Case Study · INTEGRATIONS · PAYMENTS · FEATURE DEVELOPMENT

Foodi

A full-stack Next.js application for restaurants to manage menus and orders.

Cherry Blossom built out the integration and payment architecture on Foodi’s app, taking it from a functional prototype to a full service app. We began by integrating Square’s payment services before moving on to continuing maintenance and feature development as Foodi scaled operations. We helped find solutions for product and market fit as well as continuing input on direction and implementation of technical work.

Client: Foodi
Industry: Food & Beverage Logistics
What we built: Customer-ready restaurant SaaS web app
Core stack: Next.js, Mongodb, Redis
Timeline: Compressed. Customer-ready on first ship
Engagement type: Retainer
Crew size: Small, curate (1-3 senior leads)
Result: Production payment integration, more B2B market appeal and B2C use cases.

The Situation

Foodi had an MVP-level functional menu app, but without ordering and tracking features its market appeal was limited. Restaurants were already subscribers to Foodi’s service, however, so advancements needed to be fully functional on release with no public testing window. Payments, customization, UI improvements, and order tracking needed implementation without adversely affecting either the restaurant’s backend use of the app or individual customers’ experience while using it to browse menus.

The founder needed a senior team that could handle and own the entire build, adding features that contributed to a restaurant’s ability to simplify internal logistics while also improving the usefulness their customers find in ordering. The product team hoped to be able to reasonably increase the price point of service with additional features, so clear value had to be displayed.

The Challenge

Foodi is a multi-pronged product in an industry with a lot of competition. It had to stand out while also being incredibly reliable and user-friendly.

Standing out of the crowd

Restaurant menus, online ordering, order tracking, ingredient tracking, and venue discovery all have different apps with established footholds in the industry, and Foodi was an all in one solution entering the competition in all these arenas.

Appeal to restaurants

Restaurants are notoriously reluctant to change solutions without good reason, and usefulness needed to be thoroughly demonstrated before restaurateurs would get on board. Powerful backend logic was needed to add the customization each restaurant needed, and the user interface had to be clean and intuitive so it didn’t feel like a chore.

Frictionless to customers

For restaurants to see the long-term benefit, their customers needed to be able to scan a QR code and seamlessly transition from browsing to ordering and paying for an order. If the app generated constant questions for the restaurant, it wasn’t filling its purpose.

The Build

API Integration with PoS systems

Foodi needed to read data from Square and other PoS APIs and have a well designed common interface to reconcile data from PoS systems and the internal data within Foodi about menus and items.

Payment & Order Integration

Foodi needed on the ground order and payment capabilities for popups and venues via QR codes. There were many considerations involved in this, such as editing existing orders, notifying customers, and handling edge cases for multiple types of venue.

Testing and Deployment infrastructure

While the existing MVP application was deployed and running, much of the existing stack was deprecated, undocumented, and difficult to test and deploy in versions. Cherry Blossom simplified the deployment and testing infrastructure, and streamlined feature release.

The Outcome

Foodi now successfully integrates with PoS systems for their clients and has grown their client base with the new feature capabilities.

The application is now in a better state for future expansion and feature development. The deployment is straightforward and smooth, and it is easy to ensure robust feature releases.

What the Founder Said

“Working with Cherry Blossom Tech has been a major win for our startup! Before we started working together, we had an MVP with active customers but we still couldn't afford to scale the product in a timely manner as we continued to gather feedback from the market and pivot. Cherry Blossom has provided us with quality work at an affordable price, and truly feels like part of our team - not just another outsourced developer. They understand the ups and downs of the startup lifecycle and can accommodate to support when and where we need it most. I can't say enough how grateful I am for their partnership.”

Ben Fisher

Founder of Foodi

foodi-menus.com

Not a sales pitch.

Best fit for established companies with a build that cannot wait. Project engagements typically range from $20k–$200k, depending on scope, complexity, and team size. Speak with Elijah, founder of Cherry Blossom Tech.

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Frequently Asked Questions

How long does it take to do API integration work?

It depends on the complexity of the existing application and whether data is being only read or if the application has to write to external applications through the API as well, but simple integrations can often be completed within a month.

What makes marketplace API integrations hard to get right?

The difficult thing about API integration work is not in consuming the data. Prior to broad AI usage handling API connections was time consuming to set up, though largely mundane work. However the difficulty is in building proper data structures and knowing how to align a database structure for a web application with multiple streams of data that all have different opinions. This architectural work and properly handling edge cases or incomplete data is what makes integrations difficult.