The power move Four Pillars Gin made for growth
In less than a decade, Four Pillars Gin in the Yarra Valley has become one of the most recognisable names in the spirits world.
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In less than a decade, Four Pillars Gin in the Yarra Valley has become one of the most recognisable names in the spirits world. From consecutive gin producer of the year titles to its gold-medal winning suite of gin products, this exceptional distillery is more than just a spirits producer — it’s a powerhouse of a brand.
So as Four Pillars saw its gin become in-demand around the world, they knew they needed an eCommerce platform that could scale at pace — just like their brand.
Leading the gin charge
What is now a burgeoning gin scene in Australia — and indeed most developed countries around the world — was nothing of the sort a mere decade ago. But, inspired by what craft distillers were doing on the West Coast of the United States at the time, co-founders Stuart Gregor, Cameron Mackenzie and Matt Jones saw great potential in having an Australian craft spirits scene.
“Just like the Americans, we saw we could make gin that was really different and inspired by the flavours of our home,” says Jones, co-founder and brand director at Four Pillars Gin.
“So Australia became our secret weapon, giving us access to the most diverse and delicious range of produce and botanicals on Earth. We built our business on the craft of making gin in Australia, and we’ve developed and released more than 20 different gins over the past almost nine years, twice being named the world’s leading gin producer.”
But developing some of the finest spirits on the planet was never going to be enough for a trio of entrepreneurs with sky-high ambitions.
Scaling their brand online
As any successful business person will tell you, you can have the greatest product on the planet, but if you don’t know how to sell it then you’ll never make a dollar. So it’s unsurprising that Four Pillars managed a deft balancing act between creating a fantastic gin and marketing their brand.
“Alongside our focus on gin-making, the other great focus has always been on experiences — both face-to-face and online,” Jones says. “As our range and our brand grew, we recognised that our original website wasn’t keeping up with our brand ambitions nor the scale of our eCommerce.”
As brand director, Jones knew he’d have to scour the market to find the ideal platform. The new website would have to be built on a bullet-proof dedicated eCommerce platform that would also allow the team to create layers of custom content and experiences on the surface.
Enter, BigCommerce.
“We looked at all the major eCommerce platforms, but ultimately landed on a combination of BigCommerce and WordPress,” Jones says. “The key requirement was to be able to achieve the best of both worlds: a rock-solid eCommerce offering with great functionality both for front-end shoppers and back-end users in our business, as well as the ability to craft a unique and immersive digital brand experience.”
Always first-in-class
Jones says he’s the brand guy more than a tech guy, but his digital team knew exactly what they would need from BigCommerce in order to get a platform that would scale with the Four Pillars brand.
“Four Pillars Gin was one of the first companies in Australia to utilise a BigCommerce headless implementation, alongside a headless WordPress implementation with a JavaScript (Vue.js) front-end layer on top of both,” he says.
“The separation of the display layer of our new website has given us the flexibility to effortlessly create renewed brand experiences, which fit with our other brand assets and real-world, in-person customer experiences at our tasting lab and distillery.”
The proof is in the data
As with any business as big as Four Pillars Gin, Jones and his co-founders wanted to see the hard data that would prove they were getting a great return on investment. And with stats like this, it’s hard to ignore it was a wise switch to BigCommerce:
- 152% increase in transactions
- 79% increase in conversion rate
- 22% increase in organic traffic
“For us to do what we do, eCommerce has to be simple and effortless — and that’s what we really valued in the shift to BigCommerce,” Jones says.
Read now: How choosing the right eCommerce platform can set you up for success
