Cookeys
Launching a Family Bakery with Professional Shopify Development
About the client
Cookeys Inc. is a family-run bakery entering Toronto's competitive culinary market with a focus on artisanal cookies, specialty coffee, and distinctive dessert experiences. Understanding that a strong digital presence is essential for attracting customers and building trust in today's marketplace, the founders approached their online strategy strategically from the outset. Their vision was clear: create a website that not only provides essential business information but also delivers a warm, welcoming customer experience that reflects the heart of their family bakery.
Service Provided: Shopify Development and Customization
Business Challenge
Translating Vision to Digital Reality. The client arrived with a comprehensive advantage. Their professionally crafted design perfectly captured the brand identity and customer experience goals. However, this presented its own unique challenge: implementing the design with pixel-perfect precision within Shopify's framework while keeping every nuance of structure, style, and functional logic across all pages.
Beyond the Initial Design. The client's business vision extended beyond what was initially visualized. They had identified a key opportunity to differentiate their bakery through a custom bundle feature, allowing customers to create personalized orders and enjoy a more interactive, engaging shopping experience that would set them apart from the competitors.
Navigating Canadian Tax Complexity. A significant operational challenge involved correctly configuring tax calculations to conform to the Canadian regulations, where tax rates vary based on product type and purchase quantities. This technical requirement demanded precise implementation to guarantee compliance and accurate customer billing.
Solution
Project Discovery and Planning
The Discovery phase included comprehensive project foundation work: detailed analysis of the provided design assets, extensive Shopify theme research and selection process, identification of potential risks for custom functionality requirements, and strategic team composition with sprint planning methodology.
The Discovery phase was managed by our Project Manager and Delivery Manager working in tandem, ensuring complete understanding of requirements and establishing a smooth transition pathway to the development phase.
Theme Selection and Implementation
We analyzed multiple Shopify themes and selected the best one that aligns with the client's design, matching both layout and built-in functionality.
Collaborative Design Process. Close interaction with the client's designer was key to success. We held regular discussions to clarify design logic and functional requirements. Where native support was lacking, we proposed proven workarounds or design adjustments. This seamless communication kept the development process moving forward without delays.
Custom Bundle Feature Research. For the custom bundling feature, we researched Shopify Apps, evaluating five tools based on functionality, pricing, support responsiveness, and user ratings. After presenting a detailed comparison to the client, we moved on with the selected app. To match the design closely, we communicated with the app's support team to request design-level adjustments, some of which were later adopted into the app's core features.
Development and Launch
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Complete Store Setup.We built a new Shopify store from the ground up, applying all required configurations to meet the specific operational needs of the Canadian market.
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Design Precision.Our team customized the selected theme to match design specifications and ensured visual consistency across all customer touchpoints.
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Third-party Integration.We integrated and customized the bundle builder app, developed fit-for-purpose functionality to support personalized customer orders while preserving design consistency.
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Tax Configuration.We implemented complex tax rule configurations accommodating different product types and quantity-based variations - all fully compliant with Canadian tax regulations.
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Collaborative Enhancement.By working closely with app developers, we refined visual details and user experience elements that enriched the overall customer journey.
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Performance Optimization.We delivered responsive layouts across all devices and optimized site speed to ensure the best possible user experience.
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Training and Knowledge Transfer.Since the client intended to manage the store independently, we provided detailed training and recorded instructional videos covering key admin actions.
Project Management Excellence
We adopted an Agile approach with daily standups to keep the team aligned; weekly demo calls to showcase progress to the client; open Slack channels for transparent communication, and detailed task tracking in Jira. These regular demos kept the client fully informed and enabled quick feedback cycles, allowing us to pivot swiftly and keep the project on track.
The strong collaboration among our development team, project manager, and the client’s designer created a smooth workflow. Together, we efficiently solved challenges, ensuring the project stayed on schedule and goals were consistently met.
Technologies and tools we used:
Development technologies: HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript, Liquid, Shopify API, Shopify Apps, Git
Project management tools: Slack, Google Workspace, Jira
What Our Client Says
"What impressed us most about Grodas was their ability to combine creativity with technical expertise."
Executive, Cookeys Inc.