Lagkagehuset’s new website boosts basket size by 250 percent

Lagkagehuset's original website was practically non-functional, while its app had long been highly capable. In fact, the app earned two silver medals at the 2022 Danish Digital Awards (in the ROI and Commerce categories). 

The question arose: Could we leverage what we know and have from the app ecosystem on the website? Could we do this within a manageable timeframe and modest budget? Could we also migrate Lagkagehuset to a more contemporary technological platform, such as a headless CMS? And, of course, could we implement this across Denmark, the UK, and the US while maintaining a unified CMS solution across borders? Finally, could we achieve this without adding more resources to the organization – keeping the Attack Surface manageable and the FTE count steady? 

The business case 

Having relied solely on an app, Lagkagehuset missed opportunities to convert SEO traffic directly into sales. A significant portion of the business case underpinning the budget allocation was centered around optimizing SEO for sales of event cakes and general office catering. 

The challenging world of bakeries 

Baked goods are complicated to manage – they aren't inventory-friendly. Many items are made fresh daily, sold out quickly, and available only within specific times. Coffee orders might involve syrup, skim milk, oat milk, or double shots. Consequently, implementing a webshop for a bakery is complex and doesn't fit neatly into default shop solutions. To make matters even trickier, Lagkagehuset's 108 stores in Denmark are not standardized – they have different product assortments and pricing. Each store is unique, and the solution needs to reflect that. 

With a three months' timeline, a budget of one million, and Sanity as a CMS ("the #1 content platform on the market"). We executed silent launches in three steps: 

• Migrated the existing site (including content) to a modern CMS.
• Added Click & Collect (C&C), as seen in the app.
• Enabled custom cake orders – a new feature for digital sales of specialty confectionery items.

Leveraging existing infrastructure 

Lagkagehuset's app-based loyalty solution has been active for 10 years, with Click & Collect available for the past five years. This means that much of the business logic – such as: 

• "Whipped cream cakes can only be ordered after 10 AM."
• "Citron roulade is a specialty from Southern Jutland."
• "We essentially have 108 different webshops with varying inventory, products, and pricing." 

already exists in Google Cloud/Firebase and AX. While this setup isn't ideal, it represents the infrastructure we have to work with. 

Reusing established logic 

Fortunately, much of the business logic for the app was built as Firebase functions, which can be called from the website as seamlessly as from the app. This saved considerable programming time and reduced debugging and support issues. Large portions of the logic were already thoroughly tested. 

New technical capabilities 

The new headless CMS ensures future solutions can easily access data without being locked into proprietary systems. There are also significant advancements due to modern development frameworks. For example, Lagkagehuset's content editors can now create forms via a form builder without needing developer assistance – streamlining daily operations and improving the quality of web content. 

Additionally, the website and app are fully integrated. Loyalty users logged into the website automatically earn loyalty points, and their preferred credit card information is recognized. 

Custom cake quality assurance 

One major relief for store staff is the ability to handle custom cake orders via the website. Previously, orders were phoned in, leading to spelling errors on cake inscriptions and missed entries in core systems. Now, the process is fully automated and benefiting everyone. The visual presentation of custom cakes online ensures confidence in what customers are ordering, with elements of customization available. Removing the store staff's involvement in special orders speeds up the delivery of custom cakes. 

Initially, Lagkagehuset didn't anticipate significant revenue increases during the website's rollout and debugging phase – but they were wrong! 

On September 24, 2024, Click & Collect launched on the website, and in the last three months of the year, the site generated DKK 1.5 million in revenue excluding VAT in Denmark alone. The average basket size has also seen remarkable growth: 

• Walk-in customers: DKK 57 
• Click & Collect via the app: DKK 96 
• Webshop orders: DKK 201 

It's assumed that business customers drive the doubling of basket sizes, though private customers contribute as well. Graphs show a significant spike during holidays, particularly December 26th with rye bread orders for family Christmas lunches and marzipan cakes for New Year's Eve. 

Revenue growth – 10 percent 

Lagkagehuset has experienced general revenue growth, primarily driven by digital customer facilitation, which provides enhanced service to the business customer segment. Currently, digital sales account for 10 percent of overall business, rising to 15 percent during holidays. 

Lagkagehuset has also begun utilizing ads and sees positive results. At present, their Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) is four, often five, meaning that every DKK 100 spent on ads yields nearly DKK 500 in webshop sales. Additional sales beyond the initial seven-day ad-click period are not included in these figures. 

Doubled visibility with SEO optimization 

The new website structure enables more localized SEO optimization, thanks to dedicated local store pages. This effort is already showing results, though there is still much work to be done. Over two months, Lagkagehuset has doubled its visibility on Google searches, increasing daily impressions from 20,000 to 40,000. Organic traffic remains the largest driver of site visits. 

A luxury problem of order volumes 

Digital success doesn't come without challenges for physical stores. Many employees face piles of order slips during holiday rushes, with digital order volumes exceeding logistic capabilities in established stores. This demands changes in facility layouts – a luxury problem, but an undeniable indicator of success! 

The new website solution – a highly effective sales channel – utilizes existing data and logic, allowing teams managing assortments and inventory to focus on their tasks without worrying about the channel. The new platform essentially "runs itself." 

Lagkagehuset is leveraging these new capabilities effectively. One example is the development of a B2B portal based on existing data and infrastructure, a solution that simplifies life for production and finance teams. This portal is set to launch during the second quarter of 2025. 

Lagkagehuset demonstrates agility and speed, with positive impacts visible in its bottom line. 

We are proud that our collaboration with Lagkagehuset on their new website earned us BRONZE in the "Best Website" category at the Danish Digital Awards 2025. Additionally, we were nominated in the "Best in System Design" category. 

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