Case Studies

Poppy’s Doubles Drop-Off Catering With Streamlined Ordering & Website

How one design-forward catering company unified multiple lines of business while stepping up its website and online ordering.

Locations:: 1

Founded:: 2012

City:: Brooklyn, NY

Products Used:

Restaurant Websites

Since 2012, Poppy’s has been redefining catering in New York City. “Our goal is to bring the same ingredients you’d find in a farm-to-table restaurant to the catering world,” says Director of Operations Casey Brand. From its location in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn, Poppy’s has grown to include a private events venue and walk-in cafe alongside its catering operation.

For years, most of Poppy’s business was full-service catering: a labor-intensive offering that included servers, bartenders, and chefs brought to the client. But the team was convinced their drop-off catering was just as great a product. It allowed them to offer the same high-quality ingredients and beautiful presentations as their full-service catering, at a lower cost to them and the customer. By 2021, Poppy’s decided that to pursue this growth, they needed to step up their web and ecommerce presence in a way that was built for catering restaurants — and at the same time, unify their three lines of business.

“BentoBox combined the catering store with online ordering from the cafe, which were separate when we used Squarespace,” says Brand. “Coming out of the pandemic, we felt everything needed to be as easy as possible. Putting everything on one platform, with a fresh website, was the best way to do that.”

Results 2021 vs. 2022:

+109%

Drop-off catering revenue

+73%

Average order value

+16%

Monthly site visitors

First to launch were the online ordering and catering stores. While the BentoBox design team worked with owner Jamie Erickson to bring her website vision to life, Poppy’s saw a difference in their catering operations from day one.

“The checkout process is a lot more streamlined than what we were used to,” says Director of Operations Brand. “And as the person managing our catering delivery team, I really like the ability to break out delivery fees by location.”

Updating menu items and adjusting pricing in real time also became a snap.

“We're constantly trying to keep things fresh, and BentoBox helps us do that. It's a lot easier to update the website faster with new products and get into the nitty gritty of pricing.”

In the two years Poppy’s has used BentoBox, drop-off catering revenue has doubled, order value increased by 73%, and more than 1,200 more visitors per month visit their website.

“Just over the past few years, online ordering for catering has grown tremendously,” says Brand. “BentoBox making the process easier is a huge part of that.”

With BentoBox, Poppy’s now manages their website, online ordering for the cafe, and catering on the same platform. And by leveraging BentoBox’s integration with their point-of-sale system, Square, Poppy’s has seamlessly brought all three aspects of their business together.

“Food delivery is different from what your typical ecommerce platform is set up for,” says Brand. “There’s a greater sense of urgency. Margins are tighter. It’s constant customer service. So the fact that BentoBox is built for this is crucial in saving time and helping us realize our vision for the business.”

Poppy’s cafe in beautiful Cobble Hill, Brooklyn seats walk-in customers, hosts private events, and serves as the base of their catering business.

Coming out of the pandemic, we felt everything needed to be as easy as possible. Putting everything on BentoBox, with a fresh website, was the best way to do that.

Casey Brand

Director of Operations

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