Chocolatemakers: a hybrid B2B & B2C platform on Shopify Plus

From two separate platforms to one scalable ecosystem

Chocolatemakers reached a turning point. The company was growing from a small-scale producer into a larger brand with rising demand from both retail and business markets. Their existing digital setup consisted of two separate webshops (one for consumers and small retailers and another one for consumers and corporate gifting) that operated independently and had become increasingly complex due to extensive custom implementations.

Key challenges:

• Fragmented systems: two separate platforms with individual back-ends, resulting in time-consuming and error-prone management.
  
• Limited scalability: custom-built features made it difficult to adapt processes to the company’s rapid growth.
  
• Complex B2B processes: businesses could place bulk orders with custom branding, but these were handled largely manually.
  
• Lack of e-commerce structure: too many options and choices for consumers, leading to confusion and lower conversion.
  

Internal efficiency: the team struggled to work independently in the systems, leading to unnecessary time spent on support and manual tasks.

One hybrid Shopify Plus platform for multiple customer groups

We started the collaboration with a blueprint phase, diving deep into Chocolatemakers’ challenges through a series of workshops.

An important part of this phase was identifying the different customer groups: B2C, B2B Retail, and B2B Corporate Gifting. Typically, we only distinguish between B2B and B2C, but in this case the structure was more nuanced. A retail customer, for example, purchases different products than a corporate gifting client, which directly impacts navigation, product offerings, and content structure across the webshop.

Based on these insights, we developed a single integrated hybrid Shopify Plus platform.

Choosing Shopify Plus was definitely the right choice for us: it has allowed us to use all the ecommerce proven, user-friendly,  native tools that Shopify is so well known for, but also allowed for that custom built part that was necessary to scale up our business. Since the launch, the feedback from both customers and team has been so positive!
- Marta Kalff-Yvancos, Marketing Director at Chocolatemakers

Main solutions:

• One central platform: the existing environments were merged into a unified Shopify Plus platform, with clear segmentation for consumers, retailers, and business clients.
  
• Smart B2B functionalities:
  
  • Companies can place bulk orders, including uploading their own logos for custom packaging.
    
  • Automated PDF generation for personalized wrappers that are instantly production-ready.
    
  • Retailers can order per shelf or per set of ten, following the same logic as consumer orders. They can also build their own shelf assortments with a pick & mix function.
    
• Custom bundling with cart transforms:
  
  • For example, a “Pick & Mix” feature where consumers choose six different bars. In the cart and checkout, this appears as a single bundled product, while the backend still manages them as separate SKUs.
    
• User-friendly back-end: the store structure allows the team to manage content and products independently, supported by clear documentation and guidelines.
  
• Streamlined e-commerce structure: simplified choice architecture for consumers to improve conversion.
  
• UX optimization: design decisions were guided by a balance between brand storytelling and conversion performance.

A future-proof foundation for growth

The new Shopify Plus store provides Chocolatemakers with a solid foundation for continued growth. By uniting all channels and customer groups under one roof, the company is now ready for scale and more efficient management.

Next steps:

• UX & CRO optimization: using tools like Microsoft Clarity and Gorgias to continuously improve through heatmaps, A/B testing, and customer interaction analysis.
  
• Automation: further streamlining of internal workflows to reduce manual work.
  
• International growth: expanding into Germany and Belgium while maintaining the Netherlands as the core market.
  
• Content & storytelling: enriching product pages with dynamic content around origin, sustainability, and craftsmanship.
  

Thanks to Shopify Plus, Chocolatemakers now has a future-proof platform that serves consumers, business clients, and retailers alike, while creating space for ongoing growth and innovation.

This project is built with our technology partners: