Small Business Spotlight: How Pastreez Scaled E-Commerce Operations to Deliver French Macarons & Crêpes Across the US
Pastreez — a bakery run by French husband and wife team (and professional Cordon Bleu-trained chefs!) Anthony and Yami Rosemond — started as a dream in Paris with a simple-yet-scrumptious mission: bring the taste of authentic French macarons to the US market.
We recently sat down with Anthony to learn more about how he and his wife got their shop up and running online, how the pandemic impacted e-commerce business, and how they’re scaling thoughtfully by minding the details.
Au Début
After making their way across the pond, the couple brought Pastreez to life in 2017. They first set up at local farmer’s market stands across Southern California to test flavors on passersby, with an ultimate goal of moving the operation online shortly thereafter. Anthony and Yami launched their e-commerce store with Shopify in 2018, and immediately began searching for a shipping solution that would integrate with the platform and deliver a seamless order fulfillment experience.
According to Anthony, however, the answer was simple when it came down to making a final call: “We tested other shipping options, but always came back to Shippo because it was the most convenient for us.”
Keeping Up the Pace with Growing Customer Demand
Since launching online, the duo’s biggest e-commerce challenge has been keeping the pace of production up to match demand. They’ve moved the operation year over year for the past 4 years, starting out in their own kitchen at home, then moving to a commercial kitchen, then converting their garage at home into a kitchen, and now, running operations out of a brick-and-mortar space where they can offer in-store pickup along with delivery.
There were a few unexpected challenges when it came to the shipping and fulfillment side of the business as well. Landing on the right packaging was a challenge right off the bat, for example, as was determining which carrier mix would be best for the business’ needs. With so many different order sizes and packaging needs, some shipments were better suited for USPS (which offers master account rates directly within Shippo), while others made more sense using the pair’s integrated UPS account (also available directly in Shippo). By comparing rates directly in the platform, Anthony and Yami were able to quickly identify the most cost-effective option for every order, streamlining the label purchasing process and getting orders out the door even faster.
In addition to simplifying carrier rate comparisons, Shippo also saved the Pastreez team time by enabling order batching for quicker fulfillment and label printing, as well as pre-scheduled package pick-ups managed with a single scan sheet. For a two-person team with limited resources, these time-saving features opened up space to explore exciting new opportunities for business growth and expansion.
Finding Endless Opportunities to Surprise, Delight & Excel
When the world moved wholly online in 2020, Pastreez saw its biggest year on the books. Sales grew significantly from the onset of the stay-at-home orders that March, and business only continued to boom as customers sent the delectable French macarons to loved ones over the unprecedented holiday season.
The pair’s customer-first mentality also inspired them to offer free educational content online, such as a macaron-baking workshop and macaron FAQ guide. Anthony, whose background as a software engineer primed him to run and grow the business online, has only grown more fond of being a digital-first merchant over the years: “You can be creative without spending too much, and you can adapt to the situation.”
These days, Pastreez uses Shippo to buy and print around 500 labels per month on average — the platform “just fits in as part of the process,” Anthony told us — and their base of loyal customers only keeps growing. When asked what’s next, we were told the pair has recently added French crêpes to their online shop as they get ready for the upcoming holiday season.
We’re excited to try Pastreez’ new tasty additions, and to continue powering the Pastreez shipping process as they continue scaling operations and delivering their authentic French treats across the country. If you’d like to join the Pastreez team and over 100K other brands who trust Shippo to power their e-commerce shipping, sign up and get started for free.
