Buchanan’s is one of the most revered Scotch whisky brands sold throughout Latin America. For over 130 years, this game changing Scotch Whisky has been crafting unique blends enjoyed by whisky aficionados for Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean and South America.
By 2013, the iconic whisky brand had been sporting the same package design for more than 20 years. Not surprisingly, it had begun to feel a little dated when compared to other premium competitors. Diageo chose forceMAJEURE as their partner to work on the global portfolio redesign of Buchanan’s Blended Scotch Whisky.
The redesign began with an in-depth analysis of the brand’s essence followed by the creation of brand pillars and design principles, both of which would guide the design process. The overall brand refresh was crystallized in a full redesign of the primary packaging, including developing new bottles for the entire family, new closures and secondary packaging for the suite. The result is a redesign, which reintroduces an icon to the next generation of consumers, ensuring its relevance for the next 20 years.
The first step of the refresh was to tell the story of the key brand equities: the contract to supply whisky to the House of Lords was signed in 1893. The seal, which communicates quality and authenticity; the canteen shaped bottle, which drew inspiration from WWI water canteens and the color green, which represents the lush green of Scotland.
With a strong understanding of the brand’s character, codes and narrative, we had the foundation to develop the packaging. The resulting exploration reinterprets these valuable characteristics with a contemporary design that builds upon the Buchanan’s history and heritage, but with a thoroughly modern expression for the 3-tiered range. We maintained the color-coding for the DeLuxe, Master Blend and Special Reserve variants, but infused a tinge of green throughout the range to add warmth and evoke the brand’s Scottish provenance. The contract, which has been a central part of the Buchanan’s brand identity for over a century, has been revisited, with James Buchanan’s signature signing off each and every bottle.
Brand Renovation, Full Portfolio Redesign, Brand world, Bottle & Packaging Design, Limited Editions Design, Key visuals (Digital & Social), Retail Design, Campaign.
