Launching a premium non-alcoholic spirits brand through a custom Shopify website and paid ad creative, designed to educate customers and drive early conversions.
Client —
Smiling Wolf
Industry —
Food & Drink
Smiling Wolf entered the market as a new non-alcoholic spirits brand with a distinctive proposition: functional, nootropic blends designed to deliver a sense of buzz without alcohol. As a new brand in a fast-growing and competitive category, the challenge was twofold. The brand needed to educate consumers about a relatively unfamiliar product type while also establishing credibility and premium positioning from launch.
The objective was to create a strong digital foundation that could clearly communicate the product benefits, build trust, and support early sales through a combination of website design and digital advertising.
The objective was to create a strong digital foundation that could clearly communicate the product benefits, build trust, and support early sales through a combination of website design and digital advertising.
The strategy
The strategy focused on balancing education with aspiration. The brand needed to explain what made Smiling Wolf different without overwhelming new customers, while still feeling premium and confident rather than medicinal or overly functional.
The website was designed to lead with product storytelling and benefit-led messaging, supported by a considered visual identity to reinforce premium positioning. For paid ads, the approach was to test a mix of native, UI-inspired executions for relatability alongside bolder, headline-led designs that clearly communicated Smiling Wolf’s key USPs and point of difference within the category.
The website was designed to lead with product storytelling and benefit-led messaging, supported by a considered visual identity to reinforce premium positioning. For paid ads, the approach was to test a mix of native, UI-inspired executions for relatability alongside bolder, headline-led designs that clearly communicated Smiling Wolf’s key USPs and point of difference within the category.
My role
I designed and built the full Shopify website from scratch, taking ownership of structure, visual design, and front-end implementation. I was responsible for translating the brand’s positioning into a digital experience that felt premium, trustworthy, and easy to understand.
Alongside the website, I created the paid ad creatives for digital campaigns, producing a range of executions designed to be tested across social platforms and iterated based on performance.
Alongside the website, I created the paid ad creatives for digital campaigns, producing a range of executions designed to be tested across social platforms and iterated based on performance.
The approach
I designed a fully custom Shopify site that balanced premium aesthetics with clear product education. Product pages were structured to surface key benefits such as the nootropic blend and alcohol-free credentials in a way that was scannable and easy to digest, helping reduce friction for first-time visitors.
For digital advertising, I created multiple creative routes to support testing and learning. This included native UI-style formats that felt familiar in-feed, as well as lifestyle-led and headline-driven designs that emphasised Smiling Wolf’s functional benefits and premium positioning. Retargeting and subscriber-focused creatives were also developed to re-engage interested users and support conversion as familiarity with the brand grew.
For digital advertising, I created multiple creative routes to support testing and learning. This included native UI-style formats that felt familiar in-feed, as well as lifestyle-led and headline-driven designs that emphasised Smiling Wolf’s functional benefits and premium positioning. Retargeting and subscriber-focused creatives were also developed to re-engage interested users and support conversion as familiarity with the brand grew.
The result
Smiling Wolf launched successfully as a premium non-alcoholic spirits brand with a clear and credible digital presence. The website provided a strong foundation for educating customers and supporting purchase decisions, while the ads helped establish early traction in a competitive market.
Paid activity showed particularly strong resonance with women aged 45 and over, and retargeting creatives delivered the strongest purchase performance. Overall, the work positioned Smiling Wolf effectively within the growing functional non-alcoholic space and supported early conversion and brand growth.
Paid activity showed particularly strong resonance with women aged 45 and over, and retargeting creatives delivered the strongest purchase performance. Overall, the work positioned Smiling Wolf effectively within the growing functional non-alcoholic space and supported early conversion and brand growth.