Troubled Monk Brewery
One platform, six brands. A smoother, smarter ecommerce experience for Troubled Monk.
What we delivered
- WooCommerce Shop
- Custom WordPress Theme Development
- User Role Management
- Gutenberg Page Layouts
Project Brief
Troubled Monk is an Alberta-based craft brewery with a growing lineup of sub-brands including Epitaph Gin, Adequate Vodka, GrainHenge Whiskey, Troubled Tea, and Troubled Soda. Their previous website supported online sales but created ongoing operational challenges. Plugin conflicts, inconsistent brand structure, and constant support tickets had become the norm.
They needed a website that could handle retail and wholesale sales, bring all their sub-brands under one digital roof, and simplify day-to-day management without compromising flexibility or user experience.
When they came to us, they were juggling multiple sub-sites, each with its own quirks and maintenance needs. Our goal was to build one robust WordPress ecosystem that could handle all of it, elegantly and efficiently.
Our Solution
We built them a custom WordPress site using WooCommerce and the Gutenberg editor, designed to merge all of Troubled Monk’s brands and sales channels into one unified, easy-to-manage platform.
The final deliverable was a fully integrated, user-friendly website where both retail and wholesale customers could browse, shop, and interact with the Troubled Monk brand seamlessly, while the internal team could manage everything from one dashboard.
Every aspect of the build was guided by the goal of making their digital operations simpler, faster, and smarter.
OBJECTIVE #1
Unifying Multiple Sub-Brands
Troubled Monk’s original digital structure was fragmented, with individual ecommerce sites for GrainHenge Whiskey, Epitaph Gin, and Adequate Vodka, and separate pages for Troubled Tea and Troubled Soda.
We consolidated all sub-brands into one WordPress site, creating unique landing pages that reflected each brand’s color palette, tone, and identity. Using the Gutenberg editor, we built flexible, branded templates for each sub-brand so that every page could stand alone visually, while still feeling cohesive within the larger Troubled Monk ecosystem.
This eliminates brand confusion, strengthens SEO by consolidating domain authority, and provides a consistent, on-brand experience for users across every product line.
OBJECTIVE #2
Merging Wholesale & Retail Stores
Previously, Troubled Monk ran separate WordPress multi-sites for retail and wholesale customers. This made inventory, pricing, and order management unnecessarily complicated.
We merged these into a single WooCommerce store, introducing logic-based access that differentiates between retail and wholesale experiences. Wholesale customers (like liquor stores and restaurants) now see entirely different products, pricing, and delivery options from retail users, all within the same system.
This approach dramatically reduced administrative complexity, simplified order management, and allowed Troubled Monk to maintain one central inventory source while still offering tailored shopping experiences for both customer types.
OBJECTIVE #3
Simplifying Product Management
Previously, each product variation, like a six-pack, keg, or case, was created as a separate product. This resulted in multiple listings with identical descriptions, images, and nutrition details, all of which had to be updated individually whenever something changed.
We streamlined this by restructuring their WooCommerce setup so that each item now exists as just two products, one for retail and one for wholesale. Within each, the team can manage all variations from a single entry, adjusting only what’s unique to that version, such as pricing or packaging.
This drastically reduced the time required to add or edit products and eliminated redundant data entry. Now, updating a product’s details happens once, saving hours of work and reducing the chance of errors.
OBJECTIVE #4
Conditional Logic for User Roles
We implemented custom conditional logic to dynamically display the right products, prices, and navigation based on user roles.
For example, when wholesale users log in, the “Shop” button routes them to the wholesale catalog with wholesale pricing and products. Retail users, or guests, are automatically directed to the retail storefront.
Even homepage sliders and featured product sections adjust in real time, showing wholesale products only to wholesale users and retail products to everyone else.
This tailored experience creates a clean, intuitive user journey and prevents confusion between wholesale and retail products, without needing two separate stores.
OBJECTIVE #5
Managing Fees and Shipping Complexity
Troubled Monk’s wide range of products meant deposit fees and shipping needed to be handled differently depending on the product type.
We used an Additional Fees plugin with a custom tag-based system to automatically apply the correct deposit or fee based on product type.
We also integrated the Canada Post Shipping Plugin to provide appropriate options for retail versus wholesale users, from in-store pickup to large-scale delivery.
This automation reduced manual oversight, eliminated common checkout errors, and gave both customer types the right experience based on their order type.
OBJECTIVE #6
Flexible Page Design with Gutenberg
One of the biggest UX wins came from building the site entirely with the Gutenberg editor.
The old site used rigid templates and ACF layouts that limited design flexibility. With Gutenberg blocks, the Troubled Monk team can now create and customize marketing pages and sub-brand experiences without developer support. Each landing page, from Epitaph Gin to GrainHenge Whiskey, uses brand-specific colors, graphics, and content blocks while maintaining structural consistency site-wide.
This gave their marketing team creative freedom without breaking design integrity, reducing reliance on developers for updates and making the site more dynamic and content-driven.
WHAT WE DELIVERED
Results & Impact
While this project focused heavily on backend architecture and user experience, the benefits extended far beyond functionality:
01
Scalability
The modular WordPress structure means adding new products or even new sub-brands in the future requires minimal setup.
02
UX Efficiency
Users now experience clear, frictionless navigation, with retail and wholesale shoppers guided to the right place automatically
03
SEO Gains
Consolidating all sub-brands under one domain strengthens authority, improves internal linking, and gives each sub-brand more organic exposure.
04
Operational Simplicity
Managing one site instead of multiple means fewer updates, fewer plugins, and less maintenance overhead.
In The End…
The Troubled Monk website became more than a redesign, it was a rebuild of their digital foundation. By combining thoughtful UX, smart development, and scalable WordPress architecture, we helped them transform a complex, multi-brand operation into a unified, intuitive, and easy-to-manage online experience.
