When Great Notion Brewing partnered with us, they brought a bold vision to the table. They wanted an online experience that captured their irreverent, community driven brand while addressing the operational and legal complexities of selling alcohol online. With multiple taproom locations, state specific shipping regulations, and a growing base of loyal customers expecting early access to limited releases, they needed a Shopify Plus solution that could deliver on both compliance and customer experience without compromise.
Navigating Regulatory Complexity
Selling alcohol online in the United States comes with a unique set of challenges. It is one of the most highly regulated ecommerce verticals, and every aspect of the customer experience had to be intentionally designed to meet legal requirements while still aligning with the brand’s tone and expectations.
We began by implementing a custom age verification modal, which ensured that all site visitors confirmed their legal drinking age before browsing. Next, we configured the Shopify checkout process to respect state level shipping restrictions. If a customer attempted to purchase from a restricted state, the site would either hide ineligible products or prevent the order from being placed. We also introduced minimum order thresholds that adjusted based on regional laws, helping to enforce legal requirements around quantity or value for alcohol shipments.
These elements were carefully integrated into the site’s user journey, allowing the compliance mechanisms to operate in the background without disrupting the overall experience.
Multi-Origin Fulfillment with Local Pickup
Because Great Notion operates multiple taprooms, each with its own inventory and local pickup options, the fulfillment model had to reflect real-world logistics with complete accuracy. Customers needed to know with certainty that the products they ordered were available at their selected location.
To support this, we built a custom fulfillment framework. The site dynamically displayed inventory based on user location, ensuring that customers only saw items available for pickup at their nearest taproom. Shipping rates were calculated based on a combination of product weight, type, and delivery zone, allowing for accurate pricing regardless of whether the customer was ordering perishables, merchandise, or a combination of both. Our logic also accounted for pickup availability, preventing users from selecting products that were not stocked at their chosen location.
This system allowed Great Notion to manage multiple fulfillment paths from a single Shopify Plus store without sacrificing clarity or accuracy.
Creating a Loyalty Experience with Exclusive Access
A core part of Great Notion’s brand is its deep connection with its most loyal fans. The company frequently offers limited product drops, and they wanted to provide VIP customers with early access to these releases. We worked closely with their team to create a secure loyalty program that felt exclusive and seamless.
Customers who qualified for loyalty access were given password-protected entry to hidden parts of the site, where they could view and purchase new products before the general public. These areas were controlled using Shopify’s customer tagging system, which automatically granted or denied access based on the shopper’s profile. We also implemented timed visibility logic so that products would appear only during designated drop windows, helping to manage demand and build anticipation.
This setup gave Great Notion a powerful tool for rewarding its most engaged audience, without needing additional third-party apps or complicated backend systems.
Outcome
The final Shopify Plus build delivers a high performance, scalable solution that meets the brand’s legal, operational, and experiential needs. Great Notion now manages a single storefront that supports multiple fulfillment centers, enforces complex compliance logic, and offers a loyalty program that genuinely adds value for their customers.
For businesses operating in regulated industries, this project demonstrates that growth does not have to come at the cost of compliance. It also proves that creative customer experiences and legal rigor can coexist within a single, unified Shopify Plus environment. Great Notion Brewing’s digital presence is a clear example of how thoughtful architecture and strategic implementation can turn complexity into competitive advantage.
