Saxbys' Website Solves a Unique Brand & Business Challenge

Saxbys started as a corner coffee shop with big ambitions: to double as a social impact company. After ten years of serving its communities with non-profit collaborations, it took its social mission one step further in 2015, partnering with colleges to launch the Saxbys Experiential Learning Platform℠, a network of cafes entirely designed for and run by college students.

The student-run model changed Saxbys' online presence. It now needed a website designed for both cafe guests and potential partners, like non-profits. "Sharing the story, hiring students, growing partnerships and making it easy for guests was really important," says Saxbys Senior Brand Marketing Manager Rachel Moning.  

The challenge seemed daunting, but with BentoBox, Saxbys found a partner that could design its website with clear and concise messaging that reflected its mission and social impact. As the partnership grew, online commerce tools became part of the company's business model, helping it take its mission to the next level.

"It's a hard story to tell," Moning acknowledges of Saxbys' website needs. Between the cafe business, the social impact mission and the aggressive student hiring, its website needed to function in part like a restaurant website, non-profit website and job portal, respectively. And it needed to do all three things in a way that felt cohesive to guests.

To help Saxbys combine its needs into a cohesive design, BentoBox designers consolidated information into categories. From there, designers organized the categories in the header and footer of the website, strategically placing emphasis on the most important areas. Finally, to keep text minimal and digestible for visitors, the design made heavy use of photos, illustrations and embedded videos. The outcome was an easy-to-navigate website with compelling but not overwhelming storytelling.

After building a website that met its original brand needs, Saxbys doubled down by expanding into online commerce. When Saxbys opened a roastery and began selling retail coffee beans, its online merchandise store become a key source of sales. It also launched online catering through BentoBox's pre-order & catering, where it sells a variety of boxed meals and coffee bundles tailored for university life.