CocolaBakery.com
Miva eCommerce Budget-Conscious Build

Budget-conscious and economy builds are tightly-run ships that help small businesses stay afloat. By giving a new look and advanced functionality to small Miva stores, they are able to grow, without overextending.

The Client

Cocola Bakery has been a California staple for 20 years. With a focus on high-quality and real-food ingredients, the business has grown in popularity over the years. They have expanded from their modest beginnings in San Jose to several locations throughout northern California. 

Amir, the owner of Cocola Bakery, knew that running on an old and outdated website not only hurt his online presence, but it didn’t help the branding of the business, either. Especially during the new era of online ordering during COVID-19. With such specific attention to detail put into every dessert, pastry and sandwich on the menu, the old site was a stark contrast and needed to be remedied. He contacted us for a consultation about a new build that could upgrade his eCommerce business while also remaining budget-conscious. 

The Challenge

There’s a common goal with any of our Budget-Conscious Builds; ensuring that the project launches on time, within budget, and up to standards. In order to accomplish this, our project managers, designers, and development team all worked together with the client to prioritize what needed to be completed first.

There were a few basics that would be imperative to put on the list:

• An updated site design with a fresh, clean look
• A modern representation of the brand
• Improved checkout functionality with shipping estimates
• Site responsivity and security

Our client wanted to make it easier for online shoppers to checkout, with an option of delivery – not shipping – for their fresh products!

And the store owner had some more specific things that he wanted addressed:

• Changes made to the way deliveries and pickups are managed
• Reports of existing orders in the system specific to the store locations and “required by” dates of the orders
• Social media incorporated into the site
• Marketing and promotional help
• Volume-based pricing for wholesale clients

Our client wanted to make it easier for online shoppers to checkout, with an option of delivery – not shipping! They also wanted to be able to showcase their stunning products, created by their world-renowned French pastry chef. 

Overall, the old site was very dated, operating without product pages, minimal images, and rudimentary functionality. 

Due to the nature of the products sold on CocolaBakery.com, an emphasis would need to be placed on the high quality, the luxury, and the unique lead-time. And of course, this needed to be accomplished within the budget-conscious build’s timeline.

The Solution

Showcase Design

You’re likely familiar with the phrase “you eat with your eyes, first”. That is especially true when it comes to a site selling high-end pastries, baked goods, and meals. It was crucial for Cocola to have a design that put the spotlight on their products, without distracting elements to detract from them.

The design of the new site is clean and striking and places all of the focus on the product images, and the functionality. This allows the high-quality images to take center stage. The bright white background of the site works similarly to a lighted display case like one you might find in the cafe itself.

Product Page Additions

As with the overall design of the site, the creation of the product pages was restrained. To keep browsing and purchasing as simple for the shopper as possible, the product pages were kept carefully minimalistic, so as not to pull attention from the decadent food.

Allergen warnings were added to the product pages via the use of custom fields. They allow the client to quickly add and remove allergens to products; once applied, the product automatically displays the icon for immediate visual cues. The addition of the “More Info” link takes the shopper to a full allergen warning, further down the page. 

The products were also set up to reflect tiered volume pricing, not only enticing shoppers to increase their quantity (as if that takes any arm-twisting for these treats!), but it allows bulk buyers like Costco and Wegmans to view their savings automatically.

Data Work and Navigation

As with any build, the data import for products, customer accounts, categories and pages was handled by our developers and maintenance team. Cleaned up and reformatted, the content pages and product data reflect the new site layout.

Part of the data work also includes taking a closer look at the category structure and navigation. Working closely with the client, we helped build the new category tree in a way that would be easily expandable for the client, and easily shoppable for their customers.

Security and Responsiveness

Again, another staple in any of our builds is ensuring the new site is both secure and responsive. Compared to the old website, the responsivity of the new build allows the design to spread the full width of the screen. This makes for bigger, higher-quality images, as well as smoother navigation, basket, and features. 

The security in the checkout allows shoppers to place large orders and create accounts without worrying about their privacy or safety.

Pick Up & Delivery Module

An especially useful addition to the new site helped take it over the top in usability, while still keeping the build budget-conscious. Our developers added the new Miva Pickup & Delivery module to the checkout. Perfectly suited for Amir’s product line at Cocola Bakery, he can set lead times, delivery specifications, and store hours; it allows customers to order in advance and last-minute.

With a selectable, pop-up calendar feature in the checkout, shoppers can select when and how they receive their items. To really round out the feature, our developers created a custom report option. Scheduled to run daily (but also able to be run manually), a report is sent to a specified email address listing all existing orders.

This report was fully customized to include everything that Amir’s staff would need to get orders produced on time. The module also allowed Cocola Bakery to start offering delivery; they can do it without their customers having to reach out to a third-party company for the transaction. This supports Cocola’s growth and partnership with companies like DoorDash.

Phase II

In order to meet a specific and tight deadline, and keep the project budget-conscious, we worked closely with Amir to determine what he would want to add to a secondary list of tasks. We refer to them as “Phase II”; this allows the client to continue making additions to the site, while moving at their own pace.

The Phase II tasks will undoubtedly further enhance the customer experience of the new site. However, not having them at the time of launch doesn’t detract from the usability, functionality, or impression of the site. The Phase II list for this project is going to include things like:

• Embedded Instagram feed on the homepage
• Newsletter and marketing assistance
• Promotional offers based on customer account information

The Result

The new CocolaBakery.com is a far cry from what it was before the rebuild. With massive design changes and a complete overhaul in functionality, the site now reflects the high quality of the products sold. By keeping the build successfully budget-conscious during a tumultuous time in the economy, we were able to breathe some new life into the eCommerce side of a traditional and well-loved Californian favorite.

If you think your site could benefit from a new look or added functionality, get in touch with our experts for a completely free evaluation. We can discuss your options and your budget, and how your dreams fit into them. 

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Sabine, Christine and the rest of the team at Glendale Design have done a great job for us on different fronts. They are very responsive and responsible and are always glad to help. I find working with Glendale easy and productive!

Amir Aliabadi