Sarabeth’s Supremely Delicious, Wholesome Food Turns Brand into Household Name

Sarabeth’s is a world-renowned brand and multichannel business, famous for their online catalog of delicious baked goods, jams, and specialty foods; retail package goods available through special and grocery channels; and restaurants, found throughout the world in locations such as the United States, Japan, S. Korea, Taiwan, and soon Dubai. Their beloved Legendary Fruit Spread – regaled as the finest fruit spreads and jams in the gourmet industry – is now being produced in a 15,000 square-foot factory, and can be found in the finest department stores, gourmet shops, upscale supermarkets, and specialty stores throughout the U.S., the Caribbean, Canada, Japan and South Korea.

A Deliciously Jam-Packed Start

Sarabeth Levine, a Pastry Chef and multi-award winning restaurateur, first began her business in 1980 by making and selling her family’s 200 year old recipe for Orange Apricot Marmalade from her Manhattan apartment. Just a short year later, Sarabeth and her husband, Bill Levine, opened their first shop, a small pastry and jam bakery, which quickly won over discriminating New Yorkers with its unique charm and delicious goods. As Sarabeth’s customer base grew, so too did their number of locations, with Sarabeth’s (East) debuting in 1983, and Sarabeth’s (West) in 1986.

Over the years, the demand for Sarabeth’s continued to grow, with 2005’s opening of their Central Park South restaurant, located just across the street from Central Park, marking a major milestone for the company. And their growth didn’t stop there. With a new, large manufacturing facility and an online store, Sarabeth’s was able to reach adoring customers all over the world, quickly turning the Sarabeth brand into one synonymous with quality, excellence, and unparalleled deliciousness.

The Missing Ingredient

Despite Sarabeth’s seemingly unstoppable success, the company encountered a major challenge in the wake of the Mobile Revolution, as an increasing number of consumers began shopping on their smartphones and tablets. Sarabeth’s President and COO, Charlie Apt, knew the company’s website needed to evolve in pace with consumer demands and emerging technologies. There doesn’t seem to be a choice [about being responsive] if a brand seeks to remain relevant with consumers, said Charlie.

As a longtime Shift4Shop customer, it was Shift4Shop’s design team Sarabeth’s turned to for assistance in ushering their company into the Responsive Era. Shift4Shop is a good fit for our brand and needs, said Charlie. Combining Sarabeth’s third-party art direction with Shift4Shop’s services was relatively seamless, and gave management the confidence that the right people were involved and committed to producing an excellent product.

The Fruits of Labor

Only moments after their websites relaunch, Sarabeth’s received an influx of phone calls from thrilled customers graciously complimenting the new look and feel of the sites design. Featuring the latest design trends and best practices, Sarabeth’s responsive design ensures tablet and smartphone shoppers are treated to a flawless, memorable shopping experience.

And although its not the business’s busy season yet, they’ve already noticed a sharp increase in conversions, which Charlie points to the sites new, gorgeous deign. Sarabeth’s is very pleased with the website design, he said. Its not only beautiful, its a much more progressive and technology-driven presentation.

Words of Wisdom to Chew On

So what advice does the president and COO of one of the worlds most famous and beloved brands have for businesses that have yet to go responsive?

While there is cost and effort involved in the transition to responsive, the outcome will speak for itself and the consumer impact is dramatic. There is no reason to hesitate if a brand expects to interface with consumers on a user friendly and efficient platform.