Founded in 2020, Gus Foods has revolutionized offices worldwide, transforming them into more enjoyable and productive workspaces by offering employees 24/7 access to delicious, healthy, and locally sourced food and beverages. This remarkable transformation is made possible through the use of smart fridges, affectionately known as Gus, strategically placed within office premises, providing convenient access to an array of delectable meals, drinks, and snacks, just steps away from employees’ desks.
Challenge
Driven by their commitment to constantly enhance the customer experience, Gus Foods sought to develop a native mobile application that would deliver an even more interactive and enduring experience to their clients. The envisioned application needed to streamline onboarding, facilitate interactions with the smart fridge, and extend functionality beyond physical proximity to the fridge. Given Cyrex’s impressive track record in mobile application development and expertise in IoT (Internet of Things), Gus Foods turned to Cyrex, confident in their ability to address this challenge. Excited to embark on this innovative project, Cyrex gladly accepted the opportunity.
Solution
Following comprehensive research and collaborative sessions with the Gus Foods team, Cyrex initiated work on the IoT project, focusing on creating a mobile application that would seamlessly connect to Gus Foods’ smart fridge via iOS and Android platforms. The primary objective of the mobile application was to provide customers with a more interactive and enduring experience.
The approach encompassed three key stages. Firstly, an evaluation of the current state was conducted, including a meticulous audit of the existing APIs and preferred methods. Secondly, Cyrex tailored an API guide, striking a balance between current preferences and industry best practices. With the guide in hand, Cyrex assisted in implementing the necessary changes by validating the updated API contracts and conducting security testing to ensure robustness.
Lastly, Cyrex simplified the testing and monitoring processes for the new standards. Through collaborative work sessions, valuable business insights, and dedicated post-delivery support, Cyrex ensured lasting positive effects for Gus Foods.
Challenges Faced
The most significant challenge encountered by Cyrex was coordinating the implementation across two distinct teams: the hardware team and the API team. Additionally, the inherent complexity of the project was amplified by the physical distribution of the fridges across Belgium.
Fortunately, the hardware team and Gus Foods facilitated the process by shipping a test lock, enabling Cyrex to conduct on-premise tests. However, transitioning from a test fridge to a production environment with multiple fridges scattered across the country required substantial effort and meticulous preparation.
After successfully launching the initial version without any issues, Cyrex was able to expand the project scope, ensuring a seamless transition to multiple fridges.
Result
We take immense pride in assisting Gus Foods in elevating their customer experience and are delighted by their feedback:
“We built a native app that allows transactions with multiple payment methods for our food & beverage retail company. Cyrex built the front-end and was in charge of integrating APIs with the back-end and hardware side. Since this was a from-scratch project they took us through UX and design as well as functionalities. They went above and beyond to make us feel comfortable along the way, with the end result being a fully functional app that we can build on as we grow. Special thanks goes out to our point of contact Rui and his team of talented developers. It wasn’t always easy to combine our operational business with sprints and testing, but they pulled us through.”
– Gus Foods Team