How to Turn an E-commerce into a Success Story: Solo da Manduca's Journey

In the world of craftsmanship and excellence, every detail counts. This is especially true for Solo da Manduca , a historic pastry shop in Aprilia (LT), which in 2023 decided to take on an ambitious challenge: relaunching its e-commerce after a difficult start.

In this article we explore a case study that has seen 500% growth thanks to a mix of digital strategy, process optimization and valorization of a very high quality product. The story begins with a disappointing Easter and culminates in an extraordinarily successful Christmas, with numbers that speak of tripled orders, doubled turnover, sold out of artisanal products and a pastry shop that ranks among the best in Italy.

As you continue, you will discover the concrete actions that have transformed this seasonal e-commerce into a scalable and successful business model, with room for improvement still to be explored.

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🔥 ECOMMERCE CASE STUDY 2023-2024: +500%

www.solodamanduca.com / Only at Manduca

Online shop navigable throughout the year, but open for sales only during the end of year (Panettone and related products) and Easter periods (Colomba, Eggs, etc.).

For those who don't know it , Solo da Manduca is a historic artisan pastry shop in the heart of Aprilia (LT), an excellence in the Italian panorama.

eCommerce platform: Shopify.

The initial challenge

Professione Business takes over online management in 2023, before the launch of last year's Christmas season. The owners, Riccardo and Damiano Manduca (my older brothers), were demoralized after a disappointing Easter 2023, marked by:

• ADS spending higher than turnover.
• Unpaid agency fees.
• Numerous damages in shipments.
• Online business below margin.
• Sales limited to 1 product/order.
• Growing distrust of the usefulness of online shopping.

The turning point of 2023

While we were planning the birth of this business development agency, we decided to intervene to make a change:

• Deep analysis of what went wrong.
• Ecommerce site redesign.
• Implementation of new marketing automations.
• Product page optimization.
• Introducing apps for upsell and cross-sell.
• Creating a WhatsApp channel for customer service.
• Increased free shipping threshold.
• Price revision to adjust for commodity inflation.
• Reprogramming of the online advertising structure.
• Direct collaboration with the forwarder to improve logistics.
• Opening for sales in the European Union.

Extraordinary results

The numbers speak for themselves:

• Average order value tripled.
• Online revenue growing by over 100% every year.
• Handcrafted products #Soldout quickly.
• ADS spending halved compared to Easter 2023.
• CR more than doubled, despite increased online sessions.
• ROAS growing exponentially.

Awards and recognitions

Thanks to the quality of its products, Solo da Manduca has obtained prestigious national awards, positioning itself among the best pastry shops in Italy for Panettone and Easter Colomba:

• Master Panettone.
• Panettone Maximo: best Panettone in Italy 2024.
• King Panettone Milan.
• Divine Dove.

Christmas 2024: The Icing on the Cake

To resolve shipping complaints, we changed carriers to BRT Corriere Espresso. The results were immediate:

• Damage almost eliminated.
• Faster deliveries than 24 hours.
• Shopify-BRT integration for more efficient order management.

Conclusion, Quality with crazy margins for improvement

When you deal with products of the highest quality and you know how to tell their story, everything becomes exciting. Today Solo da Manduca is a success story, with still enormous margins for improvement in marketing, management and distribution beyond the borders.

Find out more at www.solodamanduca.com.

An Agency Created for You

Business Profession is not just a consulting agency, I prefer to describe it as a "Business Partner". It is a project born from the desire to help entrepreneurs, companies and professionals improve their reality, identifying effective and tailor-made strategies for each one. If you feel it is time to change direction in your professional life or to give a twist to your company, write me in DM or via email at info@professionebusiness.com.
Every small step can be the beginning of a new journey.