Project Overview

Kootenai Organics is a premier dispensary specializing in small-batch organic cannabis and edibles for discerning customers. We designed and developed their new website using Next.js and Sanity.io, delivering a modern, scalable, and user-friendly platform.

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Description

Challenges

Kootenai Organics, previously known as MT Medicinals, struggled with an outdated WordPress website reliant on over 30 plugins. This made site maintenance cumbersome and inefficient. They needed a streamlined, modern solution that could handle their diverse web needs, which included:

• Retail operations for consumer sales.
• Wholesale B2B capabilities for verified businesses.
• The upcoming launch of a luxury edible brand called Velvet Hammer.

Their existing website wasn’t mobile-friendly, posed performance issues, and required a system that could efficiently support these multi-faceted operations while ensuring ease of use for the team.

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Solutions

We migrated Kootenai Organics to Sanity.io, creating a modern and flexible content management system (CMS) that simplified their operations. By structuring a single Sanity instance, we streamlined the management of all three business facets—ensuring brand consistency, ease of updates, and operational efficiency.

Key features of the new solution include:

• Retail Site: A custom cart and checkout system compliant with local and federal regulations in the legal cannabis industry.
• Wholesale Portal: Secure authentication for B2B customers, providing access to exclusive products and pricing. The system uses a "whitelist" in Sanity, allowing approved users to log in securely with tokens generated upon authentication.
• Velvet Hammer Brand: A future-proof setup within the same Sanity instance, ensuring seamless management for the upcoming luxury edible brand, set to launch in Q3 2024.
• Progressive Web App (PWA): Developed the website as a PWA, allowing customers to download the site for offline use, providing an app-like experience across devices without the need for a separate mobile app.
• React Email and Resend Integration: Integrated React Email and Resend to automate transactional emails such as order confirmations, directly managed through the Sanity Studio. This ensures consistent branding and streamlined customer communications.
• Blog Feature: Implemented a blog to drive SEO and attract more organic traffic, helping engage and inform their audience.

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Results

By fully leveraging the flexibility and capabilities of Sanity.io, we exceeded Kootenai Organics’ expectations, delivering a dynamic and user-friendly website. The new platform now serves as a central hub for their retail and wholesale operations, with the capacity to easily incorporate the Velvet Hammer luxury brand.

Key outcomes include:

• Streamlined Management: Kootenai Organics can now manage their entire web presence—retail, wholesale, and future brand expansions—with ease, using one unified system.
• Improved User Experience: The PWA offers a smooth, app-like experience across all devices, greatly enhancing customer satisfaction and engagement.
• Enhanced Customer Communication: Integration of React Email and Resend ensures that transactional emails remain consistent, branded, and automated, improving customer interaction.
• SEO and Content Engagement: The blog feature provides valuable content for users while boosting SEO, helping the company attract and retain their target audience.

Overall, the new website is a robust tool for driving business growth, managing customer relationships, and maintaining a strong online presence. Kootenai Organics is now well-positioned to grow and scale their operations effectively.

What we did