Award-winning distillers and brewers Eden Mill will open five seasonal pop-up stores across Scotland this year, creating 25 jobs.
The first stores officially open on Tuesday 22 September in St Andrews, the home of Eden Mill on Market Street and at Livingston Designer Outlet.
Following success last year, Eden Mill will open two pop-up stores in Glasgow in October, returning to Glasgow’s Princes Square and opening a store in Silverburn for the first time.
There will also be a pop-up store at Aberdeen’s Union Square, which will open in November.
The shops will stock the brand’s festive range including luxury Christmas hampers, Candy Cane Gin, ready-to-drink Christmas cocktails and a range of premium gin and whisky for shoppers hoping to spread a little festive spirit with their gifts this year.
Alongside Eden Mill’s festive offering, customers will be treated to a choice of classic Eden Mill gins, liqueurs, single malt whisky and limited-edition bottles.
Inspired by the tastes of the Mediterranean, Eden Mill’s Botano Gin (pronouncd Voh-ta-noh, the Greek word for ‘Herb’) will be available to buy exclusively to in-store customers. Infused with aromatic herbs, zesty lemon and orange peel, the gin is fresh and fragrant.
Originally created for the chief distiller’s grandparent’s diamond wedding anniversary, and inspired by their holidays to the Greek islands, the gin previously launched for a limited run in 2016, and the new version has since returned by popular demand.
Tony Kelly, co-founder and CEO of Eden Mill, said: “Despite social distancing, we believe shopping on the high street still has a vital role to play in this year’s Christmas trade, which is why we are expanding the number of festive pop-ups from the three we had last year to five in 2020.
“Nothing compares to the experience of seeing and sampling the gifts before you make that all-important Christmas purchase and for us at Eden Mill we love sharing our story and passion for our craft with customers in person.
"Having the pop-up stores gives us the opportunity to share our knowledge with consumers and enrich their experience of the bottle of gin or whisky they are buying.
“Last year we saw great success across our stores with four times the volume of sales versus Christmas 2018. We’re particularly excited to be opening a store in St Andrews, the home of Eden Mill, where so many people have enjoyed staycations this year from across the UK.
“During lockdown our online sales soared, growing e-commerce by 600%. We will continue to offer our classic range of gins, exclusive bottles and special deals online, but we’re delighted to have these stores for those looking to share in the Eden Mill festive spirit on the high street.”
Steven Arnott, head of retail at Eden Mill added: “For Christmas 2020 in store we are giving social distancing the Eden Mill treatment.
“Rather than being made to just wait in queues, customers will be greeted at a safe distance by one of our team who will immerse the customer in the Eden Mill experience before they even take a step inside.
“Once in store, we have sanitisation stations, safe tasting points and every step of the journey will engage the customer in our Eden Mill story as the floor vinyl stickers marking where to stand 1metre apart tell more about our journey from a small family distiller, to our sustainable hopes and plans for the future.”
St Andrews, Market Street opens September 22, 7 days
Livingston Designer Outlet opens September 22, 7 days
Glasgow Princes Square opens early October, 7 days
Glasgow Silverburn opens mid-October, 7 days
Aberdeen, Union Square opens early November, 7 days.
Scran episode 4: The botanics of gin - with Hamish Martin of the Secret Herb Garden
