# Kootenai Organics: Premium Organic Cannabis

> Kootenai Organics, premium organic cannabis cultivator, partnered with me for a sophisticated website showcasing Montana-grown quality and sustainability.

- Client: Kootenai Organics
- Service: Website Development
- Date: May 2024
- Canonical: https://zephyrpixels.dev/case-studies/kootenai-organics

I built out the website as a way to spearhead their online presence and attrack new clients.

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## Project Overview

**Kootenai Organics** is a premier dispensary specializing in small-batch organic cannabis and edibles for discerning customers. I 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Kootenai Organics, previously known as **MT Medicinals**, struggled with an outdated WordPress website reliant on over 30 plugins.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

I 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, I 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**, I 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 I did

- Website Development
- Sanity CSM
- Content Creation