Belgium-based whiskey company, The Belgian Owl Distillery, recently underwent a complete rebrand, with a completely new identity from start to finish.
The distillery partnered up with local Belgium agency WeWantMore, to create a look that was luxurious and brand values that made a statement in the oversaturated alcohol branding market.
The company were voted the best European whisky of 2022 by the Murrays Whiskey bible, and we can certainly see why as the rebrand included a logo redesign, brand new bottle creation, and a stunning new website to fit the product.
So, we won’t keep you waiting any longer, let’s get into this rebrand!
Credit to Underconsideration
The Logo
The brand’s past logo was slightly haphazard with a more hand-drawn shabby design that was paired with a typeface that just didn’t match.
Not only did this affect the overall look of the brand, but failed to incorporate any of the brand values that are now a focal point of the new designs.
Now turning to the brand new logo which is a completely different take, as the owl illustration is forward facing and contains a much higher level of detail.
This owl is now strong and powerful and much more care has been taken to create a logo that is perfected, neat, and certainly more memorable.
The new typography is again an upgrade that was much needed, as the brand name of the past didn’t match up to the owl logo and the sizing was slightly off.
However, the new logo matches up far better with the all-caps chiselled serif that incorporates quirky little customisations, for example using a diamond for the cross-bar of the E.
The word distillery is incorporated below the brand name, which is a new addition and although in a smaller font than “Belgian Owl” it’s a nice touch and definitely better than not including it at all!
Overall, this logo is more refined, stronger, and definitely appeals to a slightly different audience due to its luxury up-market design.
Credit to Underconsideration
The Packaging Design
Now onto the best bit as this packaging upgrade is a triumph all thanks to the stunning bottle design and new labels.
The Belgian Owl Distillery bottles bring luxury and whiskey together and help to differentiate this brand from others out there on the market.
The previous packaging design for this whiskey was frankly low to mid-tier in comparison to others out there as the style was fairly flat and wasn’t striking enough in terms of bottle shape, colouring, and label design.
The new bottle on the other hand was created in partnership with Saverglass, and was beautifully done in our opinion!
The glass mimics the feathers of an owl with a tactile geometric pattern, and this provides a perfect canvas for the pentagon label to sit perfectly on top.
That brings us to the new product label which is a complete shift from the old label, as it incorporates the brand values into the design through detailed illustrations, while maintaining the logo as the focal point.
Each label, for each whiskey, has the same design but in a different colour, and the agency went with rich tones of green, purple, blue, and brown.
Each product image shows off the colour palette and detailed bottle design immaculately and in my eyes each photograph makes the product look even more luxurious.
The dimmed lighting, the backdrop of trees and stones, and the crystal clear details of each bottle really speak to the earthy nature of the identity and design.
If you can’t already tell this is no doubt my favourite part of this rebrand altogether.
Credit to Belgian Owl Distillery
The Website
Finally, we are onto the brand’s new website, and this again is another stunning concept.
The earthy forest green that has been used across the branding makes up the basis of the entire website and provides a great backdrop for more stunning product photography.
Across the site, there is a great blend of imagery and text and the company gets the balance just right between providing insight into the history of the business and showcasing its products.
On the website development side of things, the scrolling incorporated on this website is a nice touch, however, don’t scroll too fast and get carried away as an image of a whiskey bottle will fly around the screen and you will miss important chunks of information!
The brand values show on the screen as you scroll and the bottle image turns to show how this has been incorporated as an illustration on each label design. This includes the four main values: ambition, process, unique terroir, and a nature first approach.
This helps to directly link to the company’s partners in the sustainability and agriculture sector, which are again displayed on the website and include farmers, Heaven Hills, VME Service and Engineering, along with the design agency WeWantMore of course!
What a Hoot:The Belgian Owl Distillery Rebrand Explored
So, there we have it, our take on the Belgian Owl Distillery rebrand, and boy was it a good one!
We may even go as far as saying this rebrand is up there with one of the best we’ve seen in the past year, with an effective logo, stunning website, and beautiful whiskey bottle design.
If you are interested in alcohol packaging in particular we have done a couple of posts about some of the best bottle and can designs in the past:
This rebrand has certainly earned a spot on these blogs, as the design agency have successfully managed create a brand that incorporates brand values, luxury photography, and a stunning bottle design.
Overall, this rebrand has helped to bring a sense of luxury to the Belgian Owl branding, and certainly placed the European brand as one to beat in the industry.
Don’t forget to let us know what you think as whether you’re a whiskey drinker or not, we’d love to hear your thoughts on this rebrand, so be sure to get in touch via the social links below!
