area could evolve independently. The ‘Shop’ page acts as the ecommerce homepage, with configurable sections that allow Adnams to adjust images, colours, icons, text, and CTAs. Collection pages feature double-width advert banners and ‘Keep Exploring Adnams’ sections to encourage exploration across the brand. Features such as out-of-stock product hiding, Boost Commerce search, Okendo reviews, Pennies donations, and DotDigital email integration enhance the user experience while supporting business goals.
THE RESULT
A platform driving engagement & sustained growth.
The new Adnams Southwold website has become a true brand hub, supporting discovery, engagement, and conversion across the customer journey. By focusing on clear journeys and reducing friction, the site now attracts and retains significantly more engaged users.
- Sessions increased by 204%, reflecting improved visibility, clearer pathways, and stronger alignment across channels.
- Bounce rate reduced by 18.3%, demonstrating that users are finding relevant content faster and exploring more of the Adnams brand.
With a flexible Shopify Plus foundation and a journey-led growth approach embedded across design, content, and functionality, Adnams is well-positioned to continue scaling acquisition, conversion, and loyalty as the business evolves.
“The Shopify migration process with blubolt was seamless, with a well-executed project plan that encompassed our design and functionality requirements. Shopify Plus has opened new avenues, allowing us to introduce exciting features and improve team productivity with its ease of use!”
— David Wyatt Hupton, Retail Sales & Marketing Manager