Glenfiddich grew to one million cases by evolving its craft message from one of respect to desirability and proprietary emotion. As a craft brand, Glenfiddich initially focused on respect for its ingredients and uniqueness, but to scale, it changed its story to one of desire and linking its scotch to an adventurous emotional state. The lesson is that craft brands can organically expand by evolving their intrinsic truths to evoke a deeper emotional connection with consumers as the brand grows beyond its original niche.

1. Glenfiddich’s Journey to a
Million Cases: Notes on
Scaling “Craft”
September 11th, 2013
John Carvalho

2. Craft is: finding yourself in what you drink.
Craft isn’t: drinking whatever you find.
The challenge: Scarcity can’t scale.

3. In 2012:
Tens of thousands of liquors competed worldwide for share of stomach.
176 hit the elusive million-case sales mark.
One was a single-malt.
Scotch is a quintessentially “craft” category. Single-malt is even more so.
Premium prices. Difficult flavor profiles. Small, passionate niche following. Part
of its desirability lies in its rarity. Social value comes from discovering the
experience, then introducing it to friends.
So how did Glenfiddich grow?

4. Don’t ignore craft. Evolve it.
Glenfiddich hit one million
cases in 2010. Shortly
thereafter, their brand
strategy changed.

5. Before the
million-case
mark.

6. After the
million-case
mark.
What lesson
comes out of
this?

7. Respect vs. Desire
Glenfiddich grew with a quintessentially “craft” message of
respect. Respect our ingredients, respect our story. Respect
our artistry, our uniqueness. Every year we age our product
counts.
Then, at scale, the story changes to one of desire. Be
better with us. Be us.

8. Proprietary Emotion
Most craft messages are attributefocused and explain why the product is
unique, scarce and desirable.
To scale a craft product, scarcity can no
longer be used as a draw. Instead, the
message can link the product’s
uniqueness to an underlying (and
differentiating) emotional state.
Glenfiddich became not simply the
scotch that was carefully aged, but the
only scotch an adventurous person would
drink.

9. Takeaways
Evolving craft’s intrinsic truths allows
it to organically expand in the market.
At first, people purchase craft because
they identify with its unique attributes
and its scarcity.
As craft brands grow, the message
should evolve to evoke a deeper
emotional story – inviting the
consumer to identify with that story.