When it comes to scotch whisky, “innovation” isn’t a word that immediately springs to most people’s minds. The drink itself is more than 500 years old; the scotch category is one deeply steeped in the values of longevity, consistency, and above all, tradition. So when we created Buchanan’s Pineapple—our first flavored whisky in the US since our founding in 1884, and one inspired by a cultural tradition already being observed by one of our most important consumer groups—it was a watershed moment that we believe embodies the true spirit of innovation.

Whisky is available from countries including Japan, Ireland, Canada, and the United States. But scotch whisky (from Scotland) remains the top-selling whisky globally - and is almost exclusively enjoyed on its own.

In the United States, Buchanan’s operates outside of those scotch codes when it comes to its consumption. With a brand history that ties our Scottish roots to our founder’s travels through Latin America, Buchanan's saw a unique opening to create a new, flavored product that would not only offer a delicious new option to our consumers, but reinforce our long-standing relationship with the Hispanic-American community.

Knowing Scotch is overwhelmingly consumed by men, a flavored scotch offering would also allow us to create a drink that would bridge the gender divide - helping us bring men and women together to celebrate and socialize.

For broader market context - it's important to note that flavored whiskies *do* exist - nearly 20% of all whisky sold is actually flavored whisky. However, flavored *scotch* whisky is nearly unheard of, representing only 2.8% of those flavored whiskies.

Buchanan’s Blended Scotch Whisky is popular with consumers around the world, but especially so with Hispanic Americans. As the fastest-growing consumer segment in America, it’s an important and discerning community, one with a distinct preference for not only the taste of pineapple (“piña” in Spanish) but also the smooth flavor of Buchanan’s. So it’s no surprise that it’s also a community with a particularly delicious celebratory custom: mixing pineapple juice with Buchanan’s 12-Year-Old Deluxe to create a drink they lovingly call the “Buchanita.”

To us, the existence of this cocktail is proof of the distinct and enduring relationship we have with this vital community, who are a core driver of our brand's growth. So, we listened to the Hispanic community directly.

(While Diageo does not disclose the investment for product development, the budget for the product launch from February–June 2023 was $3.6MM.)

In Mexico and Latin America, scotch remains aspirational but is enjoyed without the rigid rules that so often define it. Unlike their counterparts, the Hispanic whisky consumer regularly mixes scotch with cola and/or juice and are constantly experimenting.

Our inspiration was drawn directly from this experimentation: Buchanan's Scotch and pineapple are often enjoyed in a cocktail together.

It was, however, key to consider the 500+ year tradition of scotch distillation; bringing a new flavor - not native to Scotland - to scotch would require a new approach.

We collaborated directly with consumers, speaking to Buchanan’s lovers in Texas and California via virtual focus groups conducted during lockdown. With their feedback, we decided to launch Buchanan's Pineapple - the perfect balance of Buchanan's Blended Scotch Whisky and a vibrant, juicy pineapple twist - making scotch more versatile and paving the way for future creative cocktails.

Development: May 2021 – September 2022

First Shipments: December 2022

Official Launch: February 2023

Scotch is a traditionalist whisky, steeped in heritage. Innovations within scotch typically come from expressions of process or provenance. These include using cask finishes, different grains or blending techniques to enhance the flavor of the spirit. Our insight provided the opportunity to create something different and exciting.

Our expert team of blenders collaborated with our innovation team to carefully marry the flavors of scotch, pineapple, and citrus - not through traditional means, but by infusing scotch with the tropical taste of pineapple for a beautiful balance of layered flavors. Through many rounds of flavor experimentation, tasting, and subsequent refinement, three flavored scotch “finalist” options were developed, each a little different from the others in their expressions. Just as we did when landing the insight, we leaned on consumer research to determine which of those liquids was the best fit for occasion, for the community, and the Buchanan’s brand. The result is one of the most delicious scotches we've ever made with the taste of sweet pineapple with light notes of citrus.

We continued to differentiate Buchanan's Pineapple with disruptive packaging, removing our traditional Buchanan's carton, allowing the vibrancy of our label and beautiful color of Buchanan's Pineapple to be visible.

We hoped to: strengthen our enduring relationship with the Hispanic-American community; bring new drinkers into the mix; and capitalize on the trend toward flavored spirits.

The product launch was a success.

•Buchanan’s Pineapple was the #1 scotch by absolute sales growth in 2023 (More than 30x the second highest growth competitor per Nielsen)

•$85MM sales as of February 2024

•Hispanic Households share grew by 4.8% following the release of Buchanan’s Pineapple

•2024 “Product of the Year” winner in the Spirits category by Product of the Year USA—the nation’s largest consumer-voted award for product innovation

•We've held a spot on Nielsen Spirits Top 10 from the moment we launched in February 2023 and still do on the Year 2 Innovation chart

•Due to demand we have ambition to expand to other countries and different format packaging

Our launch campaign earned 2.6B+ earned media impressions, resulting from 566 earned media placements.