FCP Wines
FCP Wines is an independent, trade-only wine supplier based in Oxford, importing from small producers around the world and serving restaurants, bars, hotels, colleges and independent retailers across the UK.
Challenge
FCP came to us with a WordPress site that already fed their stock and ordering through Unleashed. The site was out of date and hard for the team to use and update.
A buyer landing on it could not tell within a few seconds that this was a trade-only, wine-only supplier. The things that make FCP worth picking, an independent business with deep producer relationships, sat below the fold where nobody found them. New leads arriving from search had little reason to stay, and the route into the trade portal took more clicks than it should.
Goals
- Present FCP clearly as a trade-only, wine-only supplier
- Make the trade portal easy to find and sign in to
- Build trust and credibility with new trade buyers
- Capture and qualify new trade enquiries
- Lay SEO foundations to grow organic search traffic
- Give the FCP team control to update the content themselves
Background
Tom Ellis started FCP in 2007, delivering Champagne to Oxford colleges. It has grown into a national wine supplier with regional distribution around the UK, selling only to the trade.
Every customer gets a WSET-qualified account manager, and much of the portfolio comes from small, family-run producers you will never see on a supermarket shelf.
Alongside the wine, FCP supports venues with wine list development, own-label wine, staff training and tasting events. That trade focus is the whole appeal. It was also the thing the previous website hid.
Approach
We specialise in the drinks trade, so FCP's model needed no explaining. We already knew how a trade-only supplier works and why its website has a different job to do than a B2C site.
Through discovery and UX design, we mapped how trade buyers find FCP and what makes a venue commit to a supplier.
We also work with the systems a merchant already relies on, rather than forcing a rip-and-replace. FCP's ordering ran through Unleashed and worked well, so we kept it and built the new site around it. That meant their day-to-day ordering never stopped working.
Solution
We rebuilt the site on Drupal. The homepage leads with what FCP is: your trusted independent trade wine supplier, and gives the value-added services the room they deserve.
We pulled the trade portal entry up to where buyers expect it, so signing in or applying for an account takes one obvious click rather than a hunt through the menus. The ordering itself stays in Unleashed.
We also made sure the site was ready for organic search from launch, with a clean structure and built-in metadata, so FCP has a base to grow enquiries rather than paying for every lead.
Key features
Trade-only positioning
The homepage and navigation make it obvious in seconds that FCP sells to the trade, so the right buyer knows they are in the right place.
Trade portal entry
A clear, prominent route into FCP's existing Unleashed portal, so approved customers can sign in and order without searching the site for the link.
Online trade application
A trade account application form that captures detailed enquiries and helps FCP qualify new venues before opening an account.
Editable producer and team content
Content types the FCP team can update themselves, from producer profiles, blogs and news to the team page and service listings, with no developer needed.
SEO foundations
A search-friendly structure and metadata built in from launch, giving FCP a base to grow organic enquiries over time.
The result
In its first month live, the new site received 13 trade application enquiries. Qualified leads that landed through the site, rather than the sales team chasing them.
