Bols Accelerates Global D2C Sales with Headless Shopify Plus

Overview

Bols, the 16th-century Amsterdam spirits house, wanted a fresh route to its customers. After developing a new range of at-home cocktail products, the brand aimed to sell direct-to-consumer internationally with more control over content and experience. Partnering with Story of AMS and migrating to Shopify Plus gave Bols a headless architecture and custom storefront. In three months they launched two global stores, serving 28 countries and cutting internal workloads dramatically.

The Challenge

Bols had no previous online store and relied heavily on B2B channels—bars, restaurants, and distributors. The team needed a solution that could handle peak traffic during promotions, allow rapid multi-market launches, and empower non-technical staff to update content like recipes and tips. Finance and operations tasks were manual and ate into strategic marketing time.

Solution and Implementation

Story of AMS recommended aheadless Shopify Plusarchitecture. Using a custom front end built in Next.js and React, the storefront pulls product data via Shopify’s APIs. The headless setup gave full design flexibility, improved load times, and simplified market-specific deployments. Automation workflows sync orders and financial reports, cutting manual effort by nearly two-thirds.

Results

• Launched in 28 countries across two global stores within three months.
• Achieved a 50% improvement in page speed using headless delivery.
• Reduced time spent on finance and project management by 65% via automated reporting.
• Enabled marketing teams to publish recipe content and guides with zero developer involvement.
• Built an engaged online community with regular content updates and social growth.

Final Thoughts

By splitting front end from back end, Bols gained the freedom to refine user journeys and storytelling. The intuitive Shopify Plus dashboard lets the team spin up new markets without extra training, and headless performance keeps pages swift during seasonal spikes. This approach shows how a heritage brand can marry tradition with modern commerce tech to create a true omnichannel experience.