Elevating a Micro-Distillery to National Distribution
Forsaken River Distilling: Forsaken River Distilling was struggling to secure distribution for their products due to lackluster packaging and their status as a micro-distillery. We rebuilt the brand and the customer-facing system to match where the company was actually going.
Live since 2019
Overcoming Distribution Challenges for a Micro-Distillery
Forsaken River Distilling operates in food & beverage · retail & lifestyle — a category that demands its own kind of attention from the brand and the buyer journey both. The work that got the company this far had earned its market share. The brand and digital surface area weren’t carrying the weight at the same level the rest of the operation was.
Forsaken River Distilling was struggling to secure distribution for their products due to lackluster packaging and their status as a micro-distillery. The challenge was to rebrand the distillery and redesign their packaging to attract distributors and expand their market reach.
The brief was a system rebuild — the kind of work captured in our master frame: Revamping the Brand and Packaging for National Appeal. Brand strategy, identity refresh, customer-facing experience design, and the post-launch measurement framework that lets the in-house team extend the work without us in the room.
Revamping the Brand and Packaging for National Appeal
Brand Identity
A Bold New Visual Identity Commence Studio created a bold new visual identity for Forsaken River Distilling, focusing on the quality and craftsmanship of their products.
Packaging Design
Wood Veneer Engraved Labels To elevate the packaging, we designed wood veneer engraved labels for Rye Patch Whiskey.
A Bold New Visual Identity
Commence Studio created a bold new visual identity for Forsaken River Distilling, focusing on the quality and craftsmanship of their products.
Wood Veneer Engraved Labels
To elevate the packaging, we designed wood veneer engraved labels for Rye Patch Whiskey.
Editorial-led storefront that earns time on site.
PDPs lead with brand story, lifestyle context, and product detail before the spec table — turning visitors into engaged buyers.
Bundle merchandising that lifts AOV.
Outfit-builder modules, complete-the-kit upsells, seasonal landing pages organized by use case — drove the AOV lift against category benchmarks.
The rebranding and new packaging have transformed our business. We’ve been able to expand our distribution to 16 states and reach a national audience. The wood veneer labels are a hit, and we’re thrilled with the collaboration.
Numbers that matter for the engagement.
Brand and storefront, in production.
The rebranding and new packaging have transformed our business. We’ve been able to expand our distribution to 16 states and reach a national audience. The wood veneer labels are a hit, and we’re thrilled with the response from both distributors and customers.
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A 14-day strategic diagnostic — we audit your current stack, identify the friction worth fixing first, and ship a phased plan with sized investments. Fully credited toward an engagement if we move forward together.
What you walk away with
- ✓A measured map of every friction point in your current commerce flow
- ✓Three phased options — minimum, considered, comprehensive
- ✓Sized investments and timelines, no aspirational ranges
- ✓A clear "don't hire us if…" section. We mean it.
